I am dark-skinned. I was born in Caracas, Venezuela; that would make me a Latino. I have Haitian blood flowing through my veins;... so I'm not really Latino, I'm Haitian...? I moved to the US in 1995, at the age of 10 . Up until then I did not find a reason to seek out an identity: I knew I wasn't a dog, or cat, or monkey; I was content knowing that I was a human just like everyone else I saw around me. I also knew that I was a Venezolano with a Haitian up bringing; I was cool with that?
"Welcome to the United States. From now on you are Black." Wait a minute, when did this happen? Not until I arrived to the US did I know there was such a thing as Black people and White people, or that Black & White were races; talk about culture shock. At first, I thought I had to conform with this idea of being Black. I found myself categorizing people based on skin color because everyone around me did the same thing. Gradually, I was taken deeper into the notion of Blackness as I begin to realize that Blackness is more than a skin tag, it's a life-style tag: "He/she is not black because he/she uses too many big words"; "He's got a little black in him because he can rap"; "He thinks he's black because he listens to hip-hop"...
I realized that being Black was not just a matter of skin complexion, but it also included a series of codes-of-conduct, like a club, almost. Not only did I realize there was a long and tough road ahead of me, I also realized there was a HUGE problem with the notion of "being Black". That's when it dawned on me: "Isn't Black a color, anyway?" From that moment on I begin to prepare myself for the rest of my life.
What is "being Black"? I believe there is no such thing. There is no such thing as the "Black race". Any appliction containing "Black" under the race/ethnicity column is asking for information that does not exist. This notion does not limit itself only to Black but also "White". Likewise, there is no such thing as "acting black or white"; one cannot act as a color, which is exactly what these terms are. The problem with many people who are tagged with these terms is that they choose to abide with the specific codes designed for each term:
Black: loud, aggressive, ignorant, poor, project-raised, stupid, criminal, jail-bound.
White: quiet, friendly, polite, rich or well-off, suburb/good neighborhood-raised, smart, success-bound.
But can you, or should you, categorize people as being "Black" or "White" based on their choice of living?
If a dark-skinned person chooses to become successful and by doing so educates his/herself, develops an elevated vocabulary, and earns a high-paying career, he/she is simply a person who has vision and is eager to leave a positive mark in the world's history. Similarly, if that same dark-skinned person chooses to do wrong, he/she is a person wihout vision. This extends beyond the realms of Blackness and Whiteness and it applies to all humans in general. The pigmentation of one's skin does not define one from within.
I leave you with this thought:
What do you call someone born in China? ...
What do you call someone born in Puerto Rico? ...
What do you call someone born in Australia? ...
Where on the globe do you find a continent or island called Black...?
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skin color does not define a person. However, there are stereotypes, and thats what people pay attention to.
If you're white, you're rich.
If you're black, you get into trouble a lot.
If you're chinese, you're really cheap and all you eat is rice.
If you're mexican, you probably don't speak english.
Believe it or not, stereotypes fit on a lot of people, but that doesn't mean that everyone thats white is rich, or everyone that's black is a trouble maker.
Its just life.
Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.
Race is purely a social construct to keep those in power stay in power. It does not exist, although it seems to have taken over a lot of people's lives. It works for gender and class too. It's sad that in today's world, it's still this strong in people's own and perceptions of others' identities.
-Sonja :)
"Democracy works only when you vote. When you don't take the time to vote for the candidate you find the least offensive, you run the risk of electing the candidate you find the most offensive."
I've always thought that our worlds obsession with color is ridiculous. Personally I've never cared about the fact a person is white or black, yellow or brown. Sure I've noticed the difference, but I know that beneath the colored skin is just anouther human being.
Im also facinated my color. I like the fact that humans come in so many colors. But I look from and artist point of view, never with hate. Differences can and usually are good things (most of the world hasnt realized this unfortunately).
OK. You don't want to be called black. That's fine with me. Although I don't normally get too hung up on the political correctness thing so if I saw your picture I might call you that if I was asked to describe your race.
I am half Cuban (whatever sort of mixed race mongrel my Mom is) and the rest is a mix of English, Scottish, Irish, and German which is the sort of European descended mongrel my Dad is. I look white but you can see the latino a little if you know to look. My Mom is clearly latina and both my little sisters run more to her looks.
I just call myself an American. No hyphens required. If anybody asks I sometimes refer to myself as a mutt,
When I fill out the forms with the little check boxes on them I sometimes claim to be Non Hispanic White and I sometimes claim to be Hispanic and sometimes I just leave them blank or check all the boxes. They piss me off. I hate the system and I think it is wrong for the government to hang labels on people and give people with certain labels preferences and the best way to make it go away is to make a mockery of it. Everybody should just refuse to cooperate with those little check boxes.
If not black, what do you prefer to be called? American, Venezuelan? Most people in America choose their own label.
You'll have an advantage when you apply to college and when you apply for scholarships if you check the box that says "black". I guess that is the upside of the situation for you. White people, including recent immigrants who had no part in it, get screwed to make up for the sins of some of our forefathers. And people like yourself who's ancestors were never a victim of those sins committed in the USA benefit because you look right. I told my daughter to embrace her Hispanicness until she was done with college and I'd give you the same advice.
Honestly it's not about that. I don't want to be called a color. It has nothing to do with being politically correct or incorrect; the bottom line is that it's not correct. Don't tag my skin, tag my intellect, tag my hobbies, tag my likes and dislikes, all if you must... not my skin. I cannot choose my pigmentation, but I choose all these other things.
KeLz!
If someone asks me what I am (meaning race), I often say, "I'm just Sonja."
-Sonja :)
"Democracy works only when you vote. When you don't take the time to vote for the candidate you find the least offensive, you run the risk of electing the candidate you find the most offensive."
But what if I'm simply trying to describe your physical appearance to someone?
WOW, very nice. It is pretty sad how sepaarated by race America is. We are 1 of the few countries that label their people by race. Everything's black and white here...either ur black, white, hispanic, or asian, there's no in between. but so many people in our country have those "black" characteristics, i.e. skin color, but have so many different ethnic backgrounds, how can they be labeled as 1 race? That's making them choose between representing their mom's side of the family or their dad's. Personally I know quite a few people that are mixed and some of them have identity crisis because they never know which 1 of those stupid boxes to check when taking tests. While other people will point out their diverse background only to make fun of it to fit in with the "white" kids. It is such a mystery to me how after over 300 years of our nation's exitence, we're still dealing with the categorizing of people into groups. America is about freedom; being free, and being able to have a good childhood, get a good education, find a career that makes u happy, get married, and live happily ever after...but so many people can't do that because of this little 4 letter word-race
I use "black" as a description of skin color... but that's not really accurate either, as very few people actually look BLACK.
Anyway, great post.
Great post! I see where you are coming from. I have a black roommate who is what people call "white-washed". She just speaks proper english and doesn't dress ghetto so what? Her mom's coworker asked her mom one day why my roommate spoke like that, and her mom said like what? Proper English?
I found it interesting that they thought she spoke funny because she spoke with correct grammar etc.
Après la pluie le beau temps. ♥