WTF? I can barely dignify that nonsense with a response.
Being biracial means your parents are from more than one race. We can put a little check next to that; his mother is White and his father is Kenyan.
Being Black…is that something that can be defined? And if so, by what? By whom? Do we take it back to the “one drop rule”?
I’ve read a lot of people’s comments around the blogging world about whether he is “Black” or African. Well, since Africa is a continent and not a country, he’s not African, he’s Kenyan, for those of you who have been trying to scream at me that he should be called African, that’s not how it works.
I even saw some comments from a White man who says he is sick and tired of Barack being called Black; because he works with Black people and Obama doesn’t look anything like them. What the fuck does that mean?
And, how silly is it to have this debate without taking into consideration what Obama identifies as…African American. He has said it time and time again. African Americans are Black.
If folks are out there trying to say that Barack is not Black because his mother is White, that’s just silly. Race is a social concept. Having one White parent does not make one White, nor does it give them the social experience of being White.
And, if one cannot, or should not, be seen as Black because they are not “pure” Black, then ain’t a damn negro on this continent Black. Just because both ofyour parents are “Black”, and their parents are “Black”, and their parents are “Black” really doesn’t mean shit. “Black”, is not African or Kenyan. “Black” is post slavery terminology refering to those born on this continent after the Diaspora. So there are no “pure” Black people.
There is the heavy misconception that those who are born “biracial” automatically have a different experience in life than those who are born “pure” Black; that is a dangerous assumption and could not be further from the truth, particularly since, as stated above, being Black isn’t just about the tone of one’s skin, but the social perception (and stratification) of a person, and the history drawn up as well.
Let’s not get into the arguement that people with darker skin are “more Black” or have it rougher in life (where racism and discrimination is concerned) than those who are “light skinned”. The experience is not easier, it’s the same.
Let’s not get into the arguement that people with coarse, kinky hair aren’t as “lucky” or “blessed” as those with finer, lest texturized hair.
Let’s not get into the arguement that slaves in the field had it harder than slaves in the house.
Can’t you see that the nature of the question “Black or bi-racial” is nothing more than divisive, particularly for us?
Folks need to learn the differences between race, color and national origin before they start shooting off at the mouth on this one. When those terms are understood, the question of “what is he” becomes moot.
Cut the crap. This is like that stupid “electability” arguement. At least say what you mean and quit bullshittin’…
This is a very hot topic right now. The Obama factor has opened up a whole new can of worms. As a mother of a biracial daughter, questions of race, identity and color are at the forefront in our family. It is very frustrating to confront these issues when dealing with a society that is soley concentrated on “Choosing” one race or another. I had to register my daughter for kindergarten, and had checked off both black and white for her race. I got into a bit of a tiff with the woman who was reviewing the paperwork, because she told me that I could only choose one. What the hell does that mean…she is not just one…that’s why the term bi means: More than 1. I was mad, to say the least. In my mind, being forced to choose one box, denies the other person’s existence. Besides, half of her is me…regardless of skin color.
browngirl I think you kind of missed Sable’s point. Race isn’t about your parentage-which is why I oppose terms like biracial. Race is a social construct. I’ve alway said, if you need your child to be identified with you racially, you’re a bit of an egomaniac. And being called Black or White or Both says nothing about who you are, where you’re from, etc. So how is it a denial of you if the child is only labeled with one race? Is it not enough that the child is your own? That the child’s nuances and thoughts will forever be shaped in part by you and that your DNA runs through her vains? Why does she need to be “both”?
Listen all you people. If you all live in AMERICA you are an AMERICAN. Your ethic background is your business. Do you know you are not required to check any of those little boxes? Their purpose is to separate us, to put numbers on things that shouldn’t need to be numbered. To make sure all races are included is a concept that separates people. People do gather according to their ethnic backgrounds, that is where they are usually most comfortable practicing their heritage. Once you separate yourself from your comfortable surroundings, expect to be UNcomfortable. The word minority means: a group of people who differ racially or politically from a larger group of which it is a part; being or relating to the smaller in number of two parts; So if you are the larger # of people you are NOT the minority. So people in America (especially the black race in this country) need to stop acting like you are always the minority. Your Not! Live your life up to your potential.
I just love it when ignorant people come on here and try and school us don’t you; I imagine she’s shaking a finger at us and everything.
Did you know what they word “minority” means? I didn’t know. I feel so smart and educated now. I guess we need to “get over it” and just go on and be successful in our lives.
She should bottle that…
Gosh, why didn’t I think of that? Just forget it and live my life to the fullest. If it were ONLY that simple. I suppose if were that easy we wouldn’t need anti-discrimination and employment laws.
