First, I'd like to say I'm a huge fan and an avid listener of the show. This is why I feel a bit apprehensive to give my second opinion; which is, I couldn't believe what I heard on the air today with the NABJ panel discussing Obama's blackness.

I share the sentiments of a couple of your panel members and that is the "is Obama black enough?" question should be seen as offensive and worthless.

Recently, NPR asked me to write an essay of a burning issue on my mind and isn't it ironic that this was the subject (http://www.npr.org/blogs/newsandviews/2007/07/speak_your_mind_defining_black_1.html) I confronted? Please can you highlight more pertinent issues and not petty ones like this?

P.S. Still love your show

Sent by Moji | 5:09 PM ET | 08-10-2007

As a white male, I've never really felt like I have had to defend my racial cred, but spending extended periods of time as a minority due to my skin color has made me more cognizant of such issues. However, I have recently felt compelled to defend myself as a member of the young tech savvy crowd. My recent subscription to Wired magazine was fueled by a sense that somehow I needed to spend that $10 for a year of monthly reminders of my demographic status. If there is some deeper reason for my subscription, I'm not conscientiously aware of it, but the advertisers are probably pleased.

Sent by Steve Petersen | 7:03 PM ET | 08-10-2007

Dear Michel,

In response to your query regarding the ways in which people of color must prove their ethnic credentials, I think it necessary to suggest that perhaps this dilemma is not solely unidirectional or limited solely to defining our ethnic identities?

That is to say, as a United States citizen of Chicano/Latino descent, I am constantly questioned as to the nature of my authenticity in various aspects of my daily life; both as a person of culture and also as an American citizen.

For instance, because I am educated, I am subject to having my cultural authenticity questioned, most often by those members of the socio-economically challenged community in which I was raised. In essence, the concern is usually a determination of whether my education has erased my cultural ties and therefore, my authentic Mexican heritage?

At the same time, within the culture of the academy, I am also quite accustomed to having my abilities and talents as a scholar questioned by colleagues! In this arena, however, the question surrounds my professorial authenticity, focusing on the merit of my accomplishments. Basically, has my cultural background garnered me special consideration, thereby rendering my qualifications as, at best, suspect?

And these are simply just two aspects of what we understand to be a cultural crisis of identity! What of our authenticity in terms of community involvement, politics, family, etc.?

The fact is, in a country in which race is largely held to be a non-factor in terms of civil rights advancements and the struggles of the movement, the truth is that race continues to matter.

And, one of the most prevalent results of this reality is that people of various ethnic backgrounds are subject to constant inspection and reflection upon what it means to be ______ enough for friends, family, peers, and ultimately, ourselves.

Perhaps the definition of identity, then, is simply the desire to understand just who it is we are as individuals in a society that seeks to generalize and define our collective cultural experiences as a whole?

I, for one, find the dilemma to be most fortuitous, in that these different situations invariably force me to ask myself difficult questions. And they are the kind of questions that help us understand what the late Jose Antonio Burciaga once dubbed, "The ironies of living within, between and sometimes outside of two cultures; the damnation and the salvation, the celebration of it all."

best,

-javier

Javier Martin Ortiz, J.D.
Chicano Studies Program
University Writing Program
University of California-Davis

Sent by Javier Martin Ortiz | 9:33 PM ET | 08-10-2007

I am moved almost beyond words by the courtesy and thoughtfulness of these very different responses. As Moji suggests, questions of identity can so often be a weapon, used to distract, divide, and demean. But as Prof. Ortiz suggests, identity is fundamental, how do we choose to define ourselves, and how do we locate ourselves within this great context we call America?

And Steve, thanks for reminding us yet again, as you so often do, that all experience is universal at some point, however particular it appears at any given time and place...

Sent by Michel, Host, ..heading home.. | 10:15 PM ET | 08-12-2007

Hi all,
I podcast the show because we do not get it in Virginia Beach, VA anymore. Today's show was so interesting and I would like to listen to the extended panel discussion. Can that be in podcast form instead of streaming? I, listen as I exercise. Thanks!

Sent by Tessa | 11:19 PM ET | 08-13-2007