[Ed S.]

I understand the need for 'people of color,' or any people for that matter, to make strides in areas they previously haven't. I think it's good for society. But these delineations make my head hurt. What exactly is an 'African American'? I think the term is over-used and sometimes even abused. To be accurate, shouldn't Halle Berry have been the first 'Mulatto-American' best actress? Also, if she had gotten more of her mom's genes than her dad's, would I even be writing this? I have a friend who looks 'white,' but is so many things melded into one it's not even funny. Which box should she check? And more importantly, why does it matter? Frankly, I think all this categorization is divisive and sad. We should get over it.

User Detail :  

Name : Ed S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 29, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : misc, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Kristina]

What you are suggesting has been tried by quite a few individuals of mixed heritage (especially with those who are half black half something else). Tiger Woods is one example that comes to mind. People do not accept this, because if your features look more black, then you are black; it doesn't matter what you are mixed with. And it is not blacks who are to blame for this; it is whites, because THEY are the ones who feel the need for a categorization of races. With this categorization, there can be no in-between -- you are either one or the other. And because blacks for the most part have the strongest genes in comparison to other groups, when they mix with a non-black, the child is going to look more black by white standards. This is why people like Halle Berry are more likely to check 'African American' than 'white' or 'other.' As far as the term African American, I see nothing wrong with it. In fact, it is the only term that gives us some identity (unlike 'black,' which is more negative). I mean, African is what we, are isn't it? We may not have been born there, but most of black America's ancestry originated from Africa.

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Name : Kristina, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 20, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : Transcriber, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Sherman]

It's easy to say 'get over it' when you don't have to deal with all of the negativety that comes with being a person of color. Does anyone know how many roles Halle Berry may have been refused because she wasn't white? No, you don't. If she wants to consider it a triumph for black women, who is anyone to say differently? Race seems to matter when I 'fit the description' of a criminal or I'm stopped in my car for 'driving while black' or can't get a cab, but it's a crime when we don't acknowledge all of humanity when accepting awards. I wonder how many times Jesse Owens was called the N-word before he won the Olympics. After that he was a great American. Things like that just make me laugh.

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Name : Sherman, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 34, City : Richmond, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Contractor, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class, 

[Hollie]

I have to agree with you. There is no need to have separation. I am a mix of four different races, so I usally check the 'other' box.

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Name : Hollie, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/Indian/Irish/Caucasian, Religion : Baptist, Age : 28, City : Ft. Riley, State : KS Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Alea29010]

Why is it even an issue to so many whites that she is half-white? Why is it that a black man can win, but if a black woman wins or a woman who looks black wins, society is so offended that they would ask questions such as yours?

First, most blacks are mixed. My mother is only about a quarter black, but because she looks black (even though she is much lighter than Halle), society has always treated her as black - and more importantly, just like Halle and so many other 'mixed blacks,' they FEEL black. Even if there was no racism to make them choose one race, I believe people such as Halle and my mother would still define themselves as black, because usually black genes dominate, and so these people look like other black people. Get it?

You say classification is divisive and sad. What's sad is that it's needed to ensure equality. As for your friend, just like Halle and my mother, she or he should define themselves however they like.

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Name : Alea29010, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Religion : Christian, Age : 22, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, 

[Wayne C.]

In the United States, historically, if someone had any 'black blood,' they were considered black. And we accept them. In the past, no one else would. Your friend who looks white but is really mixed would be considered black. In fact, this was coded into most (if not all) states laws. Furthermore, if they had any 'black blood' but looked white and claimed to be white, but were discovered to have a black relative, they were severely persecuted. Terms like 'Mulatto' and 'Octoroon' were terms created by whites in the United States to further classify and divide blacks among themselves. Only recently has someone like your 'mixed' friend had the luxury of claiming they are white when they have a mixed ancestry.

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Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Gerry Zanzalari]

What a sad joke this woman is. To claim that her award is significant for women of color is to ignore the fact that she is half caucasian. This nitwit is using the black portion of her genetic makeup to further her agenda of capitalizing on the politically correctness of minority status. My understanding is that her black father left her as a child and she was raised by her white mother. Did we hear any recognition of this? Of course not. Berry is no more than a whiney race baiting opportunist. If she had any self-respect, she'd be embarrased about her actions on the recent awards show. But as we all know, money trumps race every time.

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Name : Gerry Zanzalari, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 45, City : Philadelphia, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : Communications, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Teresa24692]

I wonder about this, too: if a person is a mixed racial heritage, and one of the those is white, the 'white' designation is dropped. To me, this reminds me of how racial classifications were designated during the times of slavery and after, where if a person had one drop of black blood they were considered black. It seems that to ignore one's white racial heritage when one is multiple is to acquiesce to this racist standard. Maybe 'African-Caucasian' would make an interesting ethnic tag.

