Here's an easy one: What do Barack Obama, Mariah Carey, Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter have in common? They all come from multiracial families. And they're just some of the most famous examples of how race, culture, and identity are changing in this country. Our first hour today will look at what it means to be multiracial in today's America. If you're multiracial, how do you define yourself? And how does the public define you?
1:38 PM ET | 04-26-2007 | permalink
I remember being in a class at the University of Wisconsin called "The History of White Supremacy in America". The professor, I believe, pointed out that if you had "one drop" of white blood in Hati, you would be white. Can you talk about some other countries definition of race (Brazil and South Africa come to mind)?
My birth mother is Mexican; my father is White. When I think of myself, I tend to not think of color so much because I look "whiter" than brown that is commonly seen in Mexicans [or Latin Americans]. Because I have olive skin and neither brown nor white, I tend to think of myself as "colorless." It does seem sometimes that the Mexican/Latin American part of myself is an appendix, and so the construction of identity becomes much more complex.
Identity has been a tricky thing for me--being a child of an interracial couple born and raised in Texas. I was taught to dress white and look white. It was not until my adulthood that I began to tweeze out the ways in which I am "mixed." In terms of my racial identity, It seems as though I continue to construct myself in light of my mixed heritage.
I appreciate you broadcasting this issue.
Best,
Robyn
My wife(Irish background) & I (Irish/Slovak background) are the parents of 2 nine-year old sons from India (Bengali and Maharti) who jokingly describe themselves as Indian of Irish descent. We live in Portland, Maine, one of the whitest states in the nation. To them color and background isn't really an issue - to them, who's a better baseball player really matters.
We truly hope that this remains their outlook and experience.
I'm half-asian and half white and it's been my experience that I'm not considered multi-racial because I'm not part black. How does being non black figure into the formula of multi-racial?
I think the vast majority of Black people are multi-racial in background. I'm a product of a White grandmother and a half Black, half Carib Indian grandfather on my mother's side, and a mostly Black grandfather and a light skinned Black grandmother on my father's side. I consider myself a Black Carribean American, the primary word being Black.
As a multiracial person, native, african, and white, I strongly identify as a new race. I feel all people of mixed race should view themselves this way. I check other and write my mixture
My husband and I are white and raising our daughters, 2 1/2 year old bi-racial (Black)daughter. My son's wife is Korean and my gradaughter already points out differences between us all. I find the diversity healthy for social growth.
I don't know my ethnic heritage, although I suspect it is mixed. Even if I knew what was meant by 'race', I have no substantiating evidence for what it/they may be.
When asked about 'race', such as on government surveys, my response is 'UNKNOWN', which is fact. If that answer is not one of the offered (acceptable) choices, I add it.
My racial identity on census forms is "mongrel", which I write into the "other" field.
Hello,
My ancestry is very mixed. My father was of Spanish and Syrian descent and my mother of Spanish, Mayan and Aztec decent. So for my siblings and I, we tend to call ourselves Latinos and when we need to, we are Middle Eastern, Mexican, American and so on. I have found that it is difficult for some people to "peg" me, so I am ALWAYS asked, "what is your background?" To which I answer, "how much time do you have?" Why do we have to be "pegged" by others in order for them to feel comfortable with us?
Thanks.
Genoveva
Portland, OR
When our daughter was born and the county recorder's representative came in to complete her birth certificate, we refused to specify a race. We didn't like the idea of this kind of classification. It stumped the recorder's rep briefly, but after checking, she found that this is an option. It's like declining to state on employment forms. You don't have to check any box--on birth certificates in California anyway.
We need to distinguish between race and ethnicity... I am German, living in America adopting a daughter from China...
I think my daughter will be Chinese by race, but she will be American-German by ethnicity...
I'm a caucasion male (from Hungary) and my wife is from the Phillippines.
My children are light brown skinned, and when I fill out forms, I check "Other" and if there's a space to specify, I write Euro-Asian. I've never heard this term before, but that's what I consider my children: Euro-Asian.
Fo years, when they used to talk about themselves, they use the wording "we whites"... By now they understand that they are PhilGarians (contraction of Phillippino and Hungarian)and it seems that they stopped calling themselves anything...
Yes, on forms, I'd check for them "Multiracial" if that was available.
PS - the 1% blod rule is an unreasonably childish and silly rule. Where I grew up, when a Hungarian and Romania got married and had kids, the kids were mixed: half Hungarian, half Romanian. It would have been really silly and unreasonable to swing the balance in any direction...
Interestingly Like Mariah Carey I am of also Latino heritage. (Her paternal grandfather was Venezuelan and paternal grandmother African American)
I am of Cuban, Haitian, "Western Europen" and Choctow/Seminole heritage. I speak Spanish, English is my first language. I identify as a person-of-color.
I am "raced" by others in various ways depending on the context.
In places in the USA with large Latino poulations I am raced Latino. In other places I am either Black American or of some North African ancestry.
Statistics do not show the truth of the complexity of American identity because interracial marriage was illegal. Non marriage relationships and their children were not counted in the statistics.
