Obama's Not Black

[Number23]

From Marie Arana at The Washington Post:

"He is also half white.

Unless the one-drop rule still applies, our president-elect is not black.

We call him that -- he calls himself that -- because we use dated language and logic. After more than 300 years and much difficult history, we hew to the old racist rule: Part-black is all black. Fifty percent equals a hundred. There's no in-between."

Article here

I find this article really quite interesting but one thing that strikes me is that it doesn't seem to cross the author's mind once that Obama may actually refer to himself as black not only out of necessity, not only because of some antiquated racial identifiers based on protecting white "purity," but because maybe he gets a genuine joy and has a thorough appreciation for black culture. Simply put, maybe Obama just LIKES BEING BLACK. I know I do -- challenges, difficulties and all.

The author's discussion about intermarriage between colonial powers and "locals" strikes me as odd. I don't think very many "local" women had much choice when it came to sexual relationships with European conquerors. And I don't know if "marriage" was the end result all that often anyway.

[Winnipegosis]

1. What's the problem?

My sister (white) is married to a Filipino.

Their kids are half/half.

[elleng]

2. half/half

what/what?

NO ONE is truly black, I think; everyone is a 'person of color.' Me, I wish I had more! The 'problem' stems from colonialism, I think; maybe further back than that.

Some history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadroon

[Winnipegosis]

6. Half of each.

In this case: half white, and half Filipino. Their kids bear a resemblance of both the father and mother in various ways, and their skin color is lighter than the father and darker than the mother.

From the pictures I've seen, Obama is lighter in skin color, than his father, and darker than his mom. As well, many of his facial features are similar to his mother's.

Genetically, we all inherit 50% of our genes from each parent, so mathematically we are half of each no matter the racial make-up.

As far as colonialism is concerned, I think it generally a crutch to use as a true argument about "race."

[MrSlayer]

3. He is black, he's also white. He's been poor, he's been rich.

He is America.

[riqster]

77. Amen

I am French/Scot, have been homeless and am now successful. Obama looks and acts nothing like me, but we are very similar. And we are both Americans.

[Lil Missy]

4. I stopped reading at "He is also half white".

WHO THE FUCK CARES WHAT COLOR HE IS??

[Number23]

5. A SH*TLOAD of people all around this world care

For starters....

It's a source of pride for many, of ambivalence for others, of annoyance for some. But I think just about everyone cares.

[Winnipegosis]

8. Who cares?

Maybe the 5% of black people who didn't vote for Obama might have the answer.

[Lil Missy]

13. Maybe 5% of black people were color blind and had an honest difference of opinion.

[Kind of Blue]

9. I think you've got a point there. I remember when I found out

that Iron Eyes Cody was Italian and not a Native American. I was shocked, thought what a sham, but then asked myself, Do I really care? Not at all! I still loved him.

[madokie]

35. right on Lil Missy

Hes American and hes is our President elect. A few years from now he will be considered as one of the greatest of all time.

[NashVegas]

42. I Think a Lot Of People Have No Idea How Horrific That Sounds

Like, the white part balances out the black? As if that needed balancing?

[progdonkey]

7. Obama has chosen to identify more with his black half...

After Harvard he could've gone on to work at a law firm working for rich white people, but instead he embraced his black heritage and worked for poor black communities in Chicago. He married a 100% black American woman and has two black daughters.

That is, he's not "black" because he has black skin/genes, but because he has identified himself with the Black community in the US. He's arguably "blacker" than Clarence Thomas, for instance, who was born to two black parents but who married a white woman, seems more ingrained in the wealthy white community of this country, and has spent his life trying to screw over the black community.

I think the author is ironically falling into the trap of thinking of "black" or "white" being based solely on genetics. Being "black" (or "white") in this country is more than just a skin color--it's also a statement of shared identity. Obama is genetically half-black and half-white, but he is nevertheless a black man because that's his identity and his community.

[Winnipegosis]

11. Alright

What about Tiger Woods?

[progdonkey]

40. what about him?

He calls himself "blackinese."

And for this very reason. He doesn't want to identify fully with the black community, so he doesn't say, "I'm black"--I'm certain not as insult, but rather as not wanting to assume to represent a member of that community.

