Wednesday, February 15, 2012

You're black??

 A question I don't remember hearing in my childhood and teen years.  My racial identity was pretty obvious to those around me, especially when our family lived in the midwestern United States, where I endured racial prejudice throughout my middle school years. And it didn't matter how light my skin and eyes were. Although, there was a time during fourth and fifth grade when we still lived on the West Coast that some of the other black kids I knew teased me for being light and how they could see my veins.  Crazy kids.


Fast forward to my twenties. I had since become a hairdresser, revelling in the many colorful options available to a girl working in that industry. I loved wearing extensions in varying shades, lengths and textures.  But mostly blond and on the long side, often to my waist. (I'm sure there's issues with that. lol)


So, as a result, strangers and/or clients were often surprised when race came up  in our conversations and they discovered that I was black.  "Wow, you're really light", or "I thought you were Polynesian or something", were statements I heard more than once.  Often people just assumed I was "mixed".  Of course, other blacks knew what I was. I think it's kind of an unwritten code that we know our "own" no matter how light skinned or how many European facial features someone may have.  There's always that little something that we pick up on.


But it's kind of funny, because over the years I learned that America may be the only country that has what has been known as the "one drop" rule, which basically states that if an individual is known to have any African ancestry, no matter how minimal, they are automatically considered black.
The book Who Is Black? by Floyd James Davis is an excellent work on the subject.




I got to thinking about all this today while reading a great blog post at Chocolate Hair Vanilla Care, about a PBS program that aired back in 2003 called Race, the Power of an Illusion.





There's also an interesting exercise on the site called "Sorting People."  It's a graphic where you place photos of various people in the racial categories you think they fit.  I got very few of them right, by the way.
I even miscategorized a couple of the black people.  So much for knowing my own!




5 comments:

  1. I did that PBS sort thing too--and you know I'm half Mexican on my Dad's side. I screwed them all up. I think I got less than half, and I especially blew it with the hispanic group!!

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  2. I grew up with a few girls who hated me in my neighborhood and It wasn't that I wasn't dark enough, it was the fact that I didn't speak like my peers. So I was ostracized for using correct grammar. Thank you for your post on this, brought back those crazy memories!

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  3. .
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    .
    This was a very interesting essay on your
    experiences -- and thank you for posting it. =D
    .
    In response to some of the comments contained in it,
    I hope it's OK with you if I add the following notes
    (as well as related links) that are based on both my
    research and resulting personal point-of-view (POV): =D
    .
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    .
    There is actually no such thing as a so-called
    "Light-Skinned Black" person ... but rather ...
    such individuals are actually people who are
    of a 'Multi-Generational Multiracially-Mixed'
    (MGM-Mixed) Lineage that some may have been
    pressured or encouraged to ignore or downplay.
    .
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/4160
    .
    People of Mixed-Race lineage should NOT feel pressured to
    'identify' according to any standards other than one's own.
    .
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/4157
    .
    The legal -application of the racist-'One-Drop Rule'
    (ODR) was banned in the U.S. way back in 1967.
    .
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/4162
    .
    http://www.facebook.com/groups/253286018082418/permalink/253341891410164
    .
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/4187
    .
    http://www.facebook.com/groups/253286018082418/permalink/253341281410225
    .
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    .
    Also -- in case anyone finds the information that
    is contained in the links below to be of interest
    -- they are on 'the facts' of the histories of
    given Mixed-Race populations found within the U.S.:
    .
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    .
    There is no proof that a 'color-based slave hierarchy'
    (or that 'color-based social-networks') ever existed
    as common entities -- within the continental U.S.
    .
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/4154
    .
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/4153
    .
    It was the 'Rule of Matriliny (ROM) -- [which is
    a.k.a. 'The Rule of Partus' (ROP)] -- and NOT the
    racist-'One-Drop Rule' (ODR) -- that was used to
    'create more enslaved people' on the continental U.S. .
    This is because the chattel-slavery system that was
    once found on the antebellum-era, continental U.S.
    was NOT "color-based" (i.e. "racial") -- but rather
    -- it was actually "mother-based" (i.e. 'matrilineal').
    .
    http://www.facebook.com/allpeople.gifts/posts/309460495741441
    .
    There were many ways (and not solely the sexual assault
    and sexual exploitation of the women-of-color) in which
    'white' lineage entered the familial bloodlines of
    enslaved-people found on the continental U.S.
    .
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/4238
    .
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/4239
    .
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/4240
    .
    An 'Ethnic' category is NOT the
    same thing as a "Race" category:

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/4236
    .
    http://www.facebook.com/allpeople.gifts/posts/300777016632181
    .
    Other Topics:
    .
    https://www.facebook.com/allpeople.gifts/posts/279223868853420
    .
    https://www.facebook.com/allpeople.gifts/posts/164203590359746
    .
    http://www.facebook.com/notes/%C2%ADallpeople-gifts/the-facts-on-m%C2%ADixed-race/321878451159708
    .
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you found my post interesting APGifts.
      Thank you for your input. I'll investigate the links you've shared. :-)

      Delete
  4. .
    Thank you for posting my commentary, Val
    and I hope that you enjoy the information
    found contained in the related links.
    .
    Have a wonderful day and feel
    free to contact me at anytime. =D
    .
    -- AP Gifts (soaptalk AT hotmail DOT com)
    .

    ReplyDelete