I grew up in a predominantly white, affluent area in the Midwest. My heritage is English and Cuban. My great-grandfather was from Cuba. As far removed as that is,of the 4 children in my family, 2 of us look Spanish and the other 2 look English. I am asked on a weekly basis where I am from. People in Mexican restaurants come up to me and start speaking Spanish. If I say, 'I'm American', I get comments like -no, you're not white, or you shouldn't be ashamed of your heritage. If I say I'm of cuban heritage, white Americans make comments suggesting that I am a 'wanna-be'. Frankly, it's a little tiring. I now say I'm American of English and Cuban heritage. Because it has been made such an issue in my life, I feel a strong connection to the hispanic world. My 2 brothers that look anything but hispanic, don't think about it nearly as much as I do. I don't really see what difference it makes, except it has occurred to me that I may be eligible for a college scholarship based on my latin heritage, although I wonder if it's too far removed?
I consider myself American. There is not a single person I meet that does not ask me in various forms , with varying degrees of politeness, the question "What are you?" (As if I could possibly even be an alien from Mars.) With my dark hair, and non-white skin, my ethnic heritage is hard to identify. Sometimes it even turns into a guessing game. I am half "white" and half Vietnamese. My resigned response to this question is "My dad is from Vietnam." Granted, I am half caucasian, but nobody is interested in that and is definitely not the answer people are looking for. Moreover, I am never treated as some average caucasian. I think that people of mixed-heritage are forced by others to identify themselves in an acceptable way-one that does not include nuance or new definitions.
I think that "race" is a terrible label. In my practice as a nurse practitioner, knowing a person's "national" or "regional" background, was vital. For example, people who live AROUND the Mediterranean, whether north or south, are more likely to have sickle cell anemia. It was a protection against maleria. I would identify my patients as ALL of the national, ethnic backgrounds in my notes.
Did you know that Northern Europeans are more likely to develop Multiple Sclerosis (MS)?
I'd like to hear the guests' comments on two things:
1) The interaction of race and ethnicity (e.g., African-Americans and Black Latinos)
2) The concept of a White/Caucasian race as a relatively recent historical development, whereas previously, "White" was not always been considered a homogenous group
Essentially, the word black when used as an adjective becomes a negative qualifier that exists to condemn the thing it qualifies. This is evident in expressions such as blackleg, black eye, blacklist, black market, blackmail, black sheep, black hand, black plague, black horse, black widow, black day, black magic, black humor, etc., all of which, perhaps, unwittingly or purposefully, subconsciously cast the so-called "Black people" in light of the moral and spiritual connotation or implication of those expressions. While expressions such as white lie, white magic, white crime, etc., portrays immoral behavior or evil acts as "acceptable evil" or "mild evil".
In view of all that the black color has come to symbolize in society, particularly psychically psychologically, why would anyone, even people whose skin color may approach a true black color, accept the definition established by the terminology black? In view of all that the white color has come to symbolize in society, particularly psychically psychologically, one can understand why someone people would accept or choose the definition established by the terminology white. In society's parlance, spiritually or psychically, black symbolizes impurity and white symbolizes purity. Majority of the people may not know this, but the terminology white black or colored when used in relation to people, has spiritual or psychic connotation, because it is intrinsically used in relation to moral character.
It is all about definition. Definition positions for exploitation and destruction, people who have not acquired the ability to assert their rights, those who have lost the ability to assert their rights, and people who in the face of identity crisis engage in irrational definition of themselves as a protest or rebellious action, as we see in the so-called "black hiphop" culture and gangsta rap.
Definition establishes personalityby affirming it or by creating it. In definition, an attribute that becomes a great asset and advantage to some can become a great liability and disadvantage to others. Such is the case with the racial color codes that symbolize the identity of those defined as White people and those defined as Black peopleby virtue of skin color (which is hardly white or black) and the associations therewith.
One fourth of my heritage is Sammi
(the native people of northern scandanavia). This ethnic group was persecuted and marginalised in sweden, norway, and finland in many ways very similar to native americans. Is it right to belabor this element of my heritage instead of simply calling myself 'white'.
My father is African-American and my mother is South American, but her parents are both of European descent. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area I was exposed to many different cultures and races. I have always identified myself as mixed; Black, European and Latin. Even in a diverse place as this, as a kid in school I was often asked to pick one, mostly by other black children.
However, whenever I visit my mother's family in Argentina (who are all very fair skinned, blue-eyed folk), they always introduce me as "the American cousin".
When you spend time outside of this country, you really realize that we seem to have more of a shared identity than we sometimes believe.
If there is such a thing as "one drop of blood rule," then I am Native American, a blond (now white hair) blue-eyed Cherokee/Tuscarora/English/German/Scots/French person. My employer in 1980 would not let me check "other;" I had to choose what I was "most," but my Lumbee friend who was as black-skinned was allowed to record that he was native. BTW, DNA checking would not tell you that there was a Chinese man 15 generations back, as stated on the program, unless that was your direct paternal line. My direct paternal line is Scots/Irish.
Hi,
I am a Mexican permanent resident living in Oakland, California. It would be easy to identify myself as a latino. However, my father was born and raised in China before migrating to Mexico. My mother is a typical Mexican mestiza with Spanish and Native Mexican blood. Besides, there are Afromexicans in my extended family as well as new European (Swiss) members in my extended family, alll of them in Mexico.
