Nothing political, just something that's been irritating me. Barack has a black father and a white mother. Sort of the same as my kids with me as their mum and their dad who is White. We go to great pains to stress to our kids that they are neither Black nor White but "mixed". To say that they are one or the other is insulting to one parent. Of course they have Black and White backgrounds but they themselves are something else entirely, aren't they?
Yes, I'm aware that if someone has Black blood it's usually pretty obvious but minimising the other race just hurts. My kids are really fair and once when I was talking to Henry (actually, about Obama), he exclaimed holding out his arm "But I'm not Black!" as if it was a bad thing. Ouch. I tried to explain that he is both Black AND White but he didn't seem to get it.
So I know it's mostly me but if people could just remember that Barack is both races and maybe say that he has a Black background (and don't forget he's also White), that'd be great. Vent over.
kxx
2 comments:
Excellent points Karen!
We have the same issue in my household... white and filipino, the kids aren't either, but both!
I've just read your blog this morning [a true shock to the system] and am itching to call you to talk!! It amazes me that my experiences in Montreal, Toronto, the US and England seem to differ so greatly from yours. I can understand your point of view and can only imagine how frustrating it must be for you, as the mother of mixed race children, to hear these apparent negations of one side of their genepool. However, I can't disagree with the manner in which the media has been proclaiming that a black man is now president of the United States. Oftentimes in this society, seeing is believing. Mixed parentage notwithstanding, Obama can only ever 'pass' for one race with no question. He's never lied about his white mother, we all know about her but, let's be honest, almost all blacks in the US have mixed blood to some extent (our slave history being one reason). That doesn't stop us from facing the same challenges that a 'full-blooded', for lack of a better term, African might experience in Western i.e. white society. Hence our euphoria that 'one of us' now holds the most powerful office in the world. It gives us hope that race relations are progressing. It makes it easier to deal with the little and not so little knocks we experience on a daily basis. Although he's 'safe' now, exposing Henry to culturally diverse programs, books, music, people, etc will soon rid him of his seemingly negative reaction to his roots. Kristina, initially, also flipped at being called black, insisting that she was brown. I feel it's my duty to prepare her for life in this brave new world, ready with explanations of its good and not so good realities. Starting now will spare Henry the shock he'll experience in society (unless he stays in Ottawa; I remember you never have any issues there?)when he gets older. Gotta get to work but I had to respond to such an interesting blog. Can't wait to discuss in depth! JMHO …Kxx
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