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People need to stop labeling themselves as any particular race. Until we stop labeling, there will always be racism!
Of course that would work, but is it necessarily the best route to take? I mean, we could say that until we dismantle all formal national governments, there will always be extreme nationalism, or until we abolish formal religions there will always be religious extremism or until we redistribute wealth there will always be economic classism. If we somehow eliminated the concept of race, of course racism would disappear, but certainly some other "-Ism" would replace it.
I know its been said many times and its probably close to being too cliche, but its worth repetition: Our target should be to move towards post-racism, not necessarily post-racialism.
The concept of race is not inherently bad. No more than identifying with a particular ethnic or national heritage. Our goal should not be to move away from race completely, but move to a point were we can appreciate and, yes, even love our differences. We don't need to parade around with our phony cliches like "I'm color-blind, I see no race" but instead be able to say, "I'm black, you're white, she's asian, we're all different and thats ok."
Why would you want to be labeled anything? ANY labeling by race contributes to racism and racial divides in America. Who cares? Stop talking about race and it will become a non-issue. The color of your skin matters as much as the color of your eyes. People who get bent out of shape over race (whites hating blacks, blacks insisting whites are discriminating, whatever) are doing nothing but slowing down progress away from racism. Until we stop labeling people based on race, racism will still be an issue.
Many times, referring to someone's race is just part of a visual description, along with the qualifiers of being blonde or red-headed, skinny or fat, short or tall. And it's not meant in a mean way.
So there will always be references to skin colour as a way of describing a person visually. It's just part of using ones eyes. And skin colour is hereditary. Asians tend to have straight black hair and are slight of build. Blacks have black kinky hair and tend towards a more muscular build. So what if these obvious traits are noticed by others? Big deal. Shrug.
Of course that would work, but is it necessarily the best route to take? I mean, we could say that until we dismantle all formal national governments, there will always be extreme nationalism, or until we abolish formal religions there will always be religious extremism or until we redistribute wealth there will always be economic classism. If we somehow eliminated the concept of race, of course racism would disappear, but certainly some other "-Ism" would replace it.
I know its been said many times and its probably close to being too cliche, but its worth repetition: Our target should be to move towards post-racism, not necessarily post-racialism.
The concept of race is not inherently bad. No more than identifying with a particular ethnic or national heritage. Our goal should not be to move away from race completely, but move to a point were we can appreciate and, yes, even love our differences. We don't need to parade around with our phony cliches like "I'm color-blind, I see no race" but instead be able to say, "I'm black, you're white, she's asian, we're all different and thats ok."
The concept of race was used as a form of social and economic control. It was used as a way to control who got which resources and who didn't.
I myself am mixed, and want to be identified as mixed(I'm part white/part black). I dont want to be white. I dont want to be black. I want to be me, mixed.
What I'm presenting is the fact that I have been labeled black all of my life becuase I am insignificant to them. I am a regular guy, regular job, etc.
What I'm saying is, if I ever become a popular or successful person who white people follow, those same people who call me black my whole life will say I succeeded because I was part white, or that I'm not black to begin with, that I'm mixed.
Basically stating that if your a regular mixed guy like me, you are black or if you're anything negative, you are black.
BUT, if you become somebody, then they try to strip the blackness from you, even though they have labeled you black your whole life.
I see it all the time on blogs, etc.
The first comment on many of those sites of mixed people are what race are they? They got some white in them, etc. They arn't black, they are part white.
But before these celebs were somebodies, they were black to the same people who say they arn't black now.
You are both white and black and that simply makes you a human being.
Being raised in Los Angeles amongst a heavily (Black) Creole population I understand the idea of the "other" category.
Pre Civil War, there were many thriving gente de couleur (free people of color) or shall I say free people with mixed African ancestry that did want to be associated with Black slaves (although many of their relatives were still in bondage)
Even to this day, many (Black) Creoles do not consider themselves "Black". Not being "Black" allows the priviledges that come with not being labeled with something that has such a deeply engrained negativity.
But as with anything, must people use the "eyeball" test. In America, if you look as if you have African ancestry, that is what must people will mentally label you as being.
Some bi-racials and multi-racials (of every stripe including Asian/White, Latin/White, etc) take issue when you are not able identify the "Whiteness" in them. Its as if its an insult. Why even make it an issue?
Add to this that many (if not a slight majority of) Blacks have White, as well as other, ancestry somewhere down the line. I (Black woman) happen to be part White and part Chinese (1860s, Texas railroads...long story) why should I be concerned if someone can't see the other racial traits when they look at me?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tropolis
Would anyone call Obama white if he was a drug dealer on the street?
It's interesting. I myself am mixed(part white/black). In the USA though, I'm considered black by whites because of the 1 drop rule and because I'm of no significance to whites, just a low key regular citizen, not a celeb, rich or anything like that.
What I'm interested in is why until someone with a background like myself, who is labeled black there entire life black to white people, until they become successful or popular.
Then all of a sudden you're considered white, or not really black.
This happens countless times.
Obama, Tiger Woods are perfect examples. People say they arn't black, even though before they were somebody, whites labeled them as black until they were somebody.
Essentially whites try to strip away your blackness when you become somebody, and make sure to label you as black if you are just a regular person.