Chosing to identify one of those races is ludicrous for me. My physical type can look more Latino than Asian but I have chosen to honor all those components in me by embracing them in different aspects of my lifestyle here in California.
Since people assume I am latino because of my looks and the fact that I grew up in Mexico I make a point in saying that I am Chinese-Mexican and that in my family other races and nationalities are present as well.
Thanks
Javier Ruiz
What most people say is a race is nationality, Scotish, Irish, German, French, etc.... Unfortunetly people think race, ethnicity, and nationality are interchangable, but they are not. There is one race, human, divided into 3 subset, and many cultural, nationalities, and ethnic groups. As to why most people only concider Black and White to be mixed, is because of the fight for power in the country. When you start talking about Latin America, it because even more interesting because by this countries stardard, Latin Americans are anything but "black" no matter how "black" they may appear.
I'm half Filipino half white and I don't identify myself with one racial group over another. I enjoy and appreciate both asian and white cultures and feel extremely fortunate to have the best of both worlds. Most importantly I see myself as a person, not a multi-racial individual. I wish everyone worldwide would view individuals as a person, not by race.
It is great that in current times people want to embrace their heritage and not blend into "white". I am half white and half latino (ecuadorian) and have found that it is important to understand each of my cultures and know of cultural icons that help define each heritage - be it growing up with Dr. Seuss "Green Eggs and Ham" and the movie "the Breakfast Club" or singing "Arroz con Leche" and reading the author Vargas Llosa. This allows me to feel I am part of both cultures, rathen than feel I do not belong to either.
My Mom is white and my Dad is African American. I came out with light brown skin and more caucasian features and straight light brown hair. I didn't really think of myself as anything but a product of my parents. As I've gotten older I have been in search of an identity. Am I white? Am I black? The very fact that these questions come through my head belies the fact that society is not quite ready to allow for both. We see this in the attacks of Obama. He has to be one or the other.
Starting in college people, those who knew me and complete strangers would come up and ask me what I was. Most were suprised, they would have guessed brazillian, italian, hawaiian etc. If you are black you must look stereotypically black, curly or even kinky dark hair, very dark brown skin etc. Every once and a while, a person would know my heritage because they had been exposed to biracial kids before.
I am an amalgam of a black dad and a white mom. I am not other and I am not the generality that is "mixed race". Though I do believe that the fact that mixed race is acknowledged is a step in the right direction to acknowledge the change in the make up in American society.
I was having a conversation with a friend who is from India recently. I referred to myself as "Euro" and he took offense. It was an awkward discussion because I, for the first time, was asked to defend my European ancestry. Now, mind you. I am white. My grandmother is half Cherokee/Osage. She considers herself white even though her life story clearly reflects that she is not "all" white. That aside, my grandfather's family has been keeping track of our family line since before the Nordic Invasion. We are English, our family still has control of our original homestead in England. Though my friend reminds me I'm American, not English therefore I can not be "Euro."
So here I am, stunned. Okay, so I'm American, my family is from England but I cannot take claim to my European ancestry.
Also, I am told that I cannot claim my Native ancestry, because my grandmother did not raise us in it. So, the census says (pun intended) I am white.
Problem is, my white friends ask me.. what are you mixed with? HA!
What conclusion have I reached? When I'm around white people I say I mixed with Indian. When I'm around all other non-white people, I'm white.
When I'm with my cousins from England, and then I'm mixed with American.
I am a Bi-racial(Black & White) person born in 1958. From a very early age I felt strongly that I did not want to feel it is right to choose one group over another. I am both. I check the "other box" when filling out forms. Choosing one over another is actively denying the other group. The one drop rule is racist. I feel I have a healthy perspective about people in that I want to interact with people based on their actions not the color on of their skin. I can not count the number of times I have been asked if I was born in another country because people can not figure out what background I am. In addition there is a large population that automatically will say I am Black and depending on the situation I go with the flow but think inside I am not black or white... I am me. I do not want to be indentified as white or black. I am mix raced. It makes me unique. I am a person of color of the world.
It seems to me that the conversation is sidestepping the legacy and reality of slavery and racism in this country when it comes to racial identification - espcially as it relates to black people. It IS important for people to be able to self identify and honor and include the multiplicty that is their identites, but often we are racially categorized by those outside our groups. Furthermore, people who are identified as black by the structures and institutions in our society have been and continue to be systematically discriminated against. So race is a myth but racism is alive and well. I see the term Black as political and strategic and implying a connection to the civil rights movment and continued struggle for racial justice.
I was taught as a child that I am black, however my physical features do not reveal that I am black. I???m the only one in my family with this unique and beautiful appearance. My Mother is black (of mixed decent) and my father is white. I lived with my mother and grew up adopting her culture since my father was absent from the picture. As a child I was questioned by others so much about my ethnic make-up and teased about my appearance in the black community that I began to dislike my physical appearance and wished I looked like the rest of my family. The constant questioning and teasing as a child affected me a lot. I felt black but, the questions and teasing about my appearance constantly reminded me that I was not just was my mother taught me I was. At this point in life, I don't like race labels such as black and white. When asked about my ethnic background now, I say that I am multi-racial. I have children now and I really haven't talked about racial categories much because they are small, but I think I'm going to have this discussion soon because just the other day my daughter called me white. It brought back a lot of memories.
