There's no denying that Russell Simmons has experienced a tremendous amount of success over his lifetime. From founding Def Jam to creating Phat Farm and other fashion lines and lending his voice to countless activist issues, Simmons has a lot of opportunities to be thankful for, which is why, in honor of America's Independence Day, the mogul talks about what he loves about being an American as part of a series of personal stories for Huffington Post Latino Voices and Define American.
"The thing I like more about America is that it gives opportunity for all, there's a mindset here amongst even the most successful that everybody is welcome," Simmons says in his Define America video. "The idea that if you come from the lowest areas, the most difficult areas and you survive and you become great and you become successful you're accepted in with a badge of honor into the mainstream. And most countries have a bit of a caste system whether they know it or not and Americans, their consciousness is such that we accept people from all kinds and all places."
What do you think about his answer? How do you define being American? Sound off in the comments!
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