In case you hadn't heard the big news Obama is now officially black (at least on paper anyway.)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36157764/ns/politics-white_house/
It's been on my mind for a few weeks now and honestly his decision bothers me a little bit. Apparently he has decided that his mother, all of her relatives, and all of the ancestors that came before her don't officially exist (at least on paper anyway.) I'm sure it's for purely political reasons why he decided to disregard half of his racial heritage on the census form. Honestly you could skew the political implications many ways and that's not really why I'm writing about this. I suppose I am writing about this because it strikes a chord with me. My husband is black, and I am a white mother with three bi-racial children. And it makes me wonder....will I too be written out of my family's racial existence some day?
In our house we are just "us". Color is never an issue and so far it hasn't been one at school either. However, that doesn't mean the kids are unaware of the difference between all of us. I like to think that we are raising them to know that it's what on the inside that counts not the outside. As far as heritage, we want them to understand where they come from on both sides of the family because they have some pretty cool stuff on both sides. But! suppose they marry someone who is black? Apparently that means they are now completely black. Well that's fine for David but where does that leave me? Will I become a ancestral blip that everyone will conveniently forget about? What is the precedent that Obama is setting as the first bi-racial President (not the first Black President as everyone likes to say)? What is he saying to all the children out there of bi-racial relationships.....that you must choose one heritage over the other? That you must become one over the other? Why can't a person just be themselves, a person who celebrates the best of where they came from and where they are going in life?
I found this article today that goes over both arguments about racial identity. The first being that if you are part black, you are always going to be viewed as black. The second being that race is basically a state of mind, a choice, a wholeness of yourself...therefore you recognize all aspects of your racial identity..or you can chose to only recognize the racial identity to which you believe best identifies yourself even if you aren't even that race . Obviously, I agree with the second view (except for the last statement, I think you need to see all of yourself with a clear view not a cloudy one).
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/black-or-biracial-census-473104.html
As always, race is a sensitive issue. But is our household we try to tackle it a little more head on as I am trying very hard to give my children a healthy respect for both sides of their racial heritage. I want them to be proud to say "I am black and white.".......welllllll with some South American Indian and the other side of the family tree from India......but we'll get to that later!
