Black in America: It's not just about the color of your skin
Editor's Note: In today’s United States, is being black determined by the color of your skin, by your family, by what society says or something else? Soledad O’Brien reports “Who Is Black in America?” on CNN at 8 p.m. ET/PT Sunday, December 15.
By Moni Basu, CNN
(CNN) - What is black? Race. Culture. Consciousness. History. Heritage.
A shade darker than brown? The opposite of white?
Who is black? In America, being black has meant having African ancestry.
But not everyone fits neatly into a prototypical model of "blackness."
Scholar Yaba Blay explores the nuances of racial identity and the influences of skin color in a project called (1)ne Drop, named after a rule in the United States that once mandated that any person with "one drop of Negro blood" was black. Based on assumptions of white purity, it reflects a history of slavery and Jim Crow segregation.
In its colloquial definition, the rule meant that a person with a black relative from five generations ago was also considered black.
One drop was codified in the 1920 Census and became pervasive as courts ruled on it as a principle of law. It was not deemed unconstitutional until 1967.
Blay, a dark-skinned daughter of Ghanian immigrants, had always been able to clearly communicate her racial identity. But she was intrigued by those whose identity was not always apparent. Her project focuses on a diverse group of people - many of whom are mixed race - who claim blackness as their identity.
That identity is expanding in America every day. Blay's intent was to spark dialogue and see the idea of being black through a whole new lens.
Soledad O'Brien: Who is black in America? I am
"What's interesting is that for so long, the need to define blackness has originated from people who were not themselves black, and their need to define it stemmed from their need to control it," says Blay.
Blackness, she says, isn't so easily defined by words. What is blackness for one person may not necessarily be that for another.
"And that's fine," Blay says. "Personally, my blackness is reflective of my ancestry, my culture and my inheritance."
"Black," in reference to people and identity, she says, is worthy of capitalization. Otherwise, black is just another color in the box of crayons. (CNN, like other news organizations, does not capitalize black or white.)
For young Americans, what's black is gray
CNN interviewed some of the people who participated in Blay's project to find out how they view themselves. What follows are their insights into race and identity.
Kathleen Cross: Black as a descriptor of color makes her identity hard to accept.
Black and white
California author Kathleen Cross, 50, remembers taking a public bus ride with her father when she was 8. Her father was noticeably uncomfortable that black kids in the back were acting rowdy. He muttered under his breath: "Making us look bad."
She understood her father was ashamed of those black kids, that he fancied himself not one of them.
"My father was escaping blackness," she says. "He didn’t like for me to have dark-skinned friends. He never said it. But I know."
She asked him once if she had ancestors from Africa. He got quiet. Then, he said: "Maybe, Northern Africa."
"He wasn't proud of being black," she says.
Cross' black father and her white mother never married. Fair-skinned, blue-eyed Cross was raised in a diverse community.
Later, she found herself in situations where she felt shunned by black people. Even light-skinned black people thought she was white.
"Those who relate to the term 'black' as a descriptor of color are unlikely to accept me as black," she says. "If they relate to the term 'black' as a descriptor of culture, history and ancestry, they have no difficulty seeing me as black."
At one time in her life, she wished she were darker - she might have even swallowed a pill to give her instant pigment if there were such a thing. She even wrote about being "trapped in the body of a white woman." She didn't want to "represent the oppressor."
She no longer thinks that way.
She doesn't like to check the multiracial box. "It erases everything," she says.
She doesn't like biracial, either. Or mixed. It's not her identity.
"There's only one race," she says, "and that's the human race."
"I am a descendant of a stolen African and Irish and English immigrants. That makes me black - and white - in America.
Biany Perez: Too Latina to be black, too black to be Latina?
Blackness and culture?
Biany Perez, 31, loves Michael Jackson but she doesn't know the Jackson Five. She didn't know that "Good Times" was a television show about a black family struggling to survive in south Chicago. Nor was she able to pick up certain colloquialisms in the English spoken by the black kids in the Bronx, where she grew up the daughter of Dominican parents.
Some people questioned Perez's blackness because she didn't fit into their definition of black.
She spoke only Spanish at home. She watched Telemundo and listened to Puerto Rican boy band Menudo.
She wasn't black enough because she was Latina and not Latina enough because she was black.
"The way I look shakes the image of Latina," says Perez, a program manager at a nonprofit in Philadelphia. "As I started getting older, I felt more comfortable in my skin."
Now, she calls herself Afro-Domincan.
"I think black is a broader definition I also embrace," she says. "Black is more than just saying that I am an African in America. It's political.
"It's about me connecting myself to my ancestors."
For Perez, black is about empowerment.
Kristina Robinson calls herself black over Creole.
Colorism
Creole identity is a complicated thing in Louisiana, says Kristina Robinson, 29, of New Orleans.
It's an ethnicity, a cultural designation for people descended from colonial settlers in Louisiana, mainly of French and Latin lineage.
The term Creole was claimed by the French and Spanish settlers in colonial times but it also referred to Africans and people who were a mixture of races. Those mixed-race descendants became a unique racial group and sometimes even included Native American heritage.
But in popular representation, Robinson says Creole has come to be defined as skin color.
She doesn't want to deny the rich Creole history but she doesn't identify as such if it means moving away from her blackness.
Black people think that her embrace of Creole means a rejection of being black.
"I never wanted to distance myself from my black ancestors," says the creative writing graduate student at Dillard University.
"They are the ones who claim me."
In her light skin, Robinson understands the insidious ways of colorism, a system in which light skin is valued more than dark skin.
