Thursday, June 12, 2008
Who cares if Barack Obama is Black, White, African American, Biracial, Cablasian or Other?
Unfortunately, America cares a little too much! There are many theories on this topic, but who cares! This is when diversity goes terribly wrong in this country. People become so obsessed with labels and putting each other into these colored racial boxes that we forget about what is truly important. And why do we do this? So we can decide which stereotypes we will expect the person to perpetuate, or decide whether or not he or she is Black enough or White enough or American enough? There are some who argue he is white because he was raised by his white mother and white maternal grandparents. Let's face it, race is a social construct created in this country to carry out racist ideals based on the color of someone's skin. Since it has absolutely no biological foundation, based on the way Senator Obama looks, labeling him as white is not going to fly in this country. There are a group of geniuses who say he's black, based on the brownness of his skin. Well duh! Where it gets real interesting is when we look at the idea of him actually being an African American or biracial (here's where I insert my opinion), because let's face it, that's what he is! Once again, I'll say who cares? Apparently a lot of folks do, so I'll continue with my post. Dictionary.com defines biracial as "having parents of two different races" and African American as "a black American of African descent." Let's examine this for Barack Obama. His parents are of two different races--that takes care of him being biracial. However, calling him African American gets a little tricky. Because his father is a native of Africa, people think he can't be considered African American because his father is not a descendent of slaves (which is an assumption). Okay fine, I'll give them that. BUT HELLO, HIS MOTHER IS A WHITE AMERICAN. So he is AFRICAN and AMERICAN. This notion that he should be labeled an Asian Pacific Islander because he grew up in Hawaii or that he is white because he was raised by white people is ludicrous! If this were true, that means that Brangelina's adopted kids are white. I think not. Again, this is my opinion based on the history of this country. What do you think? What is he and why do we care?
Labels:
African American,
Barack Obama,
biracial,
diversity,
race,
white
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2 comments:
It is all scare tactics, I say. We claim America is a "melting pot" and "all men are created equal" and "give us your tired, your poor," etc., etc. Might I remind you that all of these phrases were said by white men when there was no threat of a person of "color" coming to power. They feed off of the fears of ignorant, uneducated (and I dont mean books) Americans and promise to rid the country of he menace. Gimme a break, people! Obama is the Democratic Nominee for the Presidency...GET OVER IT!
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It is true that President Obama
is NOT a member of the very
specific Ethnic group known
as African-American (AA)
BUT -- his being Mixed-Race is
NOT at all what precludes him
from being an AA (as +70% of
the people born to two (2) AA
parents are also of Mixed-Race
lineage -- with 20-30% European
and +25% Amerindian bloodlines)
What precludes him from
being an AA is that the AAs
are actually a very specific
ETHNIC grouping of people.
The term African-American (AA)
does NOT even mean Black !!!!-
The term African-American (AA)
– as it is used in the United
States -- simply means
"a descendant of the survivors
of the chattel-slavery system
that took place on the
continental United States
during the antebellum era!!
The following links may be
of some help in explaining
this in more detail:.
Have a nice day !!! :D
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/3331
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Al5eeK2CFwcv4rD5U5qzvEfty6IX?qid=20070527201834AAIhzhM&show;=7#profile-info-CiC2JY9Maa
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiebDu.tSshJzQ0wS5fMp7jty6IX?qid=20070623205206AANUzPN&show;=7#profile-info-q1hdwifgaa
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjwuxYj8agKY7yGgqaJ7i.Xty6IX?qid=20070704121228AA7ZMsA&show;=7#profile-info-ezQwEaJLaa
.
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