The author of the article, it seems, would refuse to even allow Woods to refer to himself as black, since he's got all those other races in his ancestry.

[EFerrari]

50. Not at all. She set up the binarism to challenge it. That's all.

And she makes a great point about Latinos being where "post-racialism" begins. There were many, many more African slaves taken to Latin America than to the United States and there was MUCH more intermarriage there.

She's not telling people what to call themselves; she's pointing out that there are many other choices besides white/black.

[Raineyb]

59. If that's the case then we have a long way to go

Because Latinos do have their issues with blackness as well. It comes across rather obviously on Telemundo or Univision.

[EFerrari]

68. Latinos are not a monolith just as "whites" and "blacks" are not. n/t

[Number23]

14. Can I just say thanks to you for being the first actual RESPONSE to the damn article?

I thought the article was interesting, posted it and have been getting some weird @ss responses. Almost as if folks read the title and just hit Reply without reading. I know that happens alot around here but damn.

And I agree with your response and also think the author, in the process of trying to ascribe outdated thinking to Obama and to others may actually be doing some outdated thinking herself.

She even says that "Obama refers to himself as a black man." So what's the problem?? Does he not have the right to refer to himself in a way that is most comfortable to him in terms of his ethnicity and his experiences?? It seems almost as if she's saying that Obama is being MANIPULATED into thinking himself a black man. I understand her point, but I don't think that realistically someone can effectively diminish another person's life experiences and TELL him what he is racially. Particularly someone as self-aware as Obama strikes me as being.

[progdonkey]

37. yeah, looks like the others didn't even read your original post...

The funny thing is that I was largely just repeating an argument made on a panel by Cornell West, who everyone knows spends his days trying to undermine the Black community. :P (That's sarcasm--paying attention, other posters?)

He said it in the context of "does Obama really deserve to be considered 'the first black nominee/president'--and therefore receive the support of the Black community as a whole? Or is it just that he has black skin?" West said that he does, because he's not simply a black-skinned man, but because he embraced that identity and began working for and living in the Black community, married a 100% Black American woman and raised two black daughters with her. (I think he even said "he ni**erized himself"--i.e. he chose to be in the oppressed group and subject himself to the attendant bigotry when he didn't have to.)

I mean, it's a positive thing that he's the first Black president! Why try to diminish it by saying, "Oh, he's not really a Black man, since he's half-white, too"?

I agree that the author of the article is basically trying to make a point about race that doesn't really apply to Obama but might be legitimate in a general sense. You can't just call someone black because he has black skin or has one black ancestor, since he might be like Tiger Woods and have a huge mixture of races in him (and, like Tiger, might not refer to himself as a black man). But if the guy calls himself black (and especially when he does so proudly), where do you get off dictating his identity to him?

[Number23]

46. Completely agree

Tiger Woods is often brought up as a comparison to Obama, but to me that's unrealistic. Tiger Woods is (IMO) obviously not comfortable identifying himself as a black man and goes out of his way to highlight his other racial components. And he certainly has the right to do so.

I completely agree with you and Dr. West (God, I love that man! I've even forgiven him for that hideous cameo in "The Matrix") that Obama has gone out of his way to embrace black culture and his black identity. He calls HIMSELF a black man, his mama called him a black man, and I'm sure that his wife and every who knows him well calls him a black man. And you know what?? That's good enough for me. :)

[Lil Missy]

16. So? What's wrong with that? What's your point?

[Breeze54]

20. Harvard equates ONLY WHITE people?

:wtf:

FELLOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.mfdp.med.harvard.edu/fellows_faculty/fellows/index.htm

2007-2008
gistand

Connie Gistand, MD


Hospitalist
West Jefferson Medical Center
Marrero, LA
lopez

Keila Lopez, MD


Chief Pediatric Resident
University of Chicago Children’s Hospital
Chicago, IL

robertson

Audra Robertson, MD


Chief Resident, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Boston, MA
steinberg

Judith Steinberg, MD


Medical Director
Neponset Health Center
Dorchester, MA
williams

Mallory Williams, MD


Fellow in Surgical Critical Care
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Boston, MA

Previous Years...


