Posted: Mon 23 Jul 2007 22:06 Post subject: Black Elite (Johnson Publishing) support of "One Drop"
Quote:
Ebony August, 1995
Am I black, white or in between? Is there a plot to create a 'colored' buffer race in America?
Lynn Norment
IT was 40 years ago that the Civil Rights Movement began permeating the country and the very consciousness of American society. In the following decades, a multitude of hard-won changes have transformed schools, jobs, voting booths, neighborhoods, hotels, restaurants--and even the wedding altar--from pillars of segregation where Jim Crow ruled supreme to facilities tolerant of racial diversity. In the course of those changes, there has been a dramatic increase in interracial unions, in particular marriages between Blacks and Whites. Not surprisingly, there has been a surge in the number of mixed-race offspring. In 1991, about 128,000 interracial children were born, more than four times the 31,200 born in 1968. The U.S. Census Bureau says that there are at least 2 million multiracial children in married-couple households.
Consequently, there has been a new movement rolling across the nation, and it, too, could change society as we know it. This time proponents come from the ranks of multiracial individuals (and their parents) who are lobbying for the addition of a "multiracial" classification on government forms, including the decennial U.S. census tally. It also has been charged that right-wing conservatives and other civil rights opponents are pushing the move in a deliberate effort to divide and dilute Black political power.
Due to pressure, the Census Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget are re-examining the government's 18-year-old method of dividing the country into racial and ethnic groups: Black, White, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic. However, a decision on whether or not to make changes will not be made until 1997, and would apply to the year 2000 census. Several states (including Illinois, Ohio, Georgia and Michigan) require a "multiracial" category on school forms.
Not surprisingly, the notion of drastically altering the nation's racial demographics is meeting opposition from civil rights organizations and major segments of the African-American community. There is concern that political strength will be diluted if the tens of thousands of biracial individuals now considered Black are recategorized as a separate ethnic group. it should be noted that the Census Bureau estimates that 75 percent of the country's African-Americans have some ancestors of other races; but no one assumes that all would select "multiracial" if given that option. However, Alvin Poussaint, M.D., clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, points out that there would be much confusion, with some Blacks unwittingly checking "multiracial" because there are White or Native American ancestors in their families. Even a small switch would affect school desegregation plans, legislative redistricting proposals and enforcement of the requirements of the Voting Rights Act and other laws.
"Because the apportionment to Congress and the allocation of federal funds are dependent on population distribution by race, the creation of additional categories could diminish the count for African-Americans," says M. Gasby Greely, vice president of the National Urban League. "While we totally recognize and respect the right of individual choice in the classification, the potential to dilute the impact of federal funding and Congressional apportionment represents a serious concern for us."
Moreover, there is apprehension that the push for a multiracial category could lead to a "colored" class, or Black-White buffer zone, of individuals similar to that which was the legacy of apartheid now abolished in South Africa. In that country, "colored" was an official racial classification for mixed-race and light-skinned peoples. Those deemed "colored" enjoyed greater privileges (in jobs, residences, etc.) than the downtrodden and indigenous Black majority population, but they nevertheless were considered less desirable, and therefore granted fewer privileges, than Whites.
Ramona Douglass, president of the Association of Multiethnic Americans (whose parents are Italian and African-American/Native American), says her organization is lobbying for a "multiracial" designation on government forms not because she and others are trying to "step out of our African-American heritage," but because historically, the U.S. has been racist in its classifications. "I am not simply an African-American," she says. "I am a mixture of all my heritages. I see no reason to deny any part of myself."
Dr. Halford Fairchild, associate professor of psychology and Black studies at Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., agrees that the government's classifications have a legacy steeped in racism. But he emphasizes that a multiracial designation on census forms could have the negative effect of reducing the size of the Black population, "which could have dire political consequences."
