Akilah Bolden-Monifa: NAACP Board Supports Marriage…
It's been a banner month for black women this Black History Month. We've got Beyonce Knowles appearing in blackface, we've had a group of budding black actresses defaming Coretta Scott King, Betty Shabazz, and Rosa Parks in a 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' spoof, and Halle Berry declared that the one-drop rule still applies in the year 2011. Speaking about how her daughter will identify herself, Berry said:
What I think is that that's something she's going to have to decide. I'm not going to put a label on it. I had to decide for myself and that's what she's going to have to decide-how she identifies herself in the world. And I think, largely, that will be based on how the world identifies her. That's how I identified myself. But I feel like she's Black. I'm Black and I'm her mother, and I believe in the one-drop theory. (Ebony magazine, via Necole Bitchie)
I wonder if Berry realizes that black people didn't come up with the "one drop" rule. She might not realize that:
The One-Drop Rule is an historical, colloquial term in the United States that holds that a person with any trace of sub-Saharan ancestry, however small or invisible, cannot be considered White and so unless said person has an alternative non-White ancestry they can claim, such as Native American, Asian, Arab, Australian aboriginal, they must be considered Black. (BlackHistory.com)
The rule was codified by various state legislatures during the rise of Jim Crow. The one drop rule is also known as hypodescent, meaning:
Hypodescent is the rule that automatically assigns the children of a mixed union or mating between members of different socioeconomic groups in the less privileged group. This is important to understand because it is how race is determined in the U.S. Because of hypodescent, race in the U.S. is fixed at birth and does not change. Also, due to the way hypodescent operates, the number of people classified as "black" or "Native American" is growing faster than the number of people classified as "white" because in order to be classified as white, both of your parents have to be "white." (Human Diversity and "Race")Berry made her statement regarding being an adherent to the one drop rule during the interview that accompanied her cover of the March 2011 issue of Ebony magazine. Ebony magazine for its part asked its readership to vote on whether the one drop rue should apply and 79 percent of the respondents said no.
Berry also went on to declare that she has not "abandoned" black people because she had a child with a man who was not black:
Well, first thing I want to say is that I'm very connected to my community, and I want Black people to know that I haven't abandoned them because I've had a child with a man outside of my race and I'm dating someone now outside my race who is Spanish and French. (Ebony magazine, via Necole Bitchie)
Coincidentally, or not, all of this chatter about race and Berry's dating habits erupted simultaneously with a brief ruckus between Berry and her baby daddy, Aubrey, during which anonymous sources indicated that Aubrey allegedly became angry when his daughter with Berry was referred to as an African American.
Why did Berry, one of our most successful actresses, feel the need to go on at length about who she chooses to date? You don't see Quincy Jones, Wayne Brady, Sidney Poitier, O.J. Simpson, Tikki Barber, Jamie Foxx, Dave Chappelle, Dr. Dre, Kobe Bryant, or the lengthy list of extremely successful back men who partner with non-black women making declarations of blackness or sharing their sentiments about the one drop rule and the supposed race of their children by non-black women. They just don't care how the blackness of their mates or children impacts their careers.
Even if public sentiments about Berry's dating habits could impact her movie career, I would hope that instead of attempting to appease the people who want to dictate who she -- or any black woman -- should date or marry, Berry would declare that she can date whoever she wants. Just like the men.
I can't help feeling that Berry's recent pronouncements on race are somehow tied to the release of Berry's movie, 'Frankie and Alice,' a story in which Berry plays a stripper with a multiple personality disorder. This annoys me.
Instead of coming across as having pride in her racial heritage, Halle's public declaration that she hasn't abandoned black people looks more like pandering and promotion for her latest movie project. Worse, all this talk sends a terrible message that black women who date and marry non-black men owe the black community an explanation or apology. They don't.
Complex discussions about race and identity should not take place as part of a promotional tour for a movie. Even if the sentiments are heartfelt and honest, they are clouded by the fact that Ms. Berry is attempting to peddle a commercial product. Not only do such declarations appear bizarre, they also seem opportunistic and highly exploitative.
Does her appeal to us black folks by invoking the one drop rule make us feel that she "has not abandoned us"? Or do we even care, as long as she makes great films with interesting black female characters? All I can say is, what a Black History Month! Maybe next year our stars will be able to show more pride with less drama.