Easy to say…but very difficult when others who may be biased are sitting in the chair of decision making and power.
obama’s race should not be an issue …..coz he is BLACK according to the American registrar and according to his kids’ registration……….
due to the fact that he has a white mother we can also identify him as bi racial coz he has 50% of both races ……..but then again the one drop issue surfaces……that makes him black………Thomas Jefferson had kids with his slaves who were considered black yet they were sired by an American president……..so trying to downplay obama’s blackness just because he has made history is quite irrelevant……note has to be taken that his biological dad was a pure breed of black………a nilotic man……a luo man…….who had no other blood connections……………obama is a mulatto………….but since there is no such race……..HE IS BLACK (NO RACISM INTENDED)
Operating word here is “should”. Lots of things should not be an issue….yet they are. The reality is we live in a race conscious society, period. If we didn’t we wouldn’t be having these conversations at all because they wouldn’t be necessary:-)
OK, Get over the past, the biracial children which are the true American melting pots of the nation, they are neither white or balck, but something way more, they are the future of this country , and i dont understand why everyone is turning this into a 1800′s thang or even a post slavery thing. the Biracials of the United States shouldnt fear bing just that, being Black or White is a Understatment for these new generation of people. I think that being Biracial is something to be proud of and that it shows we as THE people can become something more, then that of a Primary color, that we teach our children first joining the schools. Everyone just wants to be right on this subject. but all are being ignorent……Biracial is not Black, and its not White….. Its a step out into another type of culture, and one that i am proud to be appart of, in stating that we, are the true America… And when i look at my family, i can say that we all step outside the box. and there is no racisim here……Obama is a Biracial Man, in a diffrent world of change…. I dont care who is mama is or his daddy. he is just still a Biracial man… Just like my son …..He is that America dream, that one day 2 of are our seprate nationals may be one… and today is that day we have a Man that finally represents both worlds, I dont care if is is biracial and he hangs out with a few more brothas, then suites…. you are not of the company you keep…….. Let Biracials Be Proud of whom they are, the ones whom recieve the blunt end from the black race and the white race… they are there own set of peepls…….No more history lectures… Just let freedom ring…. who cares its not RACE….itsAMERICAN…
The word as it is known today, regardless if we like it or not, is man made for there is really only one race- the human race. However in the U.S., race has been defined with its subjectivity and rigid notions but is expanding to include biracial, multiracial, multicultural, et cetera.
There is a distinction between “ancestry” and “identity.” However, and unfortunate as it may be, it is through “identity (i.e., race)” that people in the U.S. single out a person not their ancestry. Although Barack Obama does associate to his ancestry, his choice of identity is black not multicultural.
Some will say that ‘race is an identity’. If that is true, it would allow a young white male, who wears hip-hop clothing, listens to urban hip-hop music, and who communicates in a hip-hop style all associated with the black urban culture to say he is black. Based further on that premise, the white male would simply be making a statement about his identity, not his ancestry. Thus, how would people view this white male? This would allow anyone to identify to be of a race/color of their choosing because they live their life in that culture, no matter the skin color.
Although Barack Obama has been very open about his ancestry, how he identifies himself is incomplete.
Below is a letter our only child wrote before he left for his tour of duty in Afghanistan
to President Obama.
———————————————————————————————–
Dear President Obama:
First and foremost, congratulations on being our 44th President of the United States of America.
During your campaign, I agreed with your call for change and I still do; a change in our economy and a change in how things are done in Washington.
You are the epitome of what positive things can happen from change. A change from the racial divide of miscegenation that so deeply swept our country decades ago to a country known today for accepting people of all cultures, backgrounds and colors. However, I am waiting for one big change…to accept who you truly are…the God made biracial man, our President of the United States. I and my family have been disappointed about the message you give to millions of people throughout our great country by saying if you are biracial you can choose to be of ‘one’ race.
Those who believe that a person who is one part black should identify ONLY with that race support the intolerant one-drop rule created by a racially prejudiced government at a particular point in history. Despite that rule being held illegal (U.S. Supreme Court outlawed Virginia’s ban on inter-racial marriage in Loving v. Virginia (1967), it declared Plecker’s Virginia Racial Integrity Act and the one-drop rule unconstitutional) there are some who want to hold to that fanatical and discriminatory rule.
This close minded thinking underlies the attack often faced by biracial people that they are trying to deny or are ashamed of who they are. Being biracial does not mean denying the colorful heritages we possess. Personally, I understand the difficulty you may have encountered growing up as a biracial young man, especially having a brown complexion.
Yes, biracial people from the time they are born to the time they die are constantly asked to choose their “primary” race, or others will do it for them. We are called offensive names like; yellow banana, oreo, mutt, etc., all meant to hurt who we truly represent, a nation of one blood. However, this is a new day, a changed day where we can finally embrace who we really are.
To be the 44th President of the United States, who is biracial, should be a proud statement of equality that exemplifies and represents what the United States is known for; a nation that embraces all shades, colors, and cultures of people.