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Name : Teresa24692, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 42, City : Austin, State : TX Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Serene28051]

I agree we should all get over it, but who is the 'we' you are referring to? You do understand that black people didn't make the 'rules' or the names and titles, we just have to live with them. Let me break it down like this: I am old enough to have been born 'colored', but then rapidly became 'negro,' which then became 'black,'and just when I was comfortable with that, I discovered I was African-American. Now I am confused because my mother has only called me by the name she gave me, and that is who I am. Until we get to the point where we can all be just who we are, there will always be titles enforced upon us all.

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Name : Serene28051, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 43, City : Chandler, State : AZ Country : United States, Occupation : Self Employed, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Tania S.]

'What exactly is an 'African American'? An African American is a black American of African ancestry. The Oxford English Dictionary contains evidence of the use of black with reference to African peoples as early as 1400, and the word has been in wide use in racial and ethnic contexts ever since. However, it was not until the late 1960s that black (or Black) gained its present status as a self-chosen ethnonym with strong connotations of racial pride, replacing the then-current Negro among blacks and non-blacks alike with remarkable speed. Equally significant is the degree to which Negro became discredited in the process, reflecting the profound changes taking place in the black community during the tumultuous years of the civil rights and Black Power movements. The recent success of 'African American' offers an interesting contrast in this regard. Though by no means a modern coinage, African American achieved sudden prominence at the end of the 1980s when several black leaders, including Jesse Jackson, championed it as an alternative ethnonym for Americans of African descent. The appeal of this term is obvious, alluding as it does not to skin color but to an ethnicity constructed of geography, history and culture, and it won rapid acceptance in the media alongside similar forms such as Asian American, Hispanic American and Italian American.

Why does it matter? Most everyone cosiders nationality, heritage, culture, geography and history to be a part of their individual identities. Referring to ourselves as simply 'American' would severely belie these factors. Likewise, the title 'black' says only that: The bearer is 'black,' which is not even a fact for a very large portion of African Americans. In contrast, 'mulatto' is neither a race, nationality, geographic region, or history of any group of people, but rather a combination of African-American and another race - usually assumed to be Caucasian. You may also note that 'mulatto' is considered by many of mixed race to be a derogatory term, originating from the latin word for MULE, being the offspring of a horse (presumably the white parent) and a donkey (...). The term is becoming less and less acceptable in 'politically correct' society. Hope this answers your question.

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Name : Tania S., Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 26, City : Montreal, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : Self-Employed, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[nashyel]

The reason I refer to myself as an African American is that I refuse to let the wider American society strip me of my identity. As long as I can remember, I have heard people say that 'we are all Americans' and such. But these are the same people who sneer when they imagine me dating their daughters, or cross to the other side of the street as I walk. Contrary to much opinion, we are not a melting pot. I will not label myself as black. Traditionally it denotes some sort of evil force. My people have had their identity torn from them. We became just 'black' while others were able to remain Italian, French or English. My being African American is a way to reidentify with my heritage, but on my terms. I will encourage my family to do the same. Until we are equal, you have chosen that I will be different.

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Name : nashyel, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Religion : New Age/Metaphysical, Age : 30, City : San Antonio, State : TX Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[BillT]

I couldn't agree with you more that we should 'get over it,' but I don't think it will happen in the near future, because of continuing racism in this country and elsewhere. 'Race' is a man-made concept, and is not scientifically supportable, but humans seem engineered to find differences among ourselves. The reality is that our society is still moving out of the 'old' world of predjudice, but it's a very long process. The distinction between black and white took centuries to become engrained in society, and it will take at least a couple of generations until we are done with that work. Until then, it is important to celebrate every success that society (not 'people of color') makes in getting closer to a true meritocracy. The most important part of both Halle Berry and Denzel Washington's wins was that I truly believe they were based on 'traditional' Academy thinking when awarding Oscars. It is rare that the 'best' performance wins (or that you can even define the best performance in a year). Usually winners are selected because the Academy wants to 'reward' a movie (e.g., Jim Broadbent in 'Iris'), or because the actor (like Denzel W., or Al Pacino when he won) was 'due' for a win after losing out for better performances, or because an actor played a part that required them to be crippled or unattractive (like Daniel Day-Lewis in 'My Left Foot'). The scuttlebut on entertainment web sites was that Halle's performance really did knock people out, while Denzel was likely winning for 'the Hurricane' and 'Malcom X' as much as he was for 'Training Day.' When Hattie McDaniel won the first ever Oscar by an African-American, many believed it was as much a political thing for her 'race' as for her performance. If we have made progress, it is that most folks probably didn't realize they were making history with their selections until the winners were announced; they were just going about their normal selection process.

