http://www.blogher.com/node/14815 Comments for "America’s Identity Crisis - Who’s Black and Who’s Not" en http://www.blogher.com/node/14815#comment-14634 <p>I agree wholeheartedly with you that "how we are perceived in the outside world cannot help but affect how we view ourselves." Interested to hear how he expresses that -- I'm going to go out, get the book, and see how the man describes his racial journey himself. </p> <p>I will say, however, I'm disheartened by the "Halfrican" phrase...</p> <p>(UPDATE: Oops, hit 'send too soon, here's the rest of my thought)</p> <p>here's hoping people can get less invested in labeling the man's skin and more invested in what he thinks and what policy innovations he can introduce at a time when the U.S. is desperate for real debate and true leadership. </p> <p>Lisa Stone<br /> <a href="http://www.blogher.com/member/lisa-stone">BlogHer Co-founder</a><br /> <a href="http://surfette.typepad.com">Surfette</a></p> Thu, 25 Jan 2007 13:46:06 -0600 Lisa Stone comment 14634 at http://www.blogher.com http://www.blogher.com/node/14815 <p>It’s disturbing when people make a concerted effort to write opinion pieces about how ‘black’ Senator Barak Obama’s really is, questioning his ethnicity, how really ‘down’ he really is with us coloured folks (okay, I’m kinda guilty on that one). Call me paranoid, but part of me thinks that there are a whole lotta people who believe that he is more credible as a potential presidential candidate because of his mixed heritage and that he is not a descendant of West African slaves. To put it bluntly, I imagine that in some circles, racial stereotypes do not, and will not apply to Obama. There’s even a new phrase that has been created in his honour: <em>Halfrican</em>.</p> <p>People get funny when it comes to black folks in positions of power. We like to criticize them if they don’t act ‘black enough’ (Tiger Woods, Condi Rice) and we do the same if we think they’re ‘too black’ (Louis Farrakhan, Rev. Al Sharpton). There’s never a happy medium. So what does being black mean?</p> <p>This week in Salon, there are two interesting articles about Obama’s racial identity. <a href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/01/22/obama/">Deborah Dickerson </a>argues that Obama is not really ‘black’ because he of his Kenyan – Scottish heritage,his non-black (i.e non-threatening) features and points out that he has not had to endure the growing pains that many black political pundits have had to endure:<br /> <blockquote>Never having been "black for a living" with protest politics or any form of racial oppositionality, he'll need to assure the black powers that be that he won't dis the politics of blackness (and, hence, them), however much he might keep it on mute. He didn't attain power through traditional black channels (not a minister, no time at the NAACP) so, technically, he owes the civil rights lobby nothing, but they need him in their debt. Homie has some rings to kiss and a kente-cloth pocket square to buy. Still, the overtures he needs to make are purely symbolic; he's irresistible, and the black bourgeoisie won't be able to keep their hands off him. For all his bluster, even Jackson recently admitted to CNN that "all of my heart leans toward Barack." The black embrace is Obama's to lose.</blockquote></p> <p>The day after Dickerson’s post, <a href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2007/01/23/race_in_america/">Gary Kamiya </a>mildly disagrees with Dickerson, saying that while Obama is black, he isn’t “black” – as he is portrayed as a person who does not self-identify himself by his ethnicity. Kamiya adds that this doesn’t mean that he is eschewing his cultural background, rather preferring to “an inner freedom from a superficial definition imposed by others.”</p> <p>But is it a preference or a luxury that many, especially the poor, cannot obtain? Dickerson writes about blackness as being political and cultural, something that defines what being an African-American is. Part of that definition is to be aware of the realities that your ethnicity is-and will-be a factor in your everyday interactions with the world. If you are rich, you can move within social circles where you can mingle with people of the same social status and your ethnicity might be less of an issue than if you are an ethnic minority and poor, forced to live in an environment in which judgements from outsiders fester racial stereotypes. </p> <p>I agree somewhat agree with Kamiya’s opinion that one can choose not to define themselves by their ethno-cultural background, but I believe that while many people see themselves as individuals first, how we are perceived in the outside world cannot help but affect how we view ourselves. Some choose to be positive and embrace their culture; some choose to let the negativity of pervasive racism and discrimination, take over their lives. While we (well <em>you</em>, because I’m Canadian) should consider what qualities Obama would bring to the White House, I predict that despite his political competency, his ethnicity will always be a factor.</p> http://www.blogher.com/node/14815#comments Race, Ethnicity &amp; Culture Wed, 24 Jan 2007 19:02:40 -0600 lainad 14815 at http://www.blogher.com