Other well-known people, who are biracial, have expressed their sentiments when asked the question, what are you; Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees said “I’m not black or white but both of these things.” Vin Diesel refuses to segregate himself to one race and identifies himself as biracial. Growing up, he had many questions about his ethnic origins and what they made him. Although most people guess he’s part Italian and African-American, he said “I’m hoping I can show kids where you came from isn’t as important as what you can make of yourself.”
Like you President Obama, I am the blending of two races. My mother is black and my father is white. As with your mother and father, my parents were able to see and experience a love that bridged racial divides.
Throughout the years, as I got older and like you, I faced some extremely difficult and joyful times. Early in my life, I experienced both the harsh reality of my mother and father divorcing and then I witnessed the wonderful blending of new stepparents.
As a biracial child, I remember telling my father about a time when I was in the third grade my teacher asked for the children to stand up based upon their race. When she told all the white kids to stand up, I stood up. When she told all the Hispanic kids to stand up, I sat down. Then she told all the Black kids to stand up and I stood up. My father said that was a defining moment for me in being biracial that I still stand up for today.
When I was 15, I saw a movie with Halle Berry and thought the world of her, as did most teenage males my age. However, I saw her as someone like me, biracial. On my sweet-16 birthday, my father arranged for Ms. Berry to surprise me with a telephone call. From that point on the two of us exchanged letters and referred to each other as big sister and little brother. I believed Ms. Berry was a face of hope for biracial people. I looked up to her because she embodied the blending of races. However as I got older and much to my dismay, I heard Ms. Berry claim that she was black not biracial. This caused me to see the woman, who I once called my big sister, a runaway from all who are biracial. Then another face of hope showed up, you President Obama, only for me to again experience disappointment.
As my Commander and Chief that I am proud for you to be, I am with honor serving in our Armed Forces in Afghanistan. In winning the presidency, you said the victory alone was not the change we seek as a nation– but only the chance for us to make that change. Mr. President change will not happen if we go back to the way things were, back to the one-drop of black blood rule. Change cannot happen without you. For that is the true genius of America – that America can change.”
Therefore, President Obama we cannot go back to the one-drop of black blood rule. With you as President, America has truly come a long way. However as you said, “there is so much more to do.” As with your children I to want my future children to live to see the next century and be as fortunate as the woman you spoke about, Ann Nixon Cooper; to see a change for all races of people including those of us who are biracial.
The question for you President Obama is what progress will we have made? Identifying to one race, clouds the dream that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wished for 45 years ago when he said; “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation that will not judge them by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”.
In your speech “A More Perfect Union” you said that race is an issue that you believed this nation could not afford to ignore right now and I agree. I am part of that next generation of young people you spoke to who possesses the attitude, belief and openness to change that gives you the greatest hope.
I can only ask that during your administration you renew the discussion about race and stand up for me and all of us who are biracial as I stood-up in the 3rd grade. President Obama, now is your chance for your children and all of us who are biracial to clear the clouds about race by answering the call. This is your moment. This is your time.
Respectively,
SPC. Eric C J,
U.S. Army
as a biracial girl, black and white. obama saying he is black is not right or wrong.
its self identity. there is self identification and then self hatred.
with self hatred you deny what you are and try to hide it. with self identity, you know what you are, dont hide it, but you prefer to identify with what you fee more connected to.
in america, the ODR benefited whites and blacks…which is why neither side really cares to change anything about it. because biracial people are treated like blacks, by default it became easier to identify that way, because you can relate to blacks due to the racism whites give out (and still do).
i always like to point out the irony, that the same people who throw the “obama is half white card” are the same people that dont care for biracials, and were more than likely one of the people that categorizes biracials as black in the first place.most only use the “he is half white” card, because they hate the idea of a black person doing something, and they want to discredit that as much as possible.
anyways…ODR as a law may be gone, but society has a longggg way to go before it ever outgrows it, and like i said, ODR benefits blacks and whites, so they see no reason to change it. “biracial” is nothing more than a title…because on the streets, in america (and any other english speaking country for that matter), im considered black, you would assume it or at least question it.
As a bi-racial myself, oops did I offend anybody? Unfortunately the truth to the matter is that This country was founded on slavery, and race, and Obama is the perfect example of what this country consists of and no matter how much you rationalized, comment, and talk your into logic, and reason, the truth is he is a child of two differant color skin of people with unique dna cells which God has made on the outside of the spirit, and soul.on the inside we are all made the same yet on the outside we are made in God’s image, His way of creating a rainbow, and we are the result of the rainbow he made us very dark to very light, and all the colors inbetween. So please get a better understanding of what all of you are as a people a human race people and start looking at your self as a person wholly and uniquie, contibuting to this planet earth with your gifts to make a better place here and stop trying to get a hold on the race issue and biracial issue.