----

[Berry Cool]

34. This attitude skirts dangerously close to the "keepin' it real" cliche that "black" = "street"

or "ghetto," and anything that smacks of middle- to upper-class success = "white."

I personally find that offensive.

Not every corporate law job means "working for rich white people." True, he could've done an OJ Simpson with his private life and chose not to, and I think it's admirable that he chose to work as a community organizer, but I think he would have been no less "black" had he made other choices.

I mean, if you're going to judge his "blackness" based on those choices, why not his choice of schools, too? In that sense you'd have to call him "white." Why did he go Ivy League, instead of choosing historically black colleges?

I think judging someone based on those things is picayune and petty.

[Number23]

47. I think it is apparent that you and a few others

Have missed the point of the article and of Prog's post. And I understand that and it's okay. But it's the "I find that offensive" when you've missed the point thing that I find most discouraging.

[fed_up_mother]

65. I agree. The one drop rule.

I grew up in the south, where folks whiter than me were considered "black" because of the one drop rule. Because of that, I prefer to think of Obama as biracial. I'm not allowing the racists of the past to poison my thinking.

[shanti]

74. well yes

he's genetically biracial, but he's culturally self-identified as black. HIS CHOICE.

[EFerrari]

53. She didn't, actually, and the example of Obama is just a can opener

for her topic.

[shanti]

73. exactly

very succint and to the point! he's self-identified as black. period.

[funflower]

10. I'm soooo tired of hearing about Obama's race.

As far as I'm concerned, he's just a really capable guy who's going to be a great president. To the extent his experience as a partially black American means he knows some things you can't learn at the Petroleum Club, great. Other than that, I don't care one whit about what his ancestors looked like.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Hekate]

15. Having read "Dreams From My Father" I think this was an identity Obama sought out ...

... and in a real sense, chose. He could have remained in The Islands and been hapa-haole. He could have married a local girl and in the next generation his children would have had the usual Islands mixed-race background with the addition of this one exotic Kenyan grandfather and no one would have thought twice about it.

Instead, seeking identity as a black man, he went to the Mainland for college and ultimately married into the African-American community by marrying Michelle.

I think you are absolutely right--he has found his joy and he likes being black. But I also think my original intuition about him was verified when his wife was quoted as saying, "You can't really understand Barack until you understand Hawaii."

Time magazine had a couple of very good articles about that connection:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1858759,00.html?referer=sphere_related_content&iid=sphere-inline-sidebar

Friday, Nov. 14, 2008
Hawaii vs. Illinois: Battling over a Favorite Son
By Dan Nakaso / Honolulu

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1853792,00.html

Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008
Obama's Hawaii Trip: Family Comes First
By Dan Nakaso / Honolulu

:hi:
Hekate
expat kama'aina

[Number23]

18. Thanks, Hekate. What a great reply

But I also think my original intuition about him was verified when his wife was quoted as saying, "You can't really understand Barack until you understand Hawaii."

I love that. And now that I think about it, I think that Michelle is probably entirely correct. Having grown up in such a multi-racial environment was probably liberating in some ways and (perhaps?) isolating in others.

I think Obama found something in the black community that he had been looking for and embraced it with open arms. And now there are those who would try to deny him that. I don't think the author has any malicious intent, but perhaps she is not as educated on the topic as she thinks she is.

[Hekate]

24. The author should probably read his book and take it to heart

You are on target with the potential sense of isolation. The sense of local ethnic identity and culture is very strong, but it is based on Polynesian/Asian/haole mix. There were almost no black people in Hawaii that were not connected with the military. I got that a lot being an untannable haole; for 20+ years kept being asked if my father or husband was in the military. Implies you're not permanent, you are presumed to know dip about local culture. Enjoy your stay. One of the real means of defense is to learn pidgin, which at least creates cognitive dissonance in your audience. ;-)

I love it that Barack Obama's extended family ended up being so very much "of" Hawaii and that it is still his touchstone. It's still my touchstone, even though I left after my kids were born.

Hekate

[camera obscura]

17. Sometimes, all you can do is headdesk.

Let the guy decide if he is or not, people. Did I miss the point when someone appointed Marie Arana "Racial Identity Czar"?

[Number23]

23. I'm headdesking at some of the responses in this thread

FOR REAL.