"Colorism is a major problem within the Creole community and the black community," she says. "It's underdiscussed. It's perplexing and vexing how to work out this idea. I can see how the one drop rule is why we have so much colorism in our society.
"One drop is a lie," she says. "Black plus white doesn't equal black or it doesn't equal white. It equals black plus white."
She calls herself black. But other people think she is from India or the Middle East, especially in her academic work environment, where she does not have black colleagues.
"The assumption is I am not black," she says.
Ultimately, she believes environment plays a big role in identity.
Few people, she says, think that of her sister. One reason may be that her sister has more of a button nose. But another reason is that she works in a field with more black people, whereas Robinson finds herself in academic settings where she is the sole black woman.
Robinson acknowledges her lighter skin gives her privilege in a color-conscious society.
"But in those situations where you have to identify yourself and you choose to identify yourself as white - there's a big denial going on there.
"I do think it's troublesome when someone who is of mixed race chooses to deny that part of them that was oppressed," she says.
James Bartlett: White privilege means the freedom not to have to address race.
Race equals identity, or not?
Race is a social construct; identity is personal.
That's how James Bartlett, 31, views it.
"I'm black, I'm biracial," he says of his black father and Irish mother, who met and married in Louisville, Kentucky, just a few years after a 1967 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional.
He was raised in an all-black neighborhood; his mother was the only white person on the block.
"I interchanged between saying I am biracial and I am black," he says. "The culture I live in is black. I felt black because black people considered me black. That was because of the one drop rule."
But later, when he went to Ghana, the locals thought he was from Lebanon. Kids called him "Oburoni," the word for a white man.
Bartlett felt as though he were being told he was not who he really was even before he could interact with them, as though they were taking away his black identity.
"It put me on the complete opposite side of the coin," Bartlett says. "The first reaction was to put me in a box."
In America, people thought of him as a lot of things but not usually straight-up white.
"It's difficult for me to separate race and identity," says Bartlett, the newly named executive director of the Museum of Contemporary Diasporan African Arts in Brooklyn.
He is black, he says, because he didn't grow up with white privilege. What is that? The freedom, he replies, to not have to address race.
"I definitely didn't grow up with that," he says.
Being white in America is also knowing that people who look like you are always representing your interests in institutions of power.
"That is the essence of white privilege," he says. "Regardless of changing (demographic) percentages and numbers, racial representation is going to remain out of balance for quite some time."
In some ways, Bartlett says, he has been more attuned to race as a light-skinned black man than he would have been had he been darker.
Bartlett feels white people in America are threatened by the tide of color across the nation and that it will give rise to an us against them" mentality.
"I think blackness will change, too," he says. "The biggest change in the near future will be the end of blackness as a diametric opposite to whiteness."
Charles Cloud: He could have passed for a lot of things. He chose black.
Here and abroad
Charles Benjamin Cloud, 63, remembers a time when he was angry at all white people. That was in the time of the white water fountain and the black water fountain.
"They had their side of town; we had ours," he says of his childhood in New Bern, North Carolina.
As the son of a Cherokee man and a part-Cherokee, part-black woman, Cloud could have passed for something other than black.
"If I had decided to tell everyone I was Puerto Rican or Mexican, people probably wouldn't have known a difference," he says.
But he didn't.
"I never wanted to identify as white," he says.
"Blackness is a state of mind more so than a physical experience. But back then, physical appearance was much more of a black identity than it is now."
Cloud joined the Air Force and traveled the world. His light, ruddy complexion threw people off. The Turks thought he was Turkish; the Iranians thought he was from Iran. He even passed for Greek.
But back home, he chose not just to be American. He was black.
Sembene McFarland gets strange questions because of her skin condition.
Losing color
What happens when you lose your color as is Sembene McFarland, a 35-year-old emergency room nurse in Newark, New Jersey?
She has a condition known as vitiligo and is losing the pigmentation of her skin. The disorder affects people of all races but is most prominent in those with darker complexions.
McFarland describes herself as "garden-variety black" but once her vitiligo became noticeable, she found herself the target of outlandish comments.
When McFarland was working at a cash register job at a Barnes and Noble, a customer told her, "If you got rid of the rest of the color, you would be a really pretty Asian girl."
"Thank you very much," McFarland told the woman. "Have a nice day."
Now, she can't relay the story without laughing out loud.
Others have wondered: Were you white first or black first?
"That blew my mind," she says.
Her skin condition shows how people think of being black so literally, she says.
"When I think black, I don't think a particular shade," she says.
McFarland was 16 when she first learned she had vitiligo. It was tough. At that young age, no one wants to stand out.
Later she laughed. In high school in Mississippi, her classmates always joked she wanted to be white. She spoke like a white person. Some people said she sat like a white person - all proper.
Now here she was, turning white.
In the end, McFarland says, it's not about black or white. It's all the shades of gray that make people uncomfortable.
Brandon Stanford: My complexion is not black but I am black.
Unique but certain
Brandon Stanford's parents met in school in New Jersey. His mom's Irish family rejected her for dating a black man.
They've been married 37 years.
In that time, a lot has changed about being a child of an interracial marriage. For one, the man who occupies the White House is the son of a Kenyan man and a white American woman. Many Americans think being mixed is "cool."
Stanford, 29, has his own take.
"I wouldn't say that being mixed race is either cool or not cool," he says.
"I'd say it's a reality that one can choose to embrace by seeing the beauty of a world where the possibilities of transcending the limitations of race and racism exists if one is able to recognize the oneness of humanity. Is this not what our democracy is supposed to represent?"
