would i be considered black?

Student Lounge African-American Students
1

<p>mixed dad (black and white), black mom (whose mixed with some other stuff)...i know this question sounds so stupid, but am i in this position to mark "african american" on things? i don't want to if it's not my place.</p>

<p>i always considered myself black...i even marked black on my soph psat...but now i'm questioning.</p>

2

<p>yes you are</p>

3

<p>Technically you are multi/bi-racial and black in and of itself means nothing.</p>

<p>The only real thing that matters is “what do you consider yourself?”</p>

<p>Other people’s opinions are truly irrelevant.</p>

<p>Ex. My father is black, my mother is white. I don’t identify as black. I don’t typically mark black on race. Culturally, I’m definitely not black. However, many people still insist I am black. They are morons… Go with what you feel.</p>

4

<p>If you’re in America by law you’re black. Thank the one drop rule.</p>

5

<p>I’d say you are, especially if you identify that way. Sorry to try to hijack the thread, but what do people think of it the other way around? My dad is half white, half black and my mom’s white. So I’m 1/4 black and I consider myself just biracial (I would never feel comfortable identifying as just black or white, which is why I hate those forms that tell you to ‘choose one’…) but especially in the college admissions process and scholarship search there’s always that question of “are you black” and I really don’t know how to respond…</p>

6

<p>The one drop rule isn’t a law…</p>

<p>In fact, at various points of time there have been different ways of determining. The last official method was to just go by what was placed on birth certificates but that no longer stands as many states no longer list race on birth certificates and older certificates can have the race changed or removed.</p>

<p>The main thing is you are not “something” just because someone else insists you are. Whether the person insisting is white, purple or black.</p>

<p>I’ve found more resistance to my definition of what I am to come from the black side of the equation than the white. You know, I must be black but I’m acting white. That sort of thing…</p>

7

<p>Do your research. In TN, NC, VA, AR, AL, MS and a couple of states the one drop rule is an actual law. Is it one that many still practice, not likely but it’s still a law that’s barely 100 years old. </p>

<p>I don’t agree with it but it’s a law. I think people should be able to identify themselves however they choose. That’s the complication of laws, or society, and being bi/multi racial</p>

8

<p>the states you named are historically notoriously racist.</p>

<p>if you have NEVER in your life considered yourself black except for some benefit, then do NOT put it.</p>

9

<p>thanks everyone. yeah, i’ve identified myself as black my whole life, so i’ll continue to check that box.</p>

10

<p>If you’re interested in doing more reading on black identity, here’s an interesting interview that might be useful. [An</a> Interview with Harvard Professor Tommie Shelby: Racial Identities and Contemporary Politics | Per Caritatem](<a href=“HugeDomains.com”>HugeDomains.com)</p>

<p>Personally, my position on blackness (which I’ve come to realize is not wholly original but seemed like a genius idea when I first came up with it) is that it is something of a bipartite identity that surrounds the developing identity of the individual; there is a similar process undergone for the group as well. Within, we have our own, individual identities whose development is moderated by two separate forces. On the one hand, the black community - and here, I speak mostly to the experiences of the African Diaspora - forms its identity from within. However, from without, we have an identity that is socially imposed upon us that creates political and social solidarity that has served us in various emancipatory movements. These are both critical components of black identity, and our final identity is an amalgamation of those influences, as well as the product of the inclusion of our individual (and more localized group) experiences.</p>

<p>I hope that made sense. Black identity is a unique and fascinating quandary for those who attempt to unmask its essentials. :)</p>

11

<p>Or “Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America”
Eugene Robinson (Author)
<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385526547/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385526547/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;