If we want to live in a country that values all of it's citizens, we ALL need to stop worrying about "what" we are and start focusing on "who" we are. Dogs of mixed breeds show fewer health and behavioral problems. Hmmm, maybe they are on to something.
I'm a mix of white, black and American Indian that looks Hispanic. I could not imagine being just one race. When I was younger I discovered that because of my appearance I could blend into any kind of cultural scene. Since "Race" is such a touchy subject, no one ever asked, they all just assumed I was the same color they were. By being mixed, I'm accepted automatically by most people, instead of discriminated against for a small portion of my genetic makeup.
As a mixed Latina (Mexican mother, Anglo father) born in the late 1950s, I am so glad to have this discussion out in the open at last! My brothers and I vary in our looks (very Mexican to very Anglo) and we've been treated quite differently accordingly (readers will know what I mean). But all three of us experienced intrusive questions from whites as we grew up in the 1960s and 1970s about our origins. I wish I had a dime for every time I was asked "What country are you from?" Would have made a great college fund! Why did they care so much, I wondered?
I am proud and happy to be bicultural, bilingual, and biracial, and I agree with one of the NPR guests that our multi-racial heritage is a distinct advantage in the 21st century. But I can also say that I think those of us of mixed heritage have parallel experiences, regardless of the mix, so I feel comforted to find so many younger multi-racial people in society now. It was lonely there for a while!
I've only within the past two years discovered that my paternal grandmother was, herself, predominately of Native American heritage, but she and the whole family including myself all grew up thinking and believing that we are just "White." I technically have a "white" skin tone but when tanning at the beach it only takes me a short time to get darker, and once got so dark that friends could not even recognize me. When I was nine, having recognized that both she and my father were of olive complexion and looked "different" than everyone else who is "White," asked her where her ancestors came from, to which she said they were "Italian." When I was a senior in high school I started work on my family tree. One of the first things I noticed was the fact that there were no Italian surnames in the family. I puzzled over different possibilities (all of them from the "Old World") for a little over twenty years until I came to the current realization. Of course I'm "White" by cultural terms but I've been trying to connect with that part of me that was lost or covered up for whatever reasons. But I have started identifying myself as either "biracial" "Caucasian & Native American," or "other" on forms, etc.
i'm from hawaii, famous for its "melting pot" culture, where having more than one kind of blood is almost par for the course. here we have a word for "multiraciial" -- hapa, which basically means half. I just say I'm hapa here. I don't care for the term "multiracial" -- it sounds academic, stiff. Half caucasian and half japanese american, i feel i am of two cultures, something that never posed much thought or problem as a child, except when filling out forms such as the SAT, where there was a box for white, a box for Asian, and i could fill in only one. (this was in the 70s) i always took a few minutes, looking at it, which culture do i choose? i think i mixed it up. i feel lucky to be mixed, people can't pin down my background, allowing me to move freely. when i lived in new york's lower east side, i was pleased when old dominican women would talk to me in spanish. traveling in italy, people would talk to me in italian. (unfortunately i don't speak either language.) it's mainly pure caucasians in the u.s. and people in northern europe that people ask "where are you from?" "from america." "no but where are you FROM?" they need to know where that look of "otherness" comes from. it's a natural curiousity i suppose. even in hawaii, people want to know if that hapa side is japanese, chinese, filipino ... but it's more for finding similarities, finding if you grew up with similar traditions. as the human race continues to intermingle to a neutral brown, the questions and curiousity will slowly stop.
I agree with Stacey's comment that "who" should be more important than "what". I am me, who are you?
As one of your commentators stated race as a concept is a myth. It is also used as a propaganda tool of white supremacy. This use is fluid it is not fixed so don't look for it to be the same all the time. After your guest made that factual statement about race being a lie
your discussion should have switched to what is a real tangible way of differentiating between people's. That is culture, history, experience, nationality. language. Race as a construct / concept exists as a tool of the political and economic warfare that has been waged on non-white people by Europeans. Also please open up the variety of African American commentators you have on air it really looks like there is a conserted effort not to have African centered commentators on air. Do you know any? Dr. Naim Akbar/Tallahassee, Dr. Asa Hilliard / Atlanta, Dr. Maulana Karenga / Long Beach
My father is white and my mother is African American. I have 7 siblings of varying shades and features (from white/freckles/red hair to dark skin/ethnic hair. I've had a very "white" existence growing up which has affected how I self identify, I assume. Although my father would insist on me identifing as white (considered it a personal insult to him otherwise), it never made sense for me to reject my mother in this way. When a white person identifies themself, they look at their parents for the answer. I have always did the same...it's not that complicated. I have found that it was always those around me (mainly whites) who seemed to be confused. I have chosen to not accept what society feels a need to label me with and go with the truth. My experience is not that of a black person nor a white person. I am treated by society as neither black nor white and thus my own label of bi-racial fits well for me. Some of my siblings that consider themselves bi-racial and black, "appear" more black than I do and thus society treats them accordingly. I never got the racial slurs or jokes, or any other treatment by whites or blacks that made me feel black so it has been much easier for me to self-identify as mixed compared to some of my siblings. I consider myself a separate race, a combination of two.