Stanford, a graduate student in African-American studies at Philadelphia's Temple University, has had his identity questioned by both whites and blacks. That makes being mixed race difficult for some.
Some times white people speak about black people in front of Stanford, assuming he is white. He lets them go on for a while and then says: "By the way, I am one of them."
"I have a unique position in the world based upon what my complexion is," Stanford says. "I always have an opportunity to unsettle people's minds."
But Stanford has never wavered on his identity.
"My complexion is not black, yet I am black," he says.
Stanford doesn't deny his Irish ancestry. The Irish, he points out, were thought of as inferior by the English. They, too, faced discrimination in the United States. Black people were often called the "dark Irish," he says.
But the Irish in America distanced themselves from the anti-slavery movement in the interest of joining the white mainstream, Stanford says. That's where his connection to the Irish stops.
"I identify myself as African-American because of the history of the culture," he says.
Kaneesha Parsard: Blackness stems from a moment in history.
The past in the present
Black unequivocally.
That's how Kaneesha Parsard, 23, grew up. She was the daughter of parents who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica in the 1980s.
She didn't understand what her father's ancestry - her grandfather was Indian - had to do with her.
"I took the one drop rule pretty seriously," says Parsard, a graduate student in African-American studies at Yale University.
Parsard's father was born in British-ruled Jamaica. He was raised with Indian people but identified as black because, she says, of how exclusionary Indian communities can be in Jamaica.
She began to think about her own identity when roti and chicken curry appeared at the Thanksgiving table.
"What I have come to realize is that ... people's history is intertwined, that being mixed race is not at odds with being black," she says.
"When we think about blackness, it's usually along a black-white context," she says. "But there are many histories, interesting histories of resistance."
For Parsard, blackness stems from a moment in time in 1492, with the discovery of a new land and a history of brutality that followed.
Appearance is a primary factor for many Americans in determining race and identity. For Parsard and others in Yaba Blay's project, it's not.
About In America
What defines you? Maybe it’s the shade of your skin, the place you grew up, the accent in your words, the make up of your family, the gender you were born with, the intimate relationships you chose to have or your generation? As the American identity changes we will be there to report it. In America is a venue for creative and timely sharing of news that explores who we are. Reach us at inamerica@cnn.com.
Black in America
iReport
What is exciting about these personal stories is that people finally feel free to express how they feel about being black or interracial. They no longer see it as a liability, but something to be proud of. This is what America in its ideal form is about: understanding that you have something to contribute positively from your place of origin. It is a profound statement of how far we have come as a nation in being able to embrace all people as real people. Finally, it is becoming "self-evident" that each one of us has something to contribute as human beings, no matter where we originated or what gender or religion or . . . we associate ourselves with. In a day when fiscal cliffs loom near and war and terror, this growing self-understanding of Americans is, for me, a sign of hope that we still have a future as Americans.
Waa waa waa I'm black and oppressed. I need Soledad to tell me I'm ok.
I wish CNN would like at their own comments and change up the freaking game already. Was this segment produced by a first grader? I wish I was part black just so I can feel special and unique once in my life.
Little early for black history month, isn't it? Or have we decided we need a whole season for black history?
Omg....lol!
Last I heard blacks are free from slavery. Stop beating a dead horse. Get over it or see a shrink. Stop these articles which promote division.
Didn't read the article did you?
I hope you tell Jews to get over the Holocaust too.No one wants to forget the past more than a group that has some bad history.
Add another person to the list of people who are nauseated by the appearance of another of these "Black in America" stories. The president is black for crying out loud. Why not do a story about "Asian in America." It would mainly be pictures of Asian people studying and becoming doctors, engineers, and research scientists. That is why you won't see that story. Please CNN, no more articles making black people into unique persecuted victims. It sends the wrong message to black people and everyone else is tired of it.
You see, it's news to cry and complain that life isn't fair because I'm (insert color here). But who wants to see someone working hard to accomplish thier goals? Where's the news in that?
Who really cares about this subject?
When a tan, brown or black person is walking down the street, do not send them energy of hate.
Honestly, I belong in heaven. I do not feel like I belong on earth. I can not identify with black people or date anyone.
You? And a lot of other people.
I used to be Jealous of pure raced women. I am 41, never married, 1/2 Cheyenne, 1/4 black, no hanky panky virgi* and a loner. I was never afforded the opportunities to marry within a culture. I did much research on human orgins and such. I now realize how much this earth is a Prison Planet and am happy single. Very much too myself.
Evidently you, John. You read the article. Advice - don't trace your ancestry.
You seemed to care enough to post how much you don't care.
People who are interested in understanding all aspects of the human experience. I call them "human beings".
What is this?
This division is the issue.
These types of articles are pure garbage.
There is something inherently racist about this entire article. Stop being proud of being different, and then complain that you're being treated differently.
Bravo Shingo! Best comment!
I am 41 never married female, virgin, half Cheyenne-Native American, 1/4 black, giggle, very happy and do not fit in.
I DO NOT see black! I see human! I HATE this division. My best friend is black. I'm white. The race card is destructive and serves only those who WANT to be victims. Racism is rare and has been successfully choked out of most of America. It lives in Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Rev. Wright and the media. They only feed you articles like this so you BELIEVE there is a problem and you eat it up. The real world does NOT manifest racism in word nor deed. It's only manifest in the minds of people who believe they are preyed upon. God bless Trayvon and the millions who were used and took the bait in believing in a problem that didn't exist. May peace reign!
Rare? Really? The tea party based its campaign on Obama not being a "real" American.
It seems like we hear this story from CNN ever 6 months. Can we get a new topic already? ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz
II know, how many specials has done on this topic, too many.
