Sunday, February 14, 2010

1 black parent + 1 white parent = 1 MIXED child

I've been reading some of my comments, since I just got back from a blogging hiatus, and I want to thank everyone for giving their opinions on products and what not. That said, I ran across a very disturbing comment when reading the comments from the Dominican article...

"I am the product of a white mother and a Dominican Republic father basically I am african american. Anyway Dominican Republicans do have a healthier way of taking care of african american hair in my opinion but it's all in the way you care for your hair anyway and too much heat on any hair is bad. My hair grows out very thick and long and not thin on the ends but it has also been damaged before and thin on the ends so what is that guys point. Anybody can grow their hair out hopefully after it has been damaged that doesn't mean that their hair didn't grow back out long and thick."

See anything wrong with this comment? Maybe you don't, it seems pretty harmless, but that's to a person who has accepted some racist tendencies forced upon people of color. While most of her comment was perfectly fine, the beginning of it was, well, crazy.... "I am the product of a white mother and a Dominican Republic father basically I am african american."

If you have one parent that is white and another that is Dominican... then you are MIXED. If you want to be specific then you are Dominican American (if your mother is American and/or if you are American).

It peturbs me on so many levels when people -- white, black, whatver... automatically call people who are MIXED, black... I rarely see the opposite. It's not about being ashamed of being black, its about denying ONE WHOLE part of who you are. You are MIXED and do not ever let anyone make you choose between one race or the other. If you have one mixed parent and one white parent-- if anything you're white. But somehow the "one-drop" rules created during horrible slavery racism Jim Crow times has oozed it's way into the psyche's of sooooo many people. If the one-drop rule were true then we could all just be whatever we wanted--- most "African Americans" have a white grandfather somewhere down the line... so I guess they would all be white, huh?

Basically, people, DO NOT call people who are mixed by one race. DO NOT let people put you in a category and tell you what you are.

Halle Berry is NOT the first "African-American" Oscar winner, she is the first MIXED Oscar Winner, the first 1/2 African-American Oscar winner. A "black" woman has not yet won.

President Barack Obama is NOT the first "African-American" president of the USA, he is the first MIXED president of the USA. A "black" man has not yet been president.

These type of list go on and on... and yes I love both our president and halle, but it's not fair to deny who you are... especially when in most cases like this... the mother or the mother's family (often time white) are the ones that end up raising them.

Now I know many mixed people feel more love and acceptance in the black community, often time more comfortable. That's understandable... its fairly easy to feel alot of love from black people who are still dealing with the effects of slavery when you have light mixed skin-- they may put you on pedestal. But it's a lie to say you're black or "African-American" when you have one European-American parent-- you are mixed. Don't deny yourselves, don't let someone else define you... you define you.

This post may seem random, but I just wanted to address that.


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