I have been called Puerto Rican, Hawaian, White, high yellow,Mixed, Black, etc...depending on where I am. I don't get caught up in other's confusion and simply find their frustrated labeling humorous. My husband is east Indian, my siblings spouses/significant others are white, Filipino, Cuban, Jewish, and mixed. We don't see color even though we are aware that the society we live in does. The fact that in 2007 it is still a major issue and tip-toed around in media and in small family circles, is sad. I choose to be the change that this country desperatly needs and I never hesitate to correct anyone or speak out when I hear a racist or demeaning comment. I think if many sit and say or do nothing, they may avoid conflict at that moment but also become part of the problem and have no right to complain about the racial tensions in the U.S. I encourage all people, whether of mixed race or not, to be different and insist on doing what is right when called upon.
I am a half Korean and half Taiwanese male that was born in America but raised in Taiwan. I find myself struggling to find where I belong in our nation, where often ethnicity, religion, gender and nationality all play a factor into our cultural identity that we negiotiate with society to define.
Though I am biracial, I identify with my Korean Heritage more, despite the fact that I do not speak Korean nor do I affiliate with Christianity, which is the dominant religion for most Korean Americans. It is perhaps the food that I love so much, that causes me to identify with Korean Identity so much.
Although I look "mixed," I can not call myself that because people immediately think that means that my parents are of different races and they are not. My family is mixed going back over five generations. My mother looked white, but back then, you were just called black. Racial mixing isn't new, it just seems that way. I grew up seeing white looking relatives, who were identified as black. They weren't ashamed of it, nor did they feel like they had to explain anything. Black just meant you had some black ancestry, not that it was all that you were. A light skinned person, who saids they are black, obviously has racial mixing. Why do you have to say "I'm mixed" since it would be obvious. My niece is 4/5 white but looks black. If she went around saying that she was mixed, people would wonder why she was saying that, since she looked black. I don't think we need new words to decribe mixed race people, we just need to loosen up our preception of what black means.
[[Although I look "mixed," I can not call myself that because people immediately think that means that my parents are of different races and they are not. My family is mixed going back over five generations. My mother looked white, but back then, you were just called black. Racial mixing isn't new, it just seems that way. I grew up seeing white looking relatives, who were identified as black. They weren't ashamed of it, nor did they feel like they had to explain anything. Black just meant you had some black ancestry, not that it was all that you were. A light skinned person, who saids they are black, obviously has racial mixing. Why do you have to say "I'm mixed" since it would be obvious. My niece is 4/5 white but looks black. If she went around saying that she was mixed, people would wonder why she was saying that, since she looked black. I don't think we need new words to decribe mixed race people, we just need to loosen up our preception of what black means.]]
please lady ligh skinned blacks are mixed race you can`t tell light skinned blacks they can`t claim being mixed race why not say your multiracial we are just reclaiming what have been denied by white people for years.
Although some Mixed-Race people may make a
choice to adhere to a socio-political 'identity' that
is often referred to as "black", most people need
to try to understand that there is a big difference
between one's socio-political 'identity' (ex. "black")
and one's ancestral racial 'lineage' (ex. 'Mixed').
Just because a person adheres to a given
socio-political 'identity' does *not* change
the composition of their ancestral 'lineage'.
In other words, these Mixed-Race people who
adhere to a "black" socio-political 'identity'
-- are still MIxed-Race people regardless.
Also, the 'One-Drop' Rule (the eugenics-based, false
concept that 'any amount' of Black ancestral lineage
would then make a person "full Black"), which has
been unethically used to have Mixed-Race people
inaccurately seen and categorized as being the
exact same as being of a solely 'Black' racial
lineage, is just 'racism' - pure and simple.
The racist 'One-Drop Rule' (used only by the United States
government, by the way) was created during the antebellum,
chattel-slavery era by White racial supremacist in order to
get people to believe the false racist myth that the so-called
White "race" was "pure" and to falsely view the Black
"racial" admixture (even the slightest amount) within
someone's ancestral lineage as being "tainted".
To embrace the 'One-Drop Rule' is the equivalent of BOTH
embracing "racism" and embracing the false teaching
that a Mixed-Race person's Black lineage is "tainted".
My advice is that a non-Racist should *not* embrace
the concept of the 'One-Drop Rule' -- as "Black blood"
is *not* "tainted" -- and should never be perceived
or embraced as being so (not even in the
name of so-called "pride" and "unity").
In addition, legally-speaking, attempted forcible
application of the racist 'One-Drop Rule' -- against
any individual or group -- was made illegal and ruled
as unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court
in 1967 via the case of 'Loving vs. The State of Virginia'.
Through the 'Loving vs. Virginia' case, the U.S.
Supreme Court, ruled against both all of the laws
banning Interracial marriage -- and -- also ruled
that any so-called law which forcibly applied the
'One Drop Rule' -- was racist, discriminatory,
illegal, unconstitutional, and non-enforcible.
