Why is Obama Black?
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If my wife and I ever have any children, they would be neither “brown” nor “yellow” but something else entirely (I am South Asian and my wife is Taiwanese). So, why do people perceive Barack Obama as black? His mother is fully white as far as I know and he’s biracial and both white and black. Why is everyone referring to him as the first black person to have a real chance at winning the presidency?
As the furor over the racial remarks by a pastor associated with Obama rages on, I am really curious about this. Obama is definitely the first half-black person to have a chance at becoming president but he’s not fully black. Maybe the Obamans in the audience can shed some light to this mystery.
Remember Halle Berry and her remarks about being a black woman when she won the Oscar? I think that having a certain degree of African American looks guarantees you one kind life experience in this country. On the flip side I suppose there were the initial mumblings among blacks that Obama was not black enough.
My wife’s cousin’s kid is a South Asian and Chinese mix. According to them, in South Asian company he looks Chinese and vice versa. So I think in large part, your race is defined by how you are perceived within the context of the dominant culture/media.
Three words: One Drop Rule.
My theory is that what colour society sees you as depends on where that ethnic group sits within that society’s hierarchy . For example, if the dominant ethnic group is European (economically & politically) purity of race comes to the fore in defining who you are. Thus mixed race individuals end up belonging to their ‘other’ heritage.
So the ‘top’ ethnic group becomes exclusive and the ethnic groups at the bottom of society end up inclusive. Numerous examples of this. eg. Blacks and American Indians in the US, Aborigines in Australia and Maoris in New Zealand. A person belonging to these ethnic groups might have 3/4 of his/her genes from European ancestory but the top ethnic group (in these example Whites) would still see them as a Aborigine, Maori, etc.
Given the same genetic makeup, would he be still perceived as black if he looked just like a white person. In that case he could have been perceived as multiracial or even white with black heritage.
“His mother is fully white as far as I know and he’s biracial and both white and black.”
I do not understand this. Just because his mother is white, why you say he like both man and woman? He happily married, so plees dont call him biracial. Is not correct. Also, why you say he both white and black? Maybe he is brown, or grey, but white and black? That would make him like zebra, and he definitely not like zebra. Such a handsome man. Now, now pleas dont say I also biracial he he he… I likes the ladies oh yeah.
I agree - Obama is not black. He is bi-racial, just as much as my daughter is bi-racial. However he has chosen to identify himself much more closely with the black community. He wrote extensively about his black roots (after spending a lot of time and energy thinking and researching it), he has chosen to do community service in predominantly black neighborhoods, married an true African-American woman. His chosen identity is black and perhaps that is why people identify him as such - I think it respectful to do so.
In her adulthood, if my daughter chooses to express her jewish identity as much as her White American identify and mask her Hindu and Indian identity - that will be her choice. She could certainly do that - Hopefully she will do it with as much conviction as Mr Obama does with his chosen identity. I certainly know of those who have struggled with their dual identities - belonging to both, never embracing either. Obama has not shown this problem.
Most of you (sorry, Borat) make very valid points and I think my question has been answered to my satisfaction. I am especially intrigued by the One Drop Theory referred to above (thanks tafkap).
I don’t think there is a problem if someone of such a background doesn’t feel as much conviction about a racial identity as Obama does. (Though I am not as convinced about his conviction to the black race as you are. See here — WSJ.) It’s just what it is. In 200 years or so, the world as we know today will be liberally spilled with drops from all the races leading humanity to devise new “drop theories.”
For once I was thanked, but the credit goes to papi.
Ah, indeed. Must have been feeling dyslexic yesterday. Thanks, papi.
You’re very welcome. The one-drop rule is fascinating for many reasons. At its core, it’s about exclusion of mixed races, but it can also be used for aggressive inclusion (the wiki entry referenced above has more on this topic.) For example, some years back, when Tiger Woods referred to his racial makeup as “Cablinasian”, he faced a firestorm of criticism from the Black community for selling out his roots, even though he was merely embracing every aspect of it.
Some of the comments above referenced Asian-White or Asian-South East Asian mixed-race individuals. I don’t think that’s an accurate comparison with reference to Obama. The racial wounds of the Black and White communities in the US are far deeper than those between other races, which makes acceptance by the community in question much more difficult. To be part of a community, it’s not enough for the individual to accept his membership in the group, it’s equally (if not more) important for the community to accept him, and therein lies the rub.
I agree with Borat. Obama is such a handsome man, totally hot. Black, white, grey, brown, who cares.
he’s hot
John’s Uncle, maybe the term Afakasi should be introduced, a ea?
On another “hot” personality: how does the world perceive The Rock? Is he black or is he Samoan?
Obama is apparently related to several US Presidents and even Winston Churchill through his white mother. See the US Today article.
“His distant cousins include President George W. Bush and his father, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry S. Truman and James Madison. Other Obama cousins include Vice President Dick Cheney, British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and Civil War General Robert E. Lee.”
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-03-25-obama-clinton-brangelina_N.htm
Apparently he is more ‘presidential’ by blood than Hillary Clinton.
Zen, why not take that one step further. Does environment or genetics determine who you are? For example, there are many Chinese girls raised by Tamil families in Singapore. The girls dress like Tamils (saris, etc), talk Tamil and go to the Temple. Do people view them as Tamils or Chinese?
Environment and genetics may not determine who you are but they certainly affect the other’s pre-determined perceptions about you.
What is the answer to the question? I am curious to know. Tamils or Chinese?
As I said, in pre-determined perceptions if people see these oriental-looking girls dressing up in saris, without listening to what language they are speaking, they would not think “Chinese” or “Tamil”, they would actually immediately think “Mizoram” or “Nepalese” because of the sari.
I have a friend who is of Indian descent, but was adopted as a baby by a Tongan family. She was raised as a Tongan, speaks like a Tongan, thinks like a Tongan and in all ways considers herself a Tongan. And we don’t view her as anything but a Tongan because we know her, but anyone else seeing her would immediately jump to the conclusion that she is Indian.
Obama is golden!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/09/btsc.obama.race/index.html