A post-racial challenge
Much has been discussed about whether or not the Americans are post-racial or not. I think it should be pretty obvious that it isn't, but I won't cover that here. Despite the evidence that it's not the case, many seem to insist, for usually racist reasons, that the struggle is indeed over, and that blacks in particular should just shut up.
One thing that would help me believe that it's changing would be to actually drop the one-drop rule in North America and chiefly in the US. The one-drop rule was an idea created by white supremacists hundreds of years ago in order to solidify their position as being racially pure, and therefore superior, worthy of deference and subservience, and also to further marginalize black people. It also got poor whites on their side, defending their interests for while they might be dirt poor, at least they are still considered better than blacks. And we all know how well that lie was received. It's not the same in other parts of the world. For example, in North America, my nieces and nephews, all of whom have white parents are all considered black, even though some of them are phenotypically whiter than bleached cotton. But even if my parents and their parents, and some of their parents (my mother's grandmother was a FOB--fresh off the boat, that is, from England and white), ONE of those ancestors was black. So everyone after that is considered black. This was obviously a very bad thing to be hundreds of years ago, and today it's isn't exactly ideal.
One thing that would help me believe that it's changing would be to actually drop the one-drop rule in North America and chiefly in the US. The one-drop rule was an idea created by white supremacists hundreds of years ago in order to solidify their position as being racially pure, and therefore superior, worthy of deference and subservience, and also to further marginalize black people. It also got poor whites on their side, defending their interests for while they might be dirt poor, at least they are still considered better than blacks. And we all know how well that lie was received. It's not the same in other parts of the world. For example, in North America, my nieces and nephews, all of whom have white parents are all considered black, even though some of them are phenotypically whiter than bleached cotton. But even if my parents and their parents, and some of their parents (my mother's grandmother was a FOB--fresh off the boat, that is, from England and white), ONE of those ancestors was black. So everyone after that is considered black. This was obviously a very bad thing to be hundreds of years ago, and today it's isn't exactly ideal.
It's not like that everywhere in the world, but it's not
necessarily better. In Brazil, they are more flexible in terms of
their classification. A person with two white grandparents, two
indigenous grandparents and two biracial parents was classified
differently than someone with one indigenous grandparent, three white
grandparents, one biracial parent and one white parent. (In North
America, both would be considered black if you replace indigenous with
black, and therefore undesirable.) The problem was, while a person's
individuality was respected to a degree, there was a formal and
informal hierarchy that considered how much whiteness a person had.
This part of an article is a very interesting read. Particularly:
I would like to see the end of the one-drop binary thinking as long as it comes with the end of the preference and presumed superiority of whiteness. Let's all acknowledge and love all of our ethnicities if we so choose.
It is worth noting that many white North Americans, and possibly non-North Americans claim some sort of Native ancestry and use it as a badge of honour. I suspect that some of them are looking to play both sides of a bullshit field. They profit from white privilege because they can pass for white, but they get to play the race card when their whiteness is attacked.
According to Jose Neinstein, a native white Brazilian and executive director of the Brazilian-American Cultural Institute in Washington, in the United States, "If you are not quite white, then you are black." However, in Brazil, "If you are not quite black, then you are white." Neinstein recalls talking with a man of Poitier's complexion when in Brazil: "We were discussing ethnicity, and I asked him, 'What do you think about this from your perspective as a black man?' He turned his head to me and said, 'I'm not black,' . . . It simply paralyzed me...The Washington Post story also described a Brazilian-born woman who for 30 years before immigrating to the United States considered herself a morena. Her skin had a caramel color that is roughly equated with whiteness in Brazil and some other Latin American countries. "I didn't realize I was black until I came here," she explained. "'Where are you from?' they ask me. I say I'm from Brazil. They say, 'No, you are from Africa.' They make me feel like I am denying who I am."I can only speak for myself here when I say that in all of the above scenarios, whiteness, no matter how you define it, is seen as being better than blackness or anything else. I can't go along with that. I do think that a great many people of all colours believe this to be the case, though. I mean, why should a person feel bad when they realize that they are "black" or at least considered that way by others? Of course, I do realize that the most likely reaction is light to extreme annoyance that other people are defining who you are (and it may not be something considered as good as they are).
I would like to see the end of the one-drop binary thinking as long as it comes with the end of the preference and presumed superiority of whiteness. Let's all acknowledge and love all of our ethnicities if we so choose.
It is worth noting that many white North Americans, and possibly non-North Americans claim some sort of Native ancestry and use it as a badge of honour. I suspect that some of them are looking to play both sides of a bullshit field. They profit from white privilege because they can pass for white, but they get to play the race card when their whiteness is attacked.
What I noticed in the black community is color class. There is preferential treatment among the black community for the whiter blacks and the darker skinned blacks are untouchables.
Even the actress Rutina Wesley has stated in interviews that she was surprised at being chosen for her role in True Blood because she was so dark skinned.
My intern when I worked at L'Oreal said as much of her friend who couldn't find a boyfriend because she was to dark, while my Intern was getting it left and right because of her lighter complexion (and awesome boobage)
Same said intern asked one of the men working in the factory if he was Hatian like her and the proud Texan answered "Hell no, I'm American" because black or white he was American first even though he had been living in Canada for over 20 years.
My friend is half black and half native. When her hair is curly she looks undeniably Haitian. When her hair is straightened out she looks like Pocahontas and not black at all. All it takes is a hair change.
Identity is a strange thing has a lot to do with self-interpretation and perception.