Thanks to the panel for pointing out that people need to stop forcing racial labels onto other people. You can define yourself as you choose but do not have the right to expect or demand that someone to choose an identity based on your perceptions/assumptions. Additionally, this society isn't going to get over the racial mess until it stops labeling people on forms, etc. or constanly asking the race question. Those who define themselves as white or black are equally guilty of forcing monoracial labels on mixed people.
In the interview with Debora Dickerson, she said that "interracial people are more interesting looking." Is that because they look less ethnic? So for example, Black/White mixed people tend to have averaged out features that make them look less ethnically African, and the same could be said for bi-racial people of Latino and White descent. They tend to look more European. So for example, Brazil (and all of South America for that matter) has a plethora of diversity in phenotypes, yet the Brazilians that least resemble the ethnically African population are the most glorified. I often wonder whether this embrace of "multi-culturalism" has more to do with the easing of racial tensions or the desire of ethnic minorities to assimilate and try to attain the status and socio-political benefits of resembling Whites for their children?
To "Joe"- I'm not saying you can't say you are mixed race. I'm just saying that if people see you, and it is obvious that you are mixed looking, well, why do you have to say it? If you say you are 'black', well, they should obviously accept that there is more to it than that. What I have found is that people want to really know the 'ethic' part of you, not the white. 'Black' and 'Hispanic' is a very loosey-goosey term. "Reclaiming"? I think it is usually pretty apparent, and has always been. I have grown up with mixed race family and friends for generations, and I have found that it just wasn't that big a deal to them. I just wonder why it is such a big deal now. It ain't new.
It's just color, people. It's beautiful and personal, but God, it's just color. It doesn't make a person good or bad or right or wrong. We need to take the emphasis off of color and put it into sizing people up for who they are and what they stand for.
"[[To "Joe"- I'm not saying you can't say you are mixed race. I'm just saying that if people see you, and it is obvious that you are mixed looking, well, why do you have to say it? If you say you are 'black', well, they should obviously accept that there is more to it than that. What I have found is that people want to really know the 'ethic' part of you, not the white. 'Black' and 'Hispanic' is a very loosey-goosey term. "Reclaiming"? I think it is usually pretty apparent, and has always been. I have grown up with mixed race family and friends for generations, and I have found that it just wasn't that big a deal to them. I just wonder why it is such a big deal now. It ain't new.]]"
because black then you could not claim to be mixed race back in those days you had to be black only no matter what you look like you had to expet what ever socity says.now we have a chance to reclaim what was deine by white racist people
Thanks so much for the "conversation" on the issue of being multiracial. My mom is white and my dad is black. After decades of being ignored by large greeting card companies and not having multiracial card options for holidays and special occasions, we started our own greeting card company - MIX IT UP (www.mix-it-up.net)! As a woman in my late 30's, I have COUNTLESS stories I could share, but all in all,I love my biracial heritage!
Interesting comments,I was born in the Caribbean TRINIDAD(larger island of Trinidad & Tobago West Indies)My mother is Karinya(aka Carib)Indigenous Indian, from South America ( Greater Antillies),East Indian(from Asia),and spanish descent(on her mother's side )her father's side is spanish,french(euro)and african(black) descent. My father's side is East Indian(Asian)& African(black) descent. I have always considered mysel as mixed until recent years where I started using multi-racial9 as dogs and other breed of animals are "mixed")
I have read so many literature, online(blogs),books etc. I was suprised at alot of the information I cmae across.I agree that the "one drop of blood or 1/16 blak makes you black' is RACIST.
As I continue my research I was shcked how "blacks" in the U.S. were forced to chose black or african american as their race when a large population of the mentioned are of native american descent smaller portion of white descent.I feel because race was a determinant for sucess and advancement in society it was used as another form of "slavery" to "control those if african descent.
Glad taht we are all making our voices heard. Weshould have a category to choose " multi-racial " the forms still do not include all that one needs to choose. My motto " A person's perception, prejudice(pre-judgement)and labelling of me has and will never define who I am " You are what you are made up of.I would like to do a simple experiment(test) with those that hold to the one drop(1/16) blood non-sense.
Again it is an individual's choice but in many cases african americans or those of african descent because of their features , hair texture, what has been instilled(if you choose black in some areas you will have a better chance hey ' afirmative action) etc.It is sad when "some black" leaders are against "MULTI-RACIAL" category because they fear they would lose the financial and other support from those that are multi-racial but have for centuries and so many generations been told to say " you are black" that these individuals will no longer put their minies and efforts to help them. Assumptions, speculations that's all, one can choose to support all,some or one group(s)of their racial background(make up) this is the FEAR...... and it is SELFISH that they would rather keep people in a deceived state of mind that would result to wholly bondage for generations to come again the cycle.
But not so for us and for our us , our children and future generations to come !
To be black in America is not to be of pure African descent. I sympathize with those who like to continue to define themselves as black instead of mixed race because, to be black in America for the most part, is to be mixed race. I'm not even talking about just black and white, but historically also native american, chinese, philipino, latin American and Caribbean. What do black people do then when others who are more recently mixed claim the title of mixed race. It implies somehow that blacks aren't of mixed race. This in fact can make it easier to deny diversity within the black community.