Gina McCauley is the CEO of the Blogging While Brown Conferenceand the blogsMichelle Obama Watch and What About Our Daughters. She is currently completing her first book, 'Michelle Obama Watch.'
RELATED:
Is She Wrong For This? Halle Won't Give Black Side of Her Family 'One Drop' of Love (Clutch Magazine)
Comments: (69)
Add a comment
By: Ted McKim on 3/07/2011 7:52AM
Defininitions! I am truly amazed at the seemingly "post-racial" comments of people in this country claiming "choice". What choice are you referring to? All of these "mixed" people claiming "bi-racial", trying to "unclaim" the "negative". It's negative because they've accepted it. There is only one race and that is a fact! But that different varients of cultural affectations and their ramifications continually cause problems in the the world we live in. I just want to say "Thank you Halle" and for that matter "Thank you President Obama" for accepting the negative added to you everyday. That is the only way to overcome it.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: 8ESBABY on 2/26/2011 4:17AM
Sooooo Halle let OTHERS identify her??? So sad. No wonder she's all screwed up on the head (so I've read by past ex's). As far as her daughter - the girl is light, bright, damn near white, sandy colored hair and colored eyes....white features! She can't possibly overlook her white side with those features. Bi-racial people are BI-RACIAL - the minority is not the majority! SMH
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: ssmoneec1 on 2/26/2011 9:17PM
Halle Berry was affirming how she believes things to be in her mind. Her EX was calling Nahla white. This is not true. Nahla, has a black/biracial mother. And who is Gabriel to DENY that his daughter is part Black?? Halle is not White, and for him to say such a thing about his daughter, without even acknowledgeing that his Baby MAMA is a black woman (biracial even . . .) is insulting!! No wonder she left his ARSE alone! He probably treated Halle like crap! If Halle believes in the one drop rule, that's her right to do so. She's just acknowledging her daughter's BLACKNESS. Not once has she went to the media and said, that Nahla is 75% white.
She also said, that Nahla will have to decide got herself, which way she wants to be identified. when it comes to race when she gets older. But based on her looks now, she will be perceived a more BLACK than white. Even her hair a little kinky looking at times. Halle Berry is just being realistic.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: jds83 on 2/27/2011 9:03PM
I think peoples should identify the way they want, how they see themselves. I don’t think Berry needs to apology to black community for having a child by a white man or dating guys that are not black. If they have a problem with that then it’s their issue. We are all attracted to who we are regardless of skin tone. More and more people are identifying as mixed/biracial/multiracial it really would not surprise me if Berry’s daughter one day says she identifys as mixed and not black or white.
Why is it ok for Berry to say she sees her daughter as black but not ok if Aubery basically says the opposite that he sees his daughter as being white? I do agree with Berry it is up for Nahla to decide how she want to identity whether its black, white or mixed. I also don’t think an heritage should be denied it should all be honored and embraced.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: Asha Nzingha Rahni on 2/28/2011 2:25PM
All Halle Berry was trying to convey is the obvious: her child looks like any other light skinned African American child and so her experience in society will be that of an African American. All so-called Black people whose ancestors were forced into chattel slavery here in the U.S are multi racial. We are about 17% white and 5% Indigenous/Native. To be an African American is to be bi or multi racial. Berry and Obama recognize this. Halle and President Obama can walk into any African American home and find people who don't have a white parent who are lighter than they. African Americans are a mixed people which is why Barack Obama has chosen to identify with us.