I'm not sure I'm aware of anyone anywhere that does not consider Barack Obama black. Some people consider Tiger Woods Asian, which makes sense since his ancestry has more Chinese and Thai representation than anything else, but I don't think any of that makes a flip of difference to Tiger. I'd say he's pretty satisfied with his life, more or less regardless of anything anyone anywhere has ever said about him or ever will say about him. Wouldn't you agree?
It seems to me that blacks try to strip away your good-faith and humanity to make you into some sort of monster so that the regular people who never became somebody have someone to blame for their non-rockstarness. I don't think you know what you're talking about when you say these things about white people.
You are both white and black and that simply makes you a human being.
Being raised in Los Angeles amongst a heavily (Black) Creole population I understand the idea of the "other" category.
Pre Civil War, there were many thriving gente de couleur (free people of color) or shall I say free people with mixed African ancestry that did want to be associated with Black slaves (although many of their relatives were still in bondage)
Even to this day, many (Black) Creoles do not consider themselves "Black". Not being "Black" allows the priviledges that come with not being labeled with something that has such a deeply engrained negativity.
But as with anything, must people use the "eyeball" test. In America, if you look as if you have African ancestry, that is what must people will mentally label you as being.
Some bi-racials and multi-racials (of every stripe including Asian/White, Latin/White, etc) take issue when you are not able identify the "Whiteness" in them. Its as if its an insult. Why even make it an issue?
Add to this that many (if not a slight majority of) Blacks have White, as well as other, ancestry somewhere down the line. I (Black woman) happen to be part White and part Chinese (1860s, Texas railroads...long story) why should I be concerned if someone can't see the other racial traits when they look at me?
The one-drop rule still stands. Kind of sad and disturbing. There was a writer for the NY Times, Anatole Broyard. He was Creole. He decided to pass for white because he looked white. For years, not even his own child knew he had some African ancestry in him. He "passed" for the sake of privilege. If anyone found out he had any African ancestry in him, he would have been fired. It is called the one-drop rule. If you have ANY trace of African ancestry and you live in the USA, you are considered Black no matter what. That rule was developed as a form of social and economic control, to keep blacks out of American society and anyone who was deemed "impure".
I'm not mixed (I'm black), but I can totally relate to some parts of this post. However, I do believe that it comes from both sides. I grew up in predominantly white school district (for most of my education I was the only black person in my classroom). Having grown up in the school district my entire life, I inevitably made friends with people who are not black. What was I supposed to do? I think most kids want to have friends. Anyway, as the district began to diversify, black students would call me out for having non-black friends, supposedly "white interests" (I love indie music and play tennis), and for not sounding black (if you were to talk to me on the phone, you would have no clue of my race). To these students, was trying to "act white."
At the same time I would have white people who were amazed that I was a "nonthreatening black person". (Yes, someone actually said this to me.) It was almost like I was being claimed as some sort of shining example of a "good black person." My white friends all used to say that I was basically white, and that I should just accept that.
The fact is that people love to place everyone is a box. Many people are confused when you don't fit into their stereotypical notions of particular race. For whatever reason, people sometimes have a hard time seeing others as a individuals.
Good post, and I'm sure how you can see though why these are formed and why they still exist.
When you look at it from a strict standpoint of time, the human race is VERY young. Advances in our ideologies and culture are still in the developmental stage. Growth is painful and often violent. So, from that standpoint where were we 20, 30, 40 ,50 years ago in terms of 'race relations"? Where will we be 20,30,40,50 years from now? So, we can look back, and dwell on the wrongs of our ancestors,or, we can look at what those same ancestors did wrong AND what they did right, and move forward with it. Should we dwell on their shortcomings, and seek to punish the descendants of these wrongdoers, and all who are of the same race as they, as guilty by blood? Or, do we leave the past where it is, unchangeable and immutable, and look to a better future where change IS possible, and quite probable, should everyone lay their bitterness over what was, and look to what can be?
Very interesting thread. I spend a lot of time thinking about race relations in the US. However, I think the OP needs to realize that the bigoted diatribes of certain white people - be they pundits on tv, columnists, or your local neighborhood racist - do not represent the thinking of most or all white people. In fact, it is my opinion that the white people who are not constantly talking about what race someone is or is not are the people he should be paying attention to. Those people (and I am including me in that category) don't feel the need to go around spouting off about how white (or whatever other ethnicity) someone is, because it does not matter in the grander scheme of things. In the same way that when I hear racist diatribes against 'whitey' from someone who is black, I do not then paint every black person with that same paintbrush.
On a side note, as someone who has a (minor) background in Anthropology, I find it fascinating to look at people and try to figure out what their (varied) ancestry might be, regardless of skin color. No, I am not one of those people who goes around asking "What are you?" because that would be rude. But in my workplace I see people of various backgrounds and I love talking to them and finding out that the person someone else might assume is 'just another black man', is actually a Moroccan immigrant, etc.
And finally, the one drop rule no longer exists - well, I suppose it does in the minds of the members of various white supremacist groups. I have a friend who is 1/4 black. He is blond and has blue eyes and full lips. In the summer he tans like crazy. He is adopted and grew up Jewish. Is he black? White? Jewish? No, he's just my friend Jon. For most of us, that's the way it is.
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