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Name : BillT, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Recovering Catholic, Age : 35, City : Silver Spring, State : MD Country : United States, Occupation : Health Care, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[R. Martin]

I also agree that we should get over it. I mean, as long as we have this senseless labeling, it can bring no good. And the 'we' I refer to is the entire human race. We desperately need to get over it. It's a poison that's infected our state of mind and being, and everyone else around us since the beginning of time. But how do we do it? We can't. The best we can do is try and survive and be decent to one another to the best of our abilities, and stay away from the ones who can't or won't. There is so much hatred and ignorance overflowing the world that you would have to just wipe out mankind and start over. Also in the mix is not just race, but religion, age, gender, financial status and even where you were born, for crying out loud. As long as there is any type of hatred in any person, there are going to be complications to life. So what box should Halle Berry check? Check the box office, be lucky she has a job and makes a decent living. And for us, if you want to see Halle Berry in a movie, then watch it. If you don't, then don't. It should not matter what she is, where she's from, what she eats, where she shops or anything from her personal life. If you enjoy watching her act, she has at least one thing that you like about her. So why break her down and try to find things wrong with her?

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Name : R. Martin, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 26, City : Jacksonville, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : press operator, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Doug]

This is absolutely asinine, 'first black female to win an academy award', 'first black female to win at the bobsled'. We see it all the time in the media and the government, they promote the divisivness. Most of the time 'blacks' really don't care if their skin color is recognized. In my opinion a true African-American is one who immigrated from Africa and became a naturalized American. If you were born in the US, you are an American and shall be treated accordingly, this includes any person living legally in the US. I am white, but you could call me a German-Danish Jew-Irish-British-American, but society calls me white. And before anybody says that I have never been discriminated against, let tell you something. Yes, I am white, but I also have numerous tattoos, body piercings, I am into heavy metal music, I smoke and I occassionaly shave my head. I have been accused of being a racist, skinhead, Satanist, I have been denied promotions based on how I look, even though I dress professionally, act accordingly and excelled in my profession, which happened to be the US Army and was forced out of the Army based upon my tattoos. The US Army where every non-felon American can fight for their country, unless they have to many tattoos. By the way, when it comes to checking the race box, I leave it blank.

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Name : Doug, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : Hickory, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : Government, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Godz21521]

THERE IS NO QUESTION ABOUT MY RACE. MY CARAMEL COLORED SKIN, BIG BOLD EYES, ROUND HIPS, SMALL WAIST, FULL BREAST, AND HAIR THAT I CAN WEAR ANYWAY THAT I PLEASE MAKES IT CLEAR THAT THE PEOPLE THAT I REPRESENT ARE THOSE WHICH HAVE BEEN CALLED WHATEVER THE LATEST FAD IS. HOWEVER, WHAT TRULY MAKES ME CHECK: BLACK, AFRO-AMERICAN, AFRICAN AMERICAN,etc.. ARE MY EXPERIENCES. I AM SURE THAT MOST PEOPLE AT THE OSCARS FELT THAT HALLE 'OVER REACTED'. WHILE I WAS PROBABLY MORE CRYING MORE THAN SHE. IT IS ALL BECAUSE OF OUR EXPERIENCES AND THINGS THAT ARE TAKEN FOR GRANTED. WHILE GROWING UP HER EXPERIENCE WITH WHITE CHILDREN MADE HER FEEL 'BLACK'. ALTHOUGH, I AM SURE SHE ALSO 'CAUGHT IT' BY BOTH RACES, WE TEND TO BE A MORE EMBRACING PEOPLE. WE LOVE HALLE. SHE IS OURS BECAUSE SHE WANTS TO BE..AND CHOSE TO BE. ON THE OTHER HAND, ACTRESS JENNIFER BEALS (FLASHDANCE) HAS MADE IT CLEAR THAT ALTHOUGH SHE IS 'MIXED', SHE EMBRACES THE WHITE RACE. THAT IS HER CHOICE. EXPERIENCES MAKE YOU WHO YOU ARE. WOULD THIS BE AN ISSUE IF SHE'D WON AN OSCAR. I DOUBT IT AND I BASE THAT ON MY EXPERIENCES.

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Name : Godz21521, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 28, City : Kidd, State : GA Country : United States, Social class : Upper middle class, 

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