Did I miss the point when someone appointed Marie Arana "Racial Identity Czar"?

I'm truly about to date myself, but... WORD. :)

[Breeze54]

19. and ... I'm a freckled, auburn haired, pale skinned, Irish woman .. like Mr. Obama

:eyes:

And what the FUCK does it matter?

Huh?

[orleans]

21. in our society of course he is black. and i'm damn proud of it.

we all should be.

[Breeze54]

22. But people are NOT proud he's black.. they're proud he's black AND intelligent!!

That was the proof in the pudding. ;)

on edit:

and what is pissing off some, is that he got an education and they did NOT!!!

They're to stupid or uneducated to know they could have done the same.

[ProfessorGAC]

25. Yeah, But They'd Be Stupid & Uneducated Anyway

So, that's a pretty poor excuse, don't you think? Whether Obama got an education or not, those folks would still be stupid. And, they'd still be uneducated. His going to Harvard didn't prevent anybody else from going to college. Just prevented one less capable student from getting into Harvard.

So, they're stupid. They're uneducated by their own doing. And Obama's education has nothing to do with either.
The Professor

[Breeze54]

28. That's what I said... wasn't it?!

:P

[ProfessorGAC]

38. Yeah! I Was Agreeing With You!

Why Breeze54? Just wondering. Something to do with year of birth?
GAC

[JustAnotherGen]

26. I'm bi-racial like President Elect Obama

I'm sick of the 'race' references as well.

And I thank you for pointing out this article and bringing it to our attention. :-) I've been in a Thanksgiving 'fog' and at my parents the past few days. Generally fogs and my parents go hand in hand. :rofl:

Anyhoo - If asked from a 'genetic' family history background - I'm bi-racial.

But, ahem - I had too many n-bombs lodged at me in my life, especially growing up in a mostly white community in the 70's and 80's. Therefore, I identify as black. At the end of the day, even though I don't live day-to-day focused on my race: I'm out there, doing stuff, doing my thing, and making things happen - as President Obama has done . . .

But old insults die hard. I appear 'black' - as does Obama - and therefore - in the American Cultural Experience - it's probably flat out easier to just be black.

Eh - I wonder if the author of the article isn't really expressing some underlying issues SHE has. And I agree on the colonial powers assessment.

Uh - no you dimwit - Raping black female slaves was NOT a 'relationship'. What part of rape/subjugation/demeaning another human being didn't the author get?

Hope I'm not coming off too abrasive, but I DID read the article - and to be honest . . . I hope Obama is pissed to high holy hell that the author is telling him what he is or isn't. She wasn't there - and she's never been with him when he was DWB or SWB or being black in a white neighborhood. She can bugger off.

[Breeze54]

30. I'm NOT bi-racial like President-Elect Barack Obama....

But I wish him the best of luck!!

"Uh - no you dimwit - Raping black female slaves was NOT a 'relationship'.
What part of rape/subjugation/demeaning another human being didn't the author get?"

We're still asking that question of all women. :(

Edited to correct mistyping. Oops!

[DoctorMyEyes]

39. My family is bi-racial

and if any of them got arrested or were wanted by the police you can bet your last dollar that they'd be described as black or "light skinned black, not fucking "half white". :eyes:

Like you, and Obama, they "look" black. What are they supposed to do - wear and arm band or t-shirt so people can readily identify them as "not really black"? I think the author is full of shit and needs to go ponder something else in her little world.

[Raineyb]

60. Interesting that you should mention the police

Because every time I read one of these "Obama's not black" musings from either a message board or a journalist it pisses me off no end. It's almost as though because Obama is so great everyone wants to claim him. And he couldn't have to be just black. "He's biracial, he's half white." These things are said as though the white half of him mitigates the black half of him.

If he weren't President Elect Barack Obama and he were say, local crime suspect Barack Obama do you really think these same people would be so quick to point out that he's also half white? Hell no! And I think that's why these types of articles annoy the shit out of me. The man calls himself black and you've got people going out of their way to say he's not black after the man just called himself black. Why? Is him being black not good enough?

Unfortunately, to answer my own question again, the answer would appear to be yes.

