Some discount Tiger Woods', Halle Berry's or Barack Obama's level of Blackness - Why?Is half-Black not really Black?
What about Obama's daughters? Is 3/4 Black, Black enough?
Marcus commented that he would disown his progeny if they brought home a partner who wasn't Black.
A lot of families do the same.
A large part of me growing up with my (almost useless) mother and my mean-as-hell step-father was that it was in defiance to my grandmother. (That, and I had two younger half-brothers that I wished to protect from their circumstances.)
My paternal grandmother (well.. both grandparents) could have offered a much more comfortable life.
At least once a year, I would take a break from my tumultuous home life to be spoiled by my grandparents.
During every summer or Christmas break spent in Texas, they would offer some type of incentive (money, motorcycles, cars, trips abroad, etc) for me to be raised in a "better" environment.
But my grandmother hated my mother - and even though I didn't see the value of having her, she was still my mother.
My grandmother hated her half Mexican/half Native American daughter-in-law but loved her grandchildren with half of the same genetic make up?
I couldn't see it.
In fact, the only reason the entirety of their inheritance went to me was because I was the only grandchild who refused to be bought.
They respected (but hated) my insolence.
But what makes me Black?
Is it the experiences acquired while living in the hood? (Is living in the hood requisite?)
Is it the color of my skin? (What "color" is Black?)
If I was brought up by my somewhat well-to-do Black grandparents - would I be more Black or less? (If one has more opportunity - are they less Black?)
Is it the whole of my family's culture? (Which one?)
Pointing out your grandmother's inconsistent racial hate illustrates a point.
ReplyDeleteMost "racial" hate is really just cultural hate.
She didn't really hate your Dad's skin, she hated his culture, which in most cases is highly influenced by, if not determined by, color.
I'm sure she could see that though you shared DNa of the one she disliked, she had hope that thanks to herself and your mother, you would still be part of their, her, culture.
I say this is a general missuderstood truth. This spurns the "I'm not racist, I have a black cousin. But rap is crap, the NBA is full of tattood felons, and the black nieghborhoods are all dangerous... I don't disslike Obama because of race, its because he is a muslim."
Cultural hate made easy by a visual identifier that can't be changed, color.
UBJ you could easily say you are Mexican right? What made you chose to say you are Black? Is it because the Black people accepted you and didn't care about the the fact that you are half Mexican? Was it society that identified you as Black because everything that they cannot identify and not close to white are Black?
ReplyDeleteBabies are usually left out of it because people think they had no choice. If you would've grew up with your well to do Gparents then you would just be the new blood that is coming out of the family. You would have probably been used to show their philosophy was right despite the IR issue.
I think what makes you Black is that is what you chose but also probably where your background is not put down.
I think it has a lot to do with my step-father being Black.
ReplyDeleteWe (my sister and my half-brothers) were all raised in a Black neighborhood until I was eight.
We went to the "Black" school (although forced bussing made all schools in our district roughly the same in terms of each school's racial make up.).
Even when the kids would tease the half-white kids for having a white mother - half-Mexican was okay.
Since my hometown was a military town with people from all over, I thought everyone grew up in integrated schools and neighborhoods until I came to the South.
I'd never seen an ALL Black neighborhood in my life.
Even South Central has Asians and Hispanics in the mix.
Why am I Black?
I just never thought of myself as anything else.
But the definition (or limitations) of what Black means is a whole other story.
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ReplyDeleteThis goes back to the age old question what makes a person black in America (because we are an especially peculiar country when it comes to race).
ReplyDeletea) Genetics
b) Environment
c) Culture
d) Societal Judgments
e) All of the above
This multiple choice question would be easier to answer if race was actually a real quantifiable thing instead of a social construct created to support an outdated way of thinking.