(ThyBlackMan.com) It took me a minute to realize one of the policemen charged in the murder of George Floyd was black. I think it was the name – J. Alexander Kueng – that threw me off. Even after his picture was released, he looked “racially ambiguous” to me. This got me to thinking more about race, and racial politics in today’s America and how a serious discussion can sometimes devolve into silliness. It’s just as perplexing when discussing differences within groups as between groups.
Who is White?
European, Caucasian and white are used interchangeably, but are not actually the same. The U.S. Census defines white people as “having origins in any of the peoples of Europe, the Middle East or North Africa.” Caucasians are actually people from the Caucasus region, like Chechnya. “White” has changed over time as groups have been legally granted, or withheld, white status by the courts.
We certainly would not say that actor Idris Elba, born in London, or tennis star Yannick Noah, born in Sedan, France are white, yet they are both Europeans. Or, I guess it’s like Malcolm said, “If a cat has kittens in an oven, you don’t call them biscuits.”
In electoral politics, white people have sorted themselves into those who have college degrees and those who don’t. If you notice, no other demographic gets reported on that way. What does that say about how whites view themselves? Maybe there’s a “W” and a “w”.
The one drop rule
America has maintained a more strict racial categorization than even apartheid-era South Africa. We’re all familiar with the “one drop” rule that would classify a person as black, or octoroon, if even one of their great-grandparents were black. A study back in 1958 estimated that at least twenty-one percent of “white” Americans had African ancestors. So much black ancestry has turned up in DNA tracing, like Ancestry.com, that white supremacist groups have had to lower the percentage “white” needed to join.
Some, like Tiger Woods, have come up with their own racial categorizations in order to escape being black while others, like Rachael Dolezal, have claimed “black” as an affinity group: it’s how you “feel”. Then there is the ADOS crowd who say you could only qualify for reparations if you were a descendant of slaves in America. Kamala Harris and Barack Obama would not be “black” enough.
Hispanic vs. Latino
Lately, the Goya controversy has raised the issue of “who is what” in the Spanish speaking community. I’ve heard Spanish (white) ancestry should be designated Hispanic, while Mexican (mestizo) heritage should be called Latino. Mexicans have been deemed white and non-white at various points in U.S. history (parts of which were Mexico) and parts of Spain were ruled by the Moors (think Othello) for over seven hundred years. In fact, they left Spain when Columbus did in 1492.
When filling out the census, Hispanics/Latinos can choose white, black, or other. In the last census, 53% self-identified as white while 36.7% checked other. The family that owns Goya came to the U.S. mainland from Puerto Rico after emigrating from Spain. The Latinos called for a boycott after Goya CEO, Robert Unanue, praised Trump, who has disparaged Mexicans. Got that straight?
Honorary Whites
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first U.S. law to target a specific group of people to be denied entry into the country and the Japanese went from our hated enemies to our best friends in Asia in a generation. Of course, there was that unfortunate little period when they were “interned” during World War II; for which they received reparations by the way. Now both are the “model minority.”
With a shared history of discrimination, it’s head-scratching why Asians would attack affirmative action in Harvard admissions. Asian Americans are 5.6% of the U.S. population and 25.6% of admissions in Harvard’s recent class. African Americans are 14.7% of the U.S. population and 13.1% of admissions.
Forty-three percent (43%) of white student admissions to Harvard were either legacies, athletes, or applicants whose parents or relatives donated to the school. Not a word about that. It amounts to fighting over crumbs, while others are walking away with a whole loaf. I don’t get it.
First Nation Wisdom
Elizabeth Warren claimed Native American ancestry and took a DNA test to prove it. The spokesperson for the Cherokee Nation said however, “A DNA test is irrelevant to determine tribal citizenship.” He went on to explain, “Tribal citizenship is a legal status, a political status, not a genetic status.”
Four faces: African, Asian, European and Native. American culture is the sum of all of these. We have a lot to learn from our Native American brothers and sisters to achieve E Pluribus Unum.
Staff Writer; Harry Sewell