Regards

[Number23]

48. I don't think you're coming off as abrasive at all

And I really appreciate your post. I hate to say that I'm a bit surprised that even on a "progressive" site like DU with lots of "worldly" folks that the issue of race is still so misinterpreted, still so completely misunderstood. Your post is spot on.

I hope Obama is pissed to high holy hell that the author is telling him what he is or isn't.

Just look at this way JAG, if you're a mixed race person and it pissed YOU off, then I can see it doing the same for other mixed (black/white) folks including Obama. Both of my parents were black and the article sort of pissed me off too. :)

[Qibing Zero]

67. This is the key post of this thread

Bi-racial people in this country tend to be considered black not because they themselves choose 'black or white', but because they are labeled as such from the start (and often in a negative way).

[JustAnotherGen]

I'm bi-racial like President Elect Obama

I'm sick of the 'race' references as well.

And I thank you for pointing out this article and bringing it to our attention. :-) I've been in a Thanksgiving 'fog' and at my parents the past few days. Generally fogs and my parents go hand in hand. :rofl:

Anyhoo - If asked from a 'genetic' family history background - I'm bi-racial.

But, ahem - I had too many n-bombs lodged at me in my life, especially growing up in a mostly white community in the 70's and 80's. Therefore, I identify as black. At the end of the day, even though I don't live day-to-day focused on my race: I'm out there, doing stuff, doing my thing, and making things happen - as President Obama has done . . .

But old insults die hard. I appear 'black' - as does Obama - and therefore - in the American Cultural Experience - it's probably flat out easier to just be black.

Eh - I wonder if the author of the article isn't really expressing some underlying issues SHE has. And I agree on the colonial powers assessment.

Uh - no you dimwit - Raping black female slaves was NOT a 'relationship'. What part of rape/subjugation/demeaning another human being didn't the author get?

Hope I'm not coming off too abrasive, but I DID read the article - and to be honest . . . I hope Obama is pissed to high holy hell that the author is telling him what he is or isn't. She wasn't there - and she's never been with him when he was DWB or SWB or being black in a white neighborhood. She can bugger off.

[JustAnotherGen]

27. I'm bi-racial like President Elect Obama

I'm sick of the 'race' references as well.

And I thank you for pointing out this article and bringing it to our attention. :-) I've been in a Thanksgiving 'fog' and at my parents the past few days. Generally fogs and my parents go hand in hand. :rofl:

Anyhoo - If asked from a 'genetic' family history background - I'm bi-racial.

But, ahem - I had too many n-bombs lodged at me in my life, especially growing up in a mostly white community in the 70's and 80's. Therefore, I identify as black. At the end of the day, even though I don't live day-to-day focused on my race: I'm out there, doing stuff, doing my thing, and making things happen - as President Obama has done . . .

But old insults die hard. I appear 'black' - as does Obama - and therefore - in the American Cultural Experience - it's probably flat out easier to just be black.

Eh - I wonder if the author of the article isn't really expressing some underlying issues SHE has. And I agree on the colonial powers assessment.

Uh - no you dimwit - Raping black female slaves was NOT a 'relationship'. What part of rape/subjugation/demeaning another human being didn't the author get?

Hope I'm not coming off too abrasive, but I DID read the article - and to be honest . . . I hope Obama is pissed to high holy hell that the author is telling him what he is or isn't. She wasn't there - and she's never been with him when he was DWB or SWB or being black in a white neighborhood. She can bugger off.

[City of Mills]

29. I'm not convinced he's 50% white.

How black are his parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents? Their parents?

Can we extrapolate the relative blackness of his ancestors so we can have a definitive percentage of his blackness? What if he's actually 62.9345% white? What do we do then? What if he's 37.7441% black? I'm not sure I'd feel different about him? Would you? Can we do a skin color analysis or something?


Is there a standard 'black' skin color we can judge him against, or should we further refine the equation and judge his color against the color of the average Kenyan skin color? What if he has ancestors from Chad? or Egypt? Does that throw off the equation?

But then, is black in the blood or the skin? His blood is probably red like mine...not just because I have native american ancestors...does Obama?

JUST HOW BLACK IS THIS MAN???