This crap again, keep bringing up race yet again Solidad. Who flippin cares?? How about what is it to be Hispanic, White, Asian, Muslim, Jewish ect. Always with the Black thing. Get over it, time to move on.
Do you know what "White History" is called? It's called HISTORY!
The "one drop rule" has to go! It's the most ridiculous racist concept I've ever heard. Barack Obama is just as much White as he is Black. So why is he always touted as a Black man! Every Muslim has a Jewish ancestor and every Klansman has African roots. We all do if we trace our ancestry back far enough. People should be accepted based on their actions not rejected because of the color of their skin. If everyone was White this world would be a far less interesting place. It would be like flowers all blooming in Blue!
Soledad = CNN = no relevant news
Black in America = White in America = Asian in Amerca = Hispanic in America
Move on aleady
No it doesn't. Everything in your everday life says that it doesn't. There are similarities yes, but the intracacies of race, culture and gender makes a HUGE difference in life experiences my friend.
My family is native american and my niece has vitiligo..
When you loose skin pigment its very hard.. Identifying with your race must be something other than color...And it must be something we can all be proud of.. NO matter what race we are..
its all part of being human..
I know its an old cliche' but.. Roses are not all white or red.. We live in a colorful world.. And in every other thing we love that..
So why can't we love it in humans also??
I do.. I think black people have beautiful skin colors.. So do my people.. Everyone should love the skin they are in..
Its sad that the diversity in humans is still not appreciated...
The best way to tell is drive 1 MPH over the speed limit in a hick town. If you get pulled over, then you're black, or Hispanic.
A hick town? A "hick" town? Exactly what is a "hick" town? Hmmm? Right.
Bigot much?
That's cool. Im Mexican-American.
this is why racism still exists in america. Because worthless media members write articles about it. The vast majority of US citizens could care less about race. it doesn't affect our lives one way or another what the race of those around us is. But fools like this author and people who play the race card every 5 seconds are perpetuating it. nobody is out to get you because of your skin color. Nobody is disrespecting you because of your race. Stop trying to turn every little thing that doesn't go your way into a racial issue. Only then will racism truly be ended.
Instead of asking what it means to be Black or Asian or European or male or female how about asking the very important question: What it means to be Human? Now my statement might sound bigoted but to tell the truth we are all humans the only thing that really sets us apart is our ethnicity. We need to stop worrying about our ethnicity or our religious beliefs and start trying to remember that we are all humans deserving of the same level of rights that everyone else has.
The man that helped Jesus carry the cross was from Niger. From wherever that is!
It means always remembering your long dead relatives were slaves and clutching onto that fact like a security blanket.
For some. Not all! Personally, I am sick of victim hood. When I listen to women talk we all sound the same.
Personally, I harbor no jealousy at all! It is the same generic conversation! Many races.
Soledad has a race fixation. Or she simply thinks it makes her appear "savvy." All these stories do is make viewers change channels. THEY ARE BORING! On one hand, CNN pundits tell us we need to look beyond color and on the other, they rub our noses in it. GET OVER IT. Give us the damn news & leave your pontificating to politicians. SHEESH already.
AMEN SAM!!
Being Black! Proving to the world that you do not see the need in 2012 to see color anymore and know were just human and no one group should get special treatment for anything. Just be human.
This article just reinforces the "one drop" rule, in my opinion. Where are the people who are of mixed race who identify with BOTH/ALL sides. I'm half white/filipina and embrace both sides of my heritage! I am proud to call myself bi-racial, personally. My husband is black. Our children are now half black/quarter white/quarter filipino. We are not raising them to "identify" with one race. We will not raise them to say they are black just because they have black blood. Why would they want to deny the rest of their heritage? It doesn't make sense to me, these people who are mixed and call themselves one race or the other. We should all embrace and accept diversity, no matter if you're a "purebred" or not.
I like you comment: Just a small correction ~~ There is no black blood - but I know what you mean.
Cry on someone else's shoulder. I couldn't possibly care less any longer about race. That's what happens when you run it in the ground. If we weren't racist before, we sure are by now. Enough already.
Exactly. "...not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
"I couldn't possibly care less any longer about race."
And yet here you are.
RE: James Bartlett
I'm a Ghanaian, and i'm rather sorry that James felt our calling him "obroni" was an accusation of his not being black enough. I can totally see why he'd feel that way, but I just wish someone in Ghana had explained it better to him while he was there. Yes, the word "obroni" did originally refer solely to white people (because given our colonial history, white people were the only non-Africans we had come in contact with.) Over the years however, with globalization and all that good stuff, we have come to use the term to refer to any non-Ghanaian (any non-African, to be specific.) Frankly, today, the word simply means "foreigner." The word has not changed, but the context has. It's not a race thing. The concept of race isn't as pronounced in Ghana as it is here in the States. Black people of any non-African background or with any skin tone would be called "obroni" as easily as would a caucasian, asian etc. Also, there are many bi- and multiracial people in Ghana. That people thought him Lebanese is probably because some of his physical features appeared more similar to the many Lebanese people who live in Ghana.
Nobotodaydy cares about whos black and whos not black now days.Theres to many other real problems to worry about
My cousins on my mother's (her sister) side have African ancestry from Mexico from my uncle's side going back to the late 19th century when African slaves were brought over or made their way to the mexican coast. There is still a large community of Mexo-Africans on the pacific coast of mexico and the influence is evident globally in the cuisine and music to this day.
Soledad... girl move onto some more enlightening reporting... what sucks about being black in America is reading this garbage you put out there!