Dr. Fairchild, whose parents are Black and Japanese, adds, "Given the history of oppression and the dire straits in which African people find themselves, it is important for African-Americans to maintain that identity and to stand up and be counted." He and others also point out that some of the desire for alternative racial classification is due to individuals wanting to retreat from their Blackness. "Being Black is one of the last things that some would want to be, given the negative imagery perpetrated on Black people over the years," he says.
Biracial people are not a new phenomenon in America. The races have mixed going back to Colonial days. And it was not always by mutual consent, but through the sexual abuse of African slave women by their White masters. Whereas over time other races blended with Whites without question, "Black blood" was held accountable to the "one drop" theory, the social ideology of that era that declared anyone with one drop of African blood is Black. In doing so, America defined a way to permanently separate Blacks.
That general "one-drop" principle was reinforced in the landmark Plessy V. Ferguson Supreme Court ruling in 1896. Plaintiff Homer Plessy argued that segregation was wrong and he should not be discriminated against because, after all, he was only one-eighth Black. The justices ruled, however, that he must ride in the "separate but equal" coaches reserved for "coloreds." Almost 100 years later, the Supreme Court, in 1986, upheld a decision forcing a Louisiana woman who was only 1/32nd Black to be legally declared Black.
Individuals of biracial parentage traditionally have been absorbed into the Black community, which has been more accepting of diversity and varying skin tones. Consequently, in our ranks are African-Americans with complexions ranging from the fairest ivory to the deepest hues of ebony.
Lisa Jones, a newspaper writer in New York who has a White mother and a Black father, says: "I identify strongly as an African-American, for political reasons, for cultural reasons .... I identify with the freedom struggles for empowerment." In her book, Bullet Proof Diva: Tales of Race, Sex and Hair, she writes of her experiences as a biracial Black woman. "I refer to them as multiracial nationalists," she says of her colleagues who seek a separate racial identification. "The reason I'm critical of it is that they are not calling for a biracial identity as a political movement. That identity they seek is to foster self-esteem....
"In that movement," Jones continues, "there was this idea that being labeled 'multiracial' or 'biracial' would move them away from the stigma of Blackness, and that one would be anything but that. Are they trying to become honorary Whites? I hope that they are standing for something more than an identity that gives them more privileges," she says.
Chela B. O'Connor, a first-year law student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, also prefers to identify with Blacks. She says she was adopted by White parents after her White birth mother and Black biological father gave her up for adoption at birth. "I'am a Black woman. I never, ever try to hide from that fact," she says.
O'Connor emphasizes that her parents were very good at teaching her "coping skills" that have come in handy in helping her deal with racial issues, and sometimes insults. "In Black neighborhoods, I'm not Black enough, and Whites don't accept us because we aren't White," she says, echoing a common lament from biracial individuals. However, she says her parents made sure she had exposure to Black institutions, culture and people.
Ernie Calhoun, the Black father of five biracial children in Akron, Ohio, says he instilled in his offspring, whose ages range from 12 to 25, that they are Black. "I pretty much tried to rear them to think that way because that's the way society looks at them," says Calhoun, who adds that he has mixed feelings about the proposed census change."Some days I think they should have their own identity, and some days I don't," he says. "Ideally, I'd like for race not to be an issue, for people to be considered on their merit. But that probably will not happen in my lifetime." His wife, Michele, who is White, says she would like to see a "multiracial" category added by the Census Bureau so their children would not "have to choose one or the other."
Based on these and other EBONY interviews, it appears that most individuals of Black-White parentage opt to identify with African-Americans. Halle Berry says it is important that multiracial individuals make a choice about race early in life "because even if you identify as 'interracial,' you are still going to be discriminated against as a person of color in this country." Actresses Jasmine Guy, Troy Beyer and Lisa Bonet have always made it clear that they are Black women, despite their biracial parentage. And rock star Lenny Kravitz, son of a White father and actress Roxie Roker, says he never questioned his identity, though he has encountered numerous other biracial individuals who, he says, were confused and trying to determine Am I Black or am I White?