[Breeze54]

31. Very facetious...

;)

[RC]

45. I think you are on to something here.

However most people are incapable of thinking past 'definitive' things like "...one drop black..."

Hawaii has a very diverse culture. Pure Hawaiians are all but extinct. Too many people that "visit" Hawaii never leave downtown Honolulu/Waikiki, but they think they have been to Hawaii and therefore know something about it. They don't really.
The different islands have great diversity. Obama's birth place helped very much to define him.

[EFerrari]

55. Henry Louis Gates on Colbert:

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/156634/february-26-2008/henry-louis-gates-jr-

:)

[H2O Man]

32. Obama is brown.

One can see this by looking at him.

In American culture, brown-skinned human beings are generally called "black."

[Breeze54]

33. Obama is HUMAN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:eyes:

[EFerrari]

51. On the other hand, so were the Irish for a time.

:)

/oops

[H2O Man]

56. Many still are.

(grin)

[EFerrari]

57. Lol! It's funny because among my college teachers

the one who seemed to explore the whole issue of race was not Ishmael Reed but a young Irish assistant professor who seems not to be at Cal any more. He was the one that booked Rushdie for us before the fatwah, he broke ground on so many fronts.

To our teachers. :)

[H2O Man]

58. Recently,

I got an e-mail from one of my old high school teachers. I had him in 10th grade; he lost his job for allowing our class to listen to tapes from the Hurricane. He also introduced me to the book Summerhill. I hadn't heard from him in 35+ years.

It's been good talking with him.

[WeDidIt]

36. Under that logic, most African Americans aren't black

There is hardly an African Amerian in the nation without white ancestry.

[Chemical Bill]

41. If anybody is "African-American" it's President Obama.

I have a problem with the NYT calling him the "first black president" on page one. In that context, I infer a subtle message to white people that "he's not like us". IMO the media should be colorblind. They might speak of an "Italian-American", but they would never use a term that more than a few people consider derogatory, even if many people use it in everyday conversation. Well, there are enough people who are offended by the racial term "black" that I think the NYT should not use it to describe our President. While I don't take political correctness as seriously as some might hope I would, I think the NYT should have a higher standard.

OTOH,I wouldn't often think of correcting anyone in casual conversation, especially if it follows the words "Say it loud....".

Bill

[NashVegas]

44. The Times Is an Interesting Case

They do the same thing to white people. It will often refer to us, not as white people but "whites," just as it does "blacks."

The color becomes the subject, not the persons. They might speak of a Native American, but they would never say "reds," nor would they call Chinese people "yellows."

It's a disturbing message and yet, if it drives a point home, I'm all for it.

[Number23]

52. I have a competely different take

I have a problem with the NYT calling him the "first black president" on page one. In that context, I infer a subtle message to white people that "he's not like us".

I take it as the NYT referring him as what he refers himself. And since that's what the man says he is, that's what he is.

Well, there are enough people who are offended by the racial term "black" that I think the NYT should not use it to describe our President.

I've been black my whole life and have never come across a black person offended by the term "black." Who are these people you speak of???

[gollygee]

43. The way discrimination works in this country, if you look black, you are

It's how it works here. If he looks like he is, he's faced the discrimination.

But the whole thing seems pretty irrelevant. Why is there all this discussion about how black he is or isn't anyway?

[RedCappedBandit]

54. Exactly. nt

[Fearless]

49. Nothing like the nightly dose of racism to really get the blood flowing...

Seriously though... Most "black" people aren't actually black then. Intermingling during slavery and post slavery (particularly within the American Indian community) has left precious few who claim to be black actually 100% black genetically. Isn't then black, like white, a series of gradients anyways. There are different types of black. Is he one and not another? Of course, he isn't descendant of all black people, just a particular group. Some white people are in there too. I'm German, Irish, and Polish. So what. I'm also American. Isn't that what's supposed to count if indeed we're going to run the nationalism gauntlet? I suppose some people just like division.

[Connie_Corleone]

61. A black person who is a descendant of slaves isn't black either I guess.

Since most of us have some White in us also. My Great, great grandfather on my grandfather's side was white. I had a great, great grandmother on my grandmother's side who was Native American.

In this country, if he looks black, he's black. Obama identifies himself as black. End of story.