WOW! After reading comments on here, it validates what I have been saying for a long, long, long time. "If you want to ALL be treated equal, QUIT POINTING OUT THAT YOU'RE DIFFERENT!
FYI: It's 2012 – there is a black President now!...As well as every other profession out there: Judges, Lawyers, Doctors, Actors,etc. etc. etc...........Do you want to "OVERCOME"...... DO IT! The opportunites are out there FOR YOU.............................go out and DO IT!!!! ................. DO IT NOW!,,,,,,,,,,,,Anything YOU want! No one is holding you back BUT YOURSELVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you mean no one is holding you BLACK but yourselves!
i agree with you . all people have the potential to be succesful , it's what they make of it. if a person is constently told that they are being judged by race , then they start to believe it . a person needs to apply themselves as to what they want . bottom line is if a person wants to get ahead they have to work for it .
Absurd. We are different, but we want to be treated as humans.
Automated anti-censorship repost:
Holy crap CNN really wants racism to still be a widespread thing, don't they. I can't believe some of this garbage I'm reading in the article. Why is this on here, honestly?
Are they running it on television too? Somebody must be watching this nonsense if they're still doing it.
Blacks can do anything these days, even rise to be President of the United Sta... oh wait.. Blacks are victims!! The whole world is racist against blacks!! And you must keep voting Democrat or else everything will get even worse, even faster than it already is.
I feel discriminated against and left out. What is white? No one has ever talked about that on CNN! Why does it have to be always about being black???????
did anybody actually read this article?
I skimmed.
And from what i read, trust me when I say you're not missing much. It's just a bunch of pompous talk about having a hard time growing up and fitting in.
"We're victims, feel bad for us and feel bad that you've got a leg up," that's the article in a sentence.
I skimmed.
And from what i read, trust me when I say you're not missing much. It's just a bunch of pompous talk about having a hard time growing up and fitting in.
"We're victims, feel bad for us and feel bad that you've got a leg up," that's the article in a sentence.
Nope, just more racist views leading to more racism.
I read the article from beginning to end. It is not racist or about racism. It is not about not being successful. I think all the people, who were interviewed are intelligent, successful blacks. It is about colorism, however. What they are saying is the degree of blackness or whiteness over the centuries has made the difference in how blacks were and are perceived. If you don't believe this is an issue in America, you have your head stuck in a pillow sack.
How to cure the ills of the Black community – stop smoking crack. stop killing each other. stop robbing and raping white people. stay in school and study hard. take care of your children. marry a man and then have children. keep your families together. stop having multiple children with three different fathers. stop expecting me to pay for your children's food, education, housing, health care and transportation. Did I miss anything?
No, that about sums it up. Of course, those engaging is such activities don't use the internet to read the news, but to blather to each other about how "cray" things are and somesuch.
So there's little hope for change.
And your comment is exactly why CNN does stories on race. Good job stereotyping a whole race of Americans.
I think USA is the only country in the world that makes such a big deal out of race. that's part of the problem already.
I assume you must be from Russia, I heard that they are very racist over there; they still kill black people on the street whenever they can land their hands on one....
I don't think about "black" until someone brings it up. Sure I see obvious external differences but that's where the difference ends. My parents were rabid racists but I outgrew it as I got older and now I choose to see the similarities in people and not just blacks but everyone from different colors and culture. Viva la difference!.
We should all be forced into inter-racial husbandry. Then, after a few generations, we'll all be one color.
So as a halfling of white and hispanic ancestry, I'd get assigned a black girl, an Asian, or an east Indian or something. I could work with that. Are Russians different enough to be considered another race? those are hot.
http://racism-education.tumblr.com/post/20468906876/why-reverse-racism-doesnt-exist
I am half Cheyenne and 1/4 black. in my younger days I was called stunning ( I am now 41 as of Nov 2nd and still look very young). Native Americans try to say that they do not care about race but they do. If you are tainted with black they do not accept you as their own. My Aunt came to visit us in San Francisco and told my mother as a young child, why are you married to a black man? They think they are better than blacks. Every single race thinks that they are above black people or those mixed with black. It amazes me when people from Africa try associate themselves as better than African-Americans. If they got their country together it would not be so bad.
All in all I feel blessed to be born in America and the town I live in. I will not name it. Love your neighbor as yourself and be polite to others, but do not be a doormat. The Cheyenne people have cars and Military Under ground bases from the very Rich named after us for emergencies.
I used to be Pentecostal and am now a "Christian". I never voted for Obama, but it opened up my eyes to Religion and hatred that I have not experienced before.
@Move on! Everyone thinks they are better than black people. No matter how much low self esteem a person will suffer he or she will think, "At least I'm better than blacks". Everyone feels a need to look down on someone else in order to mask their own insecurities. A perfect example is how black Africans try to detach themselves from African Americans. Yet, their native African countries are in ruin. The sad part is that it not true and has never been true that blacks are inferior. We are the original phenotype/culture of the planet and the last to change to a changing world. Blacks use to run this world and looked down on the cave dwelling paled skin Europeans. Now things have been reversed for the last 700 yrs. West African lost its world domination in the 13th century. So I guess what comes around goes around.
Clearly you're not very familiar with world history...
@Ken It is obvious you are not familiar with world history. Prove anything I wrote as being wrong. I dare you.
Move On says:" It amazes me when people from Africa try associate themselves as better than African-Americans."- NOT TRUE. You may have been indoctrinated to feel that way. I can discuss this offline with examples that will shame me and probably put a smile on your face.
Move On says:"If they (Africans) got their country together it would not be so bad."- VERY TRUE. It is my passion and a dream that I am working towards to make concrete changes
Your awesome!