Says Kravitz: "My mother taught me: 'Your father's White, I'm Black. You are just as much one as the other, but you are Black. In society and in life, you are Black.' She taught me that from day one."
On the other hand, there are numerous offspring of Black and White (or other) parentage who do not and will not say they are "Black." Golf prodigy Tiger Woods, whose father is Black and whose mother is Asian, has been quoted as saying, "I'm 90 percent Oriental, more Thai than anything." Singer Mariah Carey says she is very much aware of her Black heritage, "and I think sometimes it bothers people that I don't say, 'I'm Black' and that's it .... So when people ask, I say I'm Black, Venezuelan and Irish, because that's who I am." When Miss USA Chelsi Smith was asked earlier how it felt to be the first Black to wear the Miss Texas USA crown, she smiled and said she could not answer that question because she is not Black and neither is she White, but a blend of both.
These individuals most likely would choose "biracial" if such a category were available on government forms. The decision as to whether the future census forms will have a "multiracial" category is two years away, but it is certain that the debate will continue. But what would "biracial" or "multiracial" really mean? Many of those checking that category might be a mixture of African-American and White parent-age, but there would also be thousands of Asian-Whites, Black-Asians, White-Hispanics and Arab-Italians. Does a "biracial" label come any closer to defining one's heritage?
Lisa Jones says there is no such thing as an accurate racial label. "Some want to say 'I'm not Black or White, but I'm me,'" she says. "But that's not realistic." Dr. Poussaint warns that Black-White individuals must realize that regardless of the chosen label, American society will continue treating them as Black people. "Children should not be misled," he says. "A new label will not keep other kids from taunting and calling them names."
Some biracial brothers and sisters might do well to heed advice from Lenny Kravitz. "You don't have to deny the White side of you if you're mixed," he says. "Accept the blessing of having the advantage of two cultures, but understand that you are Black. In this world, if you have one spot of Black blood, you are Black. So get over it."
I note that Latinos, Indians, Asians, etc. are "buffer" groups between blacks and whites and the Johnson Publishing folks wouldn't dare demand that THEY pretend to be "black."
Some biracial brothers and sisters might do well to heed advice from Lenny Kravitz. "You don't have to deny the White side of you if you're mixed," he says. "Accept the blessing of having the advantage of two cultures, but understand that you are Black. In this world, if you have one spot of Black blood, you are Black. So get over it."
I suppose like alot of Americans Kravitz believes the U.S. is the world and the U.S.'s conception of blackness should be shared by everyone. In fact even in the U.S. Puerto Ricans and other Latinos who have heaping spoonfuls of black blood do not see themselves as black (for the most part) and are generally not seen as such, even when their African ancestry is revealed. Also, at least in my experience, it is generally understood by black folks that this fact of Latinos' background should never be brought up in their presence unless they broach the subject first.
An observation about Kravitz: despite claiming to be black, I've never seen him romantically linked with a black woman. All his romantic partners appear to be biracial, like himself, or some other kind of non-black woman.
understand that you are Black. In this world, if you have one spot of Black blood, you are Black. So get over it."
I suppose like alot of Americans Kravitz believes the U.S. is the world and the U.S.'s conception of blackness should be shared by everyone. In fact even in the U.S. Puerto Ricans and other Latinos who have heaping spoonfuls of black blood do not see themselves as black (for the most part) and are generally not seen as such, even when their African ancestry is revealed.
For that matter, even U.S. society does not always apply the ODR to Anglo-Americans with known African ancestry. Exceptions abound in the entertainment industry, and in many court cases. I think that what he meant to say was, "To most African-Americans, if you have one spot of Black blood, you are Black. So get over it."
When Miss USA Chelsi Smith was asked earlier how it felt to be the first Black to wear the Miss Texas USA crown, she smiled and said she could not answer that question because she is not Black and neither is she White, but a blend of both.
Gotta love that girl. (But she forgot to mention her Native American side. LOL.)
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