Who the hell wrote this? Sounds like someone who doesn't want to admit that we have a black president.

[TahitiNut]

62. If my father was a brunette and my mother was a blonde, and my hair is dark brown ...

... does that make me "half blond"?? :eyes:

Each and every one of us 'sees' a different world. We live on different planets. Every individual 'sees' a world looking back at him or her and reacting, often subliminally, in a different way. When we walk down a city sidewalk, walk into a bank, walk up to a department store counter, approach a stranger, eat in a restaurant, ride on a bus or subway, go to school, apply for a job, and engage in the millions and millions of activities we all do on our different planets, we each see others react in different ways. Those reactions are almost solely based on cultural prejudices (literally judgments before knowing anything about us other than our appearance). When the 'world' Barack sees is the Planet of the Black Man in America ... then he's black.

Every one of us has a right to self-identify in whatever way we wish. I believe it's my duty to honor that.

[Number23]

71. LOL According to the author...

If my father was a brunette and my mother was a blonde, and my hair is dark brown does that make me "half blond"??

A deep, penetrating understanding of racial influences and social history is involved to answer that question. You can't trust your lying eyes, you know... :)

[TahitiNut]

72. I'm in far greater agreement with Melissa Harris-Lacewell than the author cited.

Besides, she's enormously attractive, too. ("Attractive" is about far more than mere appearance.)




Here's Marie Arana ...

[elkston]

63. This is a touchy subject for some of us blacks.

Because it seems that whenever Obama does something worthy of praise, certain whites will go out of their way to restate his bi-racial status. The implication is that his "white" half is responsible for all the good stuff.

There is no dispute that he was raised by mostly white people. But he got an equal dose of potent genes from his white mother and black father. His Dad earned an advanced degree (a PHD I think) and was accepted to study in the USA so he definitely had the smarts along with his mother.

White supremacists are always trying to assert that we are intellectually inferior so whenever somebody tries to say that Obama is not black, it pisses me off. Its like they are trying to "steal" him from us.

[gollygee]

64. Ooooh is that what this is about?

I was clueless. I haven't been able to figure out why this has even been discussed. It seems obvious to me - anyone who looks at him would have to say, "Yes, that is a black man." He absolutely would have grown up being discriminated against for being black. I couldn't understand why people seem to wonder if he's black, or why there's so much discussion.

Thank you for the explanation. Now if someone says something about that to me, I will recognize what is going on in their head.

[fed_up_mother]

66. Good point.

But the real racists think he is tainted by his African heritage, no matter what. :( And just go to Free Republic, and you'll find that 98% there can't even admit that President elect Obama is an intelligent man.

I prefer to think of Obama as biracial because I refuse to live under the one drop rule that my elders did in the south. I hate that kind of thinking.

[EFerrari]

69. Did you see Jon Stewart and Obama talking about the "Bradley Effect"?

Excellent spoof of this very issue.

By all accounts, Obama's father was a brilliant scholar.

[Number23]

70. Excellent point, elkston

His Dad earned an advanced degree (a PHD I think) and was accepted to study in the USA so he definitely had the smarts along with his mother.

That is always so CONVENIENTLY overlooked, isn't it?? :) His dad got into Harvard before he did. In the 60's when I'm sure that you could count on one hand the number of black Africans getting advanced degrees at Harvard.

I'm black and my husband is white. We both have advanced degrees, and mine are from very prestigious U.S. universities. I wonder if 20 or 30 years from now, when our daughter goes out and does great things in the world, if my husband's genes will get more credit than mine??? :shrug:

[JonQ]

75. So is he not the first black president then?

Also the ad at the top of the page, afro-romance, is perfect for this thread.

[CBGLuthier]

76. I always use the "how would a racist treat you" rule

And I guarantee that every white racist in the world considers the man to be black.

And how on earth does this author know for a certain fact that Mr. Obama's mother was 100% white? Just a drop of indian would drop him below the 50% threshold.

BTW, under this argument Tiger Woods is Asian. Earl Woods had some Indian in him for sure. So Tiger Woods is 50% Asian and the rest a mix of indian, black, and probably a little white too.

Frankly I find the whole article a little nauseating and wonder exactly what agenda it serves.