Guess whos coming to Dinner
Sidney Poitier telling his father
"You think of yourself as a colored man, I think of myself as a man"
Holy crap CNN really wants racism to still be a widespread thing, don't they. I can't believe some of this garbage I'm reading in the article. Why is this on here, honestly?
Are they running it on television too? Somebody must be watching this nonsense if they're still doing it.
Why would anyone be proud of their RACE?? You were born the way you were born without any say in the matter. Be proud of what you DO (if there's a reason to be).
"I'm white" Good job!
"I'm black" Shame on you!
"I'm hispanic" Hmm... We'll see.
Lol!
AMEN BOB!
More useless information, with stories like these you don't have to wonder why there is still racism...
Soledad O'Brien needs to kick back with a joint, watch Roots reruns till she goes blind, and then find another subject to bore us with.
At least do us all a kindness and keep her blathering about race in America nonsense restricted to Black History month. I couldn't tell you which month it is, because we all have to listen to what terrible things happened to African Americans just about every day of the year.
I have to cringe every time she or LZ Granderson hits "send" to post another line of whining, self righteous, and very, very tired complaints about the plight of African Americans. I sometimes think my white co workers sit and marvel at how us black folks can get anything done with all the self absorbed, righteous indignation built up inside us.
So how bout all you race baiters go find something else to annoy us over? When even your fellow African Americans are tired of what you write, it's time to move on.
I concur! I'm tried of Soledad O'Brien's reports! It is time for CNN to move on to a different topic. And, yes, I'm a black woman.
Well said! I hope Soledad is reads these! We're sick of it Soledad..move on!!
Ummm, I am still waiting for CNN to make White in America!! How long do we have to wait?
No, white people are rich and super privileged and crap. Duh.
By the way, I've yet to see my "You're White" checks or be given favors by those in power.
Lets get the ball rolling, shall we? White boy missing out on his birthright here. Chop, chop people.
I am light skinned blacked, olive skinned, with straight hair, usually mistaken for Hispanic. I am African American and very proud of it. I have 2 light skinned siblings and 3 brown skinned siblings. All from same mother and father. My mother taught us no difference between us. We all were black in America and we had to try harder than whites to get ahead was the lesson. On the outside there is a difference in color, but on the inside we see the same personality traits ,and most faciial characteristics are the same. . It's a beautiful thing being black, so many things you see and many things you have to overcome, but the beauty is that it takes you to a higher place. If I am lucky enough to be born agian, make me an African American!
Amen
What's ridiculous in America? Maudlin, divisive and self-serving articles like this. Is anyone special because of the suffering they've experienced? No. If anyone is special it is because of the love, patience and humility they demonstrate.
Driving too fast in a Mercedes while intoxicated, thinking it's cool?
Read these articles:
http://www.amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/colorblind/201112/colorblind-ideology-is-form-racism
Coming from an article that claims to go after stereotypes:
"She spoke like a white person."
What does this sentence even mean?
Probably that the person in question wasn't peppering their speech with "nawmean" (know what I mean), "dashjt cray" (that s- is crazy) and other strange "urban" expressions and colloquialisms.
Or so I'm assuming, anyway.
Im tired of black this black that. Lets brown this or brown that. Lets white this or white that. How about yellow this or yellow that. Stop trying to divide. You people are sure doing a good job of it.
Jamie is so correct. If race shouldn't be an issue why does the left in this country always bring it up. It's a non issue ,so stop trying to compare whites and blacks. Unless they want there to be a issue!
"You People" what is that supposed to mean.....lol
Toby
Though paper bag brown, I understand this tension. Bravo. More! More! Insightful.
They're at Nordstroms, shopping.
Your statement proves the point of white privilege. It's ashame you don't cant see how being able to get a job, not be killed b/c someone thought you had a gun, etc are all apart of white privilege. It's the benefit of the doubt, it's lighter sentences for the EXACT same crime, it's an infrastructure with your interest at heart, it's an entire country that is founded on the genocide of one untrue and the enslavement of another. It's oppression, discrimination, and its lasting affects. Is it your fault? Of course not but that fact you don't ( or can't ) see how you DIRECTLY benefit from this system is a huge part of the problem.
I think the people at CNN are racists....the hate white people.
Lol, and if retawded was a color you'd be it!
I am a young white male, Polish-American...and I can't get a job, if I can't read, if I get pulled over and arrested b/c I have crack-cocaine in my sock, if I rob people to get the new hot shoes and get me a gold chain, if I sell dope on the corner to make money for cable tv for on 72in flat screen (I mean, to feed my family), if I don't gradutate high school b/c I can't seem to make it to school at least 3 days a week, and so on with all these other issues that face the youth of all races and colors every day....is it ok and safe to say that I too can blame the white man and have that be "my out" when explaining my behavior in search for acceptance and reasoning from society?
I knew I was wasting my time visiting CNN.com. It's not the conservatives that are obsessed with race, it's you people!
CNN's gotta keep the blacks riled up so they keep voting Democrat instead of going third party. Don't worry black people, just vote Democrat and all your problems will be solved. Oh wait, record black unemployment?! Record blacks on welfare??? Record blacks in jail???? See that's because you need to vote even more Democrats. The house/senate and presidency isn't enough.
(black female) I beg you pardon? Would you do me the honor of repeating that in English? Make haste. I pray you.
Free at last, free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last! Now I can *finally* reclaim my black ancestry as a white American. Just like Family Guy!