Ultimately, I respect the right for people to self-identify, it is good for people to have that choice, but that includes those mixed race people who still prefer to label themselves as black. I don't believe that is an inherent denial of mixed race. I personally consider myself multi-cultural, but not multiracial although I technically could be considered multi-racial. Ask any African whether Black American = African and I bet you will get a no, that is not the same.
I have always checked "other" before I stopped answering the race question altogether. I am 1/4 German, 1/4 Cuban, 1/2 Irish. My Cuban relatives are of Euro-Spanish descent, and many of them are very light-skinned. I grew up in a predominently Itlian-American city. I lived with my Cuban grandmother. The Italians did not accept me because I was both/either white/Cuban. My Irish relatives thought I was too dark (brown eyes/dark hair). My Cuban relatives said I was a gringa. I knew little of my German relatives, but they hated the "dirty Irish."
I look "white" but have always felt confused about my heritage. Am I Cuban enough to celebrate Hispanic heritage? Am I Irish/white enough to display a claddagh?
After my grandmother died, I was sent to a Catholic orphanage, where I was never fully accepted by the Italian-Catholic nuns.
I am mixed--not really Irish, not really Cuban, but wishing I looked more like one or the other.
My husband is of Norwegian descent, making our son Norwegian-Irish-Cuban-German. We do not talk about race at all, but I feel sad that "whites" are often seen as non-ethnic. Any pride in being Irish-American, German-American, Norwegian-American is frowned upon as racist.
I am a black cuban male living in texas where when I tell people that I am cuban they say no you are not you are black and it really bugs me, all my friends are of mexican decent, I have trouble trying to figure out who to identify with,because I look like any african american person except I have really thick curly hair.
I am "white" with French and Jewish ancestry, while my husband is Hispanic with aztec ancestry. Our son who is obviously bi racial, was raised to be proud and never ashamed of who he is. He's only 15 but when asked what race he is he says "I'm American"! He came up with that on his own and I don't know why but it made me so proud of him! And by the way who is actually one race anymore? People need to get over it!
i was wondering statisticly what the pertentage of childern have a father that is white and mother that is puerto rician
I have seen some real disturbing things happening with this new mixed race movement thing going on. I'm seeing that if you don't look like you are mixed you are,but if you don't look mixed you can't claim it. Now I am an advarage afro american,for those who don't know this means (mixed race). When I see another afro american I just assume they are mixed also. Black in american dose not mean you are PURE BLACK. When I have my daughter by my white husband she will not be 1/2 black,she will be more white than black. I am a light skinned black/native/scottish women. to me the new mixed raced people should be fighting to just get rid of all this pure race crap and stop trying to add on a new race. This is called colorism and I we have been there and done that.
Paper bag tests, light skinned clubs.I will teach my baby she is of the human race and an individual. That way no one can turn her into a tragic mullato.
We all get pick on in school your too dark your too light, The New mixed people need to grow so tough skin a be who they want to human. I met this one girl who had to tell me all of her heritage, and I looked at her and told her, Me Too. LOL she told me I looked black and I said I am. She still dosen't Get IT!!!.
I grew up in the South where I was painfully aware that I didn't look like anyone else in my family or community. People would always ask what race was I? My response would be that I was half black, half white. My mother is African American and father is from Venezuela, so that was my answer. Since my dad is from South America, I always believed he was only white and only Mexicans and Central Americans were all or part indigenous. But as I got older I had Mexican, Guatemalan, and Puerto Rican friends saying that I looked no different that one of them. Being curious and wanting to know the truth, I took a DNA ancestry test. It revealed that I had 41% African heritage, 33% Native American blood, and 26% European ancestry. I was shocked because I never believed I could be part Amerindian and my mother had no Indian ancestry at all. My father admitted to me that he was of mixed Quechua, Wayuu and Spanish ancestry. He had put white as his race on my birth certificate even though he was more Amerindian than European descended. My father said when he was growing up in Venezuela, most of the people in his town had Native blood but hide the fact that they were mestizo by only claiming their European ancestry. My mother also told me that on her mother's side there was strong Irish ancestry going back to her paternal grandfather. After learning the truth from my family of my multiracial ancestry, I feel like a void has been somehow been filled.
I'm half black half cuban. My Grandfather on my dads side was a white Cuban, but I'm brown complexed with curly hair.Afro-Americans believe that I'm black,but while other races can spot it a mile away. It's pretty hard though being mixed because you don't know where to fit in. Once black people find out that you're half black they tend to distance themselves from you.They're aren't that many Cubans where I live in Texas, but a lot of Puerto Ricans, but this history between the two are constant beef. We'll be friends for a while, then sworn enemies the next.
What if you don't "look" mixed?
I am the child of two biracial parents. My father is Syrian and African (Syrian mother and african father). My mother the child of a Scottish and carib mother and an african father. I look "light skinned" black, and when I am asked my race on a census form, I leave it blank, just to have the stupid clerk fill in African American anyway. There's nothing wrong with being African American, and I am proud of my black heritage, but I always feel sort of guilty that I have to deny a whole part of myself to conform to census data and guilty that I never change it on those forms because I don't want to get into a long discussion about my racial identity (which the recorder probably won't believe anyway because I don't look mixed).
