Racial identity

[asterroc]

CNN has a series of interviews (videos) regarding people's identity as black. The first one is with a woman author, and discussed the "one-drop" concept, as well as self-identity and isn't half bad (though the camera work is mostly bad). If you watch the whole thing through, the next will load, but I haven't watched the others yet.

Comments

The one-drop theory is racist.

[(Anonymous)]

Of course it's racist to say that someone who (like Barack Obama) is black when they have one black parent and one white parent. This is racist despite who does the labeling. You see, this "one drop" theory has it's origins in the white racist idea that whites are better/superior than those of other races. (Racism the belief that one race is superior or inferior to another.)

Under the racist way of thinking, if superior white blood is mixed with even one drop of inferior black blood, then the white blood is tainted and spoiled by the black blood and it's all downgraded to black. That is the racist genesis of the "one drop" theory. I reject it. I'm black. I refuse for my genetic material (my blood) to be treated like a bunch of garbage that will taint/degrade whatever it touches.

It's racist whether propounded by Obama, Hillary Clinton, the KKK or whoever. Racist is racist--no matter who propounds it.

Unfortunately, black people have largely adopted this racist standard. Yes, they have done what the slavemaster told them. Such standard was for the benefit of the slavemaster and not the slave. Think about it.

This woman author(which CNN claims to be "one of four African Americans") is not black and she's not African American. She's mixed or multi-racial or biracial. CNN should stop promoting racism.

Re: The one-drop theory is racist.

[jrtom.livejournal.com]

Of course it's racist to say that someone who (like Barack Obama) is black when they have one black parent and one white parent.

So, what is this "black parent" and "white parent" you speak of? By your criterion, do you believe that there are any such people still existing in the world today (assuming that they ever did, considering that our ancestors ultimately all had the same race)?

In particular, you call yourself 'black'. Does this mean that you believe that none of your ancestors had white skin?

I don't intend to cause a flame war, and I hope that you don't read this as an attack; it's not. And I even agree with your basic point (that the categorization of someone as 'black' implies a 'contagion' theory of race as applied to non-whites, and that this is offensive). But it seems to me that you've demonstrated (if unintentionally) that it's hard to get away from using these terms even when we believe that they're inappropriate.

Re: The one-drop theory is racist.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

In particular, you call yourself 'black'. Does this mean that you believe that none of your ancestors had white skin?

And to further muck with the issue, what about blacks with albinism?

Or the fact that DNA studies have shown that all humans alive have a common male ancestor Y-chromosomal Adam, and a common female ancestor "Mitochondrial Eve, showing that regardless of the current usage of the term "race," once there *weren't* any races.

Re: The one-drop theory is racist.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I agree that the one-drop theory is racist. The author herself agrees with that statement, and says she identifies as WASP. The CNN series is definitely not well done (there's one about a woman explorer, and that article is more about age than race), but I think the point of this one in particular is to get people to question racial identity and to understand that it is socially constructed, not genetically.

I myself identify as multiracial: I'm half Chinese and half Jewish. I refuse to check only Caucasian, or only Asian. Neither one by itself identifies who I am. Multiracial is not a good checkbox either, as it groups me with people who are half Black and half Native American Indian, and people of that heritage will have lives drastically different from mine. I would rather check multiple boxes (as in the 2000 Census), but barring that I'm willing to check multiracial.

Re: The one-drop theory is racist.

[sirroxton.livejournal.com]

The one-drop theory is kind of a red herring, isn't it?

Certainly anybody who says, "Anyone who has any black ancestors is black" should be harshly censured, but who's saying that? Surely not Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.

Now, if you want to argue whether it's OK for a multi-racial person to self-identify as black, or whether it's OK for third-parties to classify them as black, or whether it's OK for questionnaires to present discrete race options, then we can have that discussion. But conflating that with the one-drop theory is just, well, trolling.

[jrtom.livejournal.com]

Here's an article on the same topic that I thought was interesting:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/14/barackobama.uselections2008

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Excellent article, quite introspective.