I was filtered once, lets try this again
that about sums it up, mabye next year we can shorten black history month into a weekend or like a 30min info commercial
True, so much for the freedom of speach
Reading the comments here only proves the need for reflection.
Can not believe some of the comments made on here... the social ignorance is overwhelming.
It means nothing! As long as people keep seeing black and white then nothing is ever going to change. I don't care what color you are, your a human. Get over the color differences already people and grow up!
Racism is tribalism by another name. Birds of a feather flock together. Racism is inherant, biologic, and instinctive. That is one process in specieation. Moralizing doesn't help. Colorism in the episode was blamed on favoratism and manipulation by white slave owners. If the shows writers and producers spent any time abroad they would see that colorism is a social practice in any society, in Africa, Asia, Europe, or the Americas. Extract head from sand and smell the roses!
Here's what it means to be black in America: it means being grossly over-represented in every area. Blacks only make up 13% of the population, yet all you have to do it flip around the channels on your TV and you see them everywhere as if they made up 85% of the population. They even get stupid articles like this written about them.
Why are we having this discussion?
You have issues, serious issues
Why, because I speak absolute, total truth that nobody has lived who can ever prove wrong?
It means we get to whine about it being unfair and wes get more free stuff !!!!
Soledad!!! Where are you!!
interesting that a man who is of cherokee descent considers himself black. from the information provided, if accurate, this gentleman could be an enrolled member of the cherokee (or perhaps the lumbee– his family in nc, perhaps he is descended from cherokee who refused the trail of tears and re-emerged years later, now known as lumbee). that is a separate cultural group, native american. why does he not so identify? was he brought up to believe indian heritage was societally even less than black (which in the south was treated incredibly poorly).
I am half Cheyenne and 1/4 black. in my younger days I was called stunning ( I am now 41 as of Nov 2nd and still look very young). Native Americans try to say that they do not care about race but they do. If you are tainted with black they do not accept you as their own. My Aunt came to visit us in San Francisco and told my mother as a young child, why are you married to a black man? They think they are better than blacks. Every single race thinks that they are above black people or those mixed with black. It amazes me when people from Africa try associate themselves as better than African-Americans. If they got their country together it would not be so bad.
All in all I feel blessed to be born in America and the town I live in. I will not name it. Love your neighbor as yourself and be polite to others, but do not be a doormat. The Cheyenne people have cars and Military Under ground bases from the very Rich named after us for emergencies.
I agree with your grandmother
Why not talk about statistics.....what percentage is the '"black" population in America? How about crimes committed? Inmate population? High school and college graduation rates? Teen pregnancy? Single mothers? .....etc... .... ...
just gotta spell it backwards 🙂
My view is that all Americans are African Americans as science currently shows that modern human life originated from Africa. My view isn't a creationist one. It's more about adaptation to the environments in which early humans migrated. That being said, I consider myself a human being above anything else. After that, I'm an American and a descendent of African slaves. Going further back in history, it's likely we're all composed of material flung from "dying" stars.
Actually, science has proven again and again that modern life did NOT originate in Africa. The "Out of Africa" theory has been dead for quite a while now.
You're a liar and you know it. The "Out of Africa" theory is still very much valid, and is accepted amongst academia and scientists around the world. Every person on this planet is descended from Africans.
It's a good thing they moved out of Africa to build a civilized society ... or we would still be living in grass huts.
Hmmm.
It means you can jump?
For some reason, I've always be obsessed with black people.
Jesus, CNN should be embarrassed by their constant race baiting, all they are trying to do is start arguments on race, not bring anything insightful, or enlightened to the discussion.
How about doing an article on what it means to be an AMERICAN....not a BLACK American? Racism is alive and well in this country no thanks to our mainstream media like CNN who are constantly bringing it up and telling blacks they are victims.
It is sad that our world, past and present , judges by color, and looks. What is important is what is on the inside, what defines our spirit, our actions, and our decissions. We are all human, but none of us are the same, that is what makes us strong, indiduval, unique.
It is a good story to bring awareness, of the plight of the new black person, in a few generations, we all could be a mixed race. Maybe then we can all just get along.
If we're all a mixed race in a few generations, prepare for the US to look like Africa.
Thank God not in my lifetime.
This is black in america. Rick Ross http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU9TouRnO84
Black is beautiful. White is beautiful. Yellow is beautiful. Tan is beautiful. Red is beautiful. Brown is beautiful. Multi-colored is beautiful.
Jealousy and discontent is ugly. Thou shalt not covet.
everyone knows that all 8 hours of a childs school day should be spent learning about blackness. and mlk.
Ahhhh... who really cares? Seriously? What it means in America is you vote 95% for another black person.
CNN loves to stir the race pot.
That they do *sigh*
If you consider yourself against "racism" and this type of article does not disgust you then you are, yourself, racist. What is it to be Black? What is it to be White? Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Aleutian, Aborigine,.........HUMAN! PERIOD! That is what we are. Those who take pride, comfort or any thing else from identifying with, sympathizing with, thinking their life story is special because of or feeling different in any way because of their race are racist and breed racism. What does it mean to be black?? It means you are a racist for identifying yourself by skin color or race.
AMEN DAVE!!
Excellent comment....
Dave, you are ignorant. Living in a society which was built on the free labor of Africans, a society which disrespected, disenfranchised, murdered, raped, and people of African decent, not to mention, made sure that their achievements were marginalized, their very features, and skin color was ridiculed. Why does it bother you and other whites so much that people of African decent are proud of how we look, or take pride in our heritage? I am very proud to be of African decent, and while I recognize the human family, I am also aware that by forgetting where my people came from, our beauty, our history, our stories, is an insult to the millions of my people who came to these shores so long ago. Being proud of what you are is not racist in any way, shape, or form. Get a clue!