I think the whole idea of these rigid race categories are truly a thing of the past as America moves forward. For instance, my husband is Irish and Native American. We have two kids who most people mistake for just plain white. What box should they check? What box should their children check. For us, race demographics are just a constant cycle of ignorance.
I am african american and my fiance is italian, my daughter is half african american and one fourth korean and one fourth caucasian. My complexion is dark, but my daughter's extremly light she's from a previous marriage. As long as my fiance is with us when we're out together people look but don't really stare, but if he's not there they stare so long that they feel obligated to say something. I've been asked who's daughter is that? Was she adopted? Her dad must be white? I've even been asked are you sure she's yours? These are questions are not only rude but hurtful, if she was my complexion these questions wouldn't be asked. My daughter is the most beautiful person inside and out, and as she gets older I just don't want her to go through the same thing. It's 2008 and who knows who's really mixed with what Why does any of that matter, I would love to have a shirt made that says "your ignorance is noted" for all of those dumb questions.
WHO CARES IF YA MIXED OR NOT WE ALL HUMANS DAMN GIVE IT UP!
THE CLASSIFICATION OF AMERICANS BY RACE AND ETHNICITY MUST END
The Racial and Ethnic classification of Americans is nothing more than institutionalized racism and must be ended. The United States of America has been known as a country of rugged individualism based on individual freedom and liberty. Why has America become a country obsessed with classifying its citizens into different racial and ethnic sub-groups?
The only groups that actively support the continued collection of racial and ethnic data are big government bureaucrats and "racial and ethnic special interest groups" that also happen to receive significant funding from the federal government. These organizations argue that identifying people by race and ethnicity is necessary in order to redress some past injustice and that the federal government must continue to collect and use this information in order to set up special racial and ethnic programs, affirmative action quotas and other set-asides for these groups, some of whom consist of new immigrants, illegal aliens and non-citizens. Nothing can be further from the truth. In a country where we can no longer ask people what religion they are, what their party affiliation is or what their sexual orientation is, why are we still asking them about their racial and ethnic background?
Americans are beginning to realize that racial and ethnic identification is more a matter of personal choice than anything else. In the 2000 Census, seven million American citizens refused to place themselves into a single category by refusing to describe themselves as only white, black, Asian, Latino or any one of the other specific categories listed, because they were of mixed race. Attempts by the government to create a "mixed race" box for the 2000 Census was met with resistance by racial and ethnic special interest groups like the NAACP and the National Council of La Raza, because they feared that a mixed-race box could pose a danger to the justification for their existence. The fuzzier such racial and ethnic categories become, the harder it will be for these racial and ethnic special interest groups and the government to traffic in them. If a mixed-race category were to be added, every brown-skinned person of mixed race registered in this category would shrink the government's official count of Blacks, Latinos, Asians or American Indians, eventually reducing their political influence and ultimately the amount of money these groups receive from the federal government, which amounts to approximately $185 billion a year.
Through the mandated collection and use of racial and ethnic specific information, more and more of American taxpayers' hard earned money is being routinely distributed to these racial and ethnic special interest groups at the expense of all other Americans who may or may not be members of these groups. Through executive orders, congressional legislation, affirmative action programs, racial set-asides, quotas and other programs based solely on race and ethnicity, our federal government is playing the key role that pits one racial and ethnic group against another, which could eventually lead to our destruction as a country.
Rather than helping a diverse population become assimilated and united as one nation, the Federal government is doing what the Nazi government of Germany did in the 1930's and 40's; creating government supported institutionalized racism by the intentional classification of it's citizens by race and ethnicity.
With the support of racial and ethnic special interest groups, our federal government seems to view our citizens not just as Americans, but rather as "pawns" in some social science experiment to be classified and separated into different racial or ethnic sub-groups for some unknown purpose. By mandating the classification of Americans into specific racial and ethnic sub-groups, the federal government and the advocates of "diversity" are actually perpetuating institutionalized racism and keeping Americans divided. Maybe the real purpose of collecting this data is to justify the continuing flow of government money to these racial and ethnic special interest groups.
If we want to help poor Americans escape poverty, get better health care, find a job or get a good education, why should it matter what their race or ethnic background is? The answer is: It should not! Americans need to come together as members of one country and remember that we are all individual Americans, regardless of race or ethnic background. Martin Luther King, Jr., inspired a nation when he voiced his dream for a color-blind nation, a nation in which people would be judged by the content of their characters, "not the color of their skin." The answer to this government encouraged racism is the concept of Liberty with a limited, constitutional government that is devoted to the protection of individual rights rather than the claims of different racial and ethnic special interest groups. Where Liberty is present, individual achievement and competence are rewarded, not people's skin color or ethnicity.
I will support legislation barring the federal government from the collection of racial and ethnic information about the American people and/or the classification of American citizens by race and ethnicity, including the collection of census information. Exceptions should be made for law enforcement, hospitals and medical research purposes.
I will also support legislation that bans affirmative action programs, racial set-asides, quotas and any other programs that give special preferences based on race and ethnicity.
By:
JOHN W. WALLACE
Candidate for Congress
New York's 20th Congressional District
http://www.FreedomCandidate.com
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