If he were to go his mother's old white neighborhood, he would stand out. If he were to return to his father's Kenyan village, he would stand out. When he goes to Harlem, he fits right in. He's just another brother. This is what they have repeatedly tried to convey to us all.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: barbra fortman on 3/01/2011 12:10AM
It is not right, but if Halle, Barack, or any other mixed race person said "I am white," no one would accept it. People making a fuss about this know that and they should be honest and leave Halle alone. It is sad, but they have to go only on their appearnce and not on their choice of their heritage.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: Tatiana Lyulkin on 3/06/2011 1:09PM
I think the question is not whether or not we as biracials can pass as white but whether we want to.I don't think anyone has the right to force us to identify as biracial if we want to identify as Black. I am identifying as Black for two simple reasons: I happened to be Paul Robeson's goddaughter and in my case trying to pass would be like erasing everything he had stood for AND I would like for my talents to belong to the Black community. There are so many white people and people passing for white- I think the white community can afford to lose me. My idol is Walter White- the man who never considered himself a tragic mulatto.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: Tatiana Lyulkin on 3/08/2011 9:32AM
There is something else I would like to say. About the one drop rule in my life... Even before I was aware of my Black heritage, I could sense that the Black community is treating me unlike a typical white person. There is this special smile from the bus driver as I get on the bus, this special look from my Black college colleagues-like we share a secret. They know. Don't ask me how, but they know. So I guess the one drop rule is still relevant. So no matter what Nahla decides, she'll always have a place in the heart of the Black community.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: AllPeople (AP) Gifts on 11/26/2011 7:34PM
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
THE FACTS on the racist 'One-Drop Rule' :
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
Here is a brief COMMENTARY on … the consistent
misapplication of the racist ‘One-Drop Rule’ ** (to the
people who are of any part-Black / Mixed-Race Lineage):
.
[** PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE FACT THAT :
.
The racist ‘one-drop’ “rule” was made ‘illegal’ in the U.S. in
1967 by the U.S. Supreme Court via the ‘Loving vs. VA’ case
(i.e. The ‘Loving’ case) – where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled ...
.
--- 1) All ‘Anti-Miscegenation’ Laws found throughout the U.S.;
.
--- 2) The racist ‘VA Racial Integrity Act’ (upon which most
of the anti-miscegenation ‘laws’ were founded); and
.
--- 3) The ('black-lineage mocking' and exceedingly) racist
‘One-Drop Rule’ (upon which the ‘Act’ was based.)
.
… as being ‘UN-Constitutional’ (i.e. illegal, banned, etc.)
due to the fact that it was both 'racist' and 'unscientific'.]
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
THE FACTS on Mixed-Race Linage:
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
1) It is often a surprise for people to learn that,
in reality, there is actually No Such Thing
As a “Light Skinned Black” person.
.
2) Very few people seem to be aware of the fact that the term
“Light Skinned Black” is really nothing more than a racist
oxymoron created by Racial Supremacists in an effort to
forcibly deny those Mixed-Race individuals, who are of
a Multi-Generational Multiracially-Mixed (MGM-Mixed)
lineage, the right to fully embrace and to also received
public support in choosing to acknowledge the truth
regarding their full ancestral heritage and lineage.
.
3) The people who have been slapped with
the false label and oxymoronic misnomer
of “Light Skinned Black” person are simply
Mixed-Race individuals — who are from those
families which have been “of a CONTINUALLY
Mixed-Race Lineage THROUGHOUT all of their
multiple generations” (starting with the very
first generation of racial-admixing and
leading to their present generation.).
.
4) Seeing that every other Mixed-Race group is allowed
the dignity of receiving support in having itself referred to
by the term that it most prefers … the question becomes
…“Why should the situation be any different for
those Mixed-Race individuals who are of an
Multi-Generational Multiracially-Mixed
MGM-Mixed) / Mixed-Race Lineage?”.
.
5) If an MGM-Mixed / Mixed-Race individual would like to
be referred to by the term ‘Mixed-Race’ (which is what they
actually are) rather than by that of “Light-Skinned Black“
(a term, which, once again, has the racist-origin of being
nothing more than an oxymoronic-phrase that was both
created and coined by Racial Supremacists in an effort to
try to deny these Mixed-Race people their right to and support in
publicly acknowledging and also embracing their FULL-Lineage)
there is no reason that they (like every other group on the planet
– whether Mixed-Race or not) should not be allowed the right
to choose the term that society uses in referring to them
(and to have their full-lineage acknowledged within that term).
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
RELATED LINKS:
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/4160
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/4157
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
If there are any questions regarding the information
presented, I can be reached anytime at the email
address and / or websites noted below.
.
Thank you and have a good day.
.
Sincerely,
.
– AllPeople (AP) G.i.f.t.s.
soaptalk (AT) hotmail (DOT) com
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
ADDITIONAL LINK:
.
http://www.facebook.com/notes/allpeople-gifts/the-facts-on-mixed-race/321878451159708
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
Reply to this Comment | Report This