I meant to use the word *believe instead of people.
"Read this if all of you white people don't *believe me."
Get over it already.... Slaves built the Great Pyramids. Too, so what?
"James Bartlett: White privilege means the freedom not to have to address race"
Tell that to the Serbs and other eastern Europeans who spent 500 years under Turkish occupation and slavery. For those of you who don't know that is longer then the existence of the United States.
Come on, this is silly. I have an issue with the one lady who said " if you are from North Africa ..you should be African American because it is Africa". She must not know anything about Africa. I was born in Casablanca, Morocco which is NORTH AFRICA but I am not African American. I am Arabic (Moroccan American) or as the Census states (or did in the past) is that I am WHITE. Leave it all alone the more you make it an issue the bigger it becomes. This is a different world & my sons generation.(he's twelve). along with his black,white,mixed ,asian,hispanic,arabic,jewish friends do not care about ethnicity. Leave it alone.
Hey CNN lets talk about black people for a change. I like black people...I wonder what a black person is thinking right now? Probably about how hard it is to be black. Lets talk about how hard it is to be black, even though African Americans are the richest blacks on the planet we can never forget the fact that it is hard to be black.
Agree, CNN has done more pieces on "black" this and that than any other skin color due to trying to be overly sensitive and overly PC.
Fthis they are probably trying to be provocative while simultaneously pandering to a certain demographic.
It seems that a disproportionate number of dark-skinned people have an inferiority complex.
Unfortunately, their mental condition gets reinforced by their leaders, the soft-racism of lowered-expectations, and by the mass media (news, music, etc).
That's because they ARE inferior. You do realize if whites had never landed in Africa or the Americas, the local "Natives" would still be chucking spears at each other and not have even discovered the wheel, right?
Yet MORE illegal censorship of the truth by the Communist News Network. I hope they realize I'm taking screenshots for the lawsuit.
That's because they ARE inferior. You do realize if whites had never landed in Africa or the Americas, the local "Natives" would still be chucking spears at each other and not have even discovered the wheel, right?
Frankly, the photos of the subjects of this article bring to light the skin-tone racism and bias which exists among the black society itself.
Why do we call them Whites. They are actually pink. And the Blacks are actually Brown
I'm a beige color myself.
Well that neighbor is a non-traditional student. Have you ever thought about WHY she has those things? She might have completed high school versus getting a GED. Her academics could have been on point. She could have a particular talent and earned merit-based awards. You don't know. Maybe your cousin didn't have excellent grades (not okay or average but mainly As & Bs). Did your cousin score high on the SAT or even take the ACT? Did your cousin do community service? Did your cousin apply for scholarships? I was one of the top scholarship earners in my school, both based on merit and financial need. I earned each of mine. To assume someone hasn't is closed-minded and ignorant.
It is about your culture.
It is about your physical appearance/experience.
It is about your family’s experience and how that shapes your understanding of the world.
It is about the struggle for equality
Lastly, it is about your lineage (blood).
http://carpebootium.com/2012/10/29/what-is-it-to-be-authentic-black/
Both of my parents were from South Africa , they moved here , then gave birth to me . Does that make me African American , even though they were German and Welsh ? I guess Im black , too .
Be sure to put that on your application yo Harvard Medical School..
You can actually claim to be African-American... it would be funny to see the Government attempt to turn you down for things you deserve because your skin color is white.
You know what is more funny. A native black Egyptian (Nubian) migrated to America and was labeled as white because he originated from N. Africa. This guy is black as coal. Nevermind the fact that white people and Arabs in N. Africa are not originally from there. Its all part of a desperate attempt to blot out black history and the original tribes of N. Africa. Many whites came to N. Africa during the Ottoman, Roman, Greek and Persian Empire days and the days of colinialism. Even the caucasian appearing Berbers found in places like Tunisia migrated from the Near East going back thousands of years.
No. You're confusing nationality with ethnicity.
German and Welsh are nationalities.
Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic are race designations.
The confusion started with the silly invention of "African-American" which is a messy mix
of nationality and ethnicity.
Do not bring that hard core Africaner racism here...Mandela have beaten you guys up there...give it up, do not come to relocate your failed ideologies here...
Talking loudly at movies...
totally agree
I don't see any hoodies here.
That was a very creative piece of writing. All those categories that you named as Black people being good at are actually ones in which the young white culture is leading the way in these days... i know what you would call them!!! So being that white folks steal anything of value( music, culture, etc...) from others your post shows how much of and idiot you are. Oh yeah... this isn't the fox news website buddy...redirect!!!
If one drop of black blood equals black then we are all black !
Is it black history month already?
Can we please have an official "WHITE HISTORY MONTH?"
one with 31 days in it, of course..
...
you have it everyday. Paint your face black and experience it
My friend what you and others don't realize. Everyday is white history month! The text books we use in school and the images on TV do not hide the accomplishments of Americans of European descent. You never experienced a black out in history. I'm amazed that's so many whites do not realize the first 25 dynasties of ancient Egypt up til the Middle Kingdom were black. I bet you never heard of African Americans like Elijah McCoy, Benjamin Banneker, Lewis Latimer, Charles Drew etc... I can go on and on. I bet you don't know that black Americans built the nations capitol building or that a black American was the first to die during the revolutionary war. I bet you don't know that all living people on this planet trace their DNA back to black Africa. When the history books begin to tell the truth, then we can get rid of black history month. Until then, peace out.
You do...January, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November & December.
everyday on CNN