Do I tell my kids they are mixed?

[Anonymous]

I think you are way overthink it and they are barely mixed. Tell them about their heritage sure, but calling them mixed to fit in is bizarre. Many people have curly frizzy hair, especially Jews. Maybe you have some Jewish in you too.

[Anonymous]

You (and your kids) are not mixed. Sorry you can’t steal another culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But you guys would be eligible for reparations to hang on to that report!

No they wouldn’t b/c there isn’t “heritage” enough to qualify—this is from a census perspective and how racial qualifications were determined.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But you guys would be eligible for reparations to hang on to that report!

No they wouldn’t b/c there isn’t “heritage” enough to qualify—this is from a census perspective and how racial qualifications were determined.

The census doesn’t work that way for African ancestry.

One of my grandmothers was at least 75% white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kids then are most 1/16th and more importantly you don't identify as black, you weren't raised in a black family, except for curly hair you don't look black. Mention it in passing but it is really offensive when white people who are 1/16th and weren't raised in a black family go around saying they understand the struggle because they are part black too.

Wow, how did you get that out of OP’s post?

[Anonymous]

You black, embrace colleges admission

[Anonymous]

Aren’t we humans all descendants from Africa?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But you guys would be eligible for reparations to hang on to that report!

No they wouldn’t b/c there isn’t “heritage” enough to qualify—this is from a census perspective and how racial qualifications were determined.

The census doesn’t work that way for African ancestry.

One of my grandmothers was at least 75% white.

Your grandmother was classified as a quadroon:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadroon#Racial_classifications

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But you guys would be eligible for reparations to hang on to that report!

No they wouldn’t b/c there isn’t “heritage” enough to qualify—this is from a census perspective and how racial qualifications were determined.

The census doesn’t work that way for African ancestry.

One of my grandmothers was at least 75% white.

Your grandmother was classified as a quadroon:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadroon#Racial_classifications

And here are terms used by the US census:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/04/every-term-the-census-has-used-to-describe-americas-racial-groups-since-1790/%3foutputType=amp

[Anonymous]

I am not claiming to be Black at all, that’s ridiculous. I was seeking advice one now to explain it to my kids, since they will probably have questions about why an ancestor was black and they aren’t. It was something I suspected from a young age(if you saw me, you wouldn’t be surprised either) and I wished I and known.

[Anonymous]

I am the same as OP. Blue eyes, pink skin that burns, blond hair. It is more of a novelty that my great grandmother was black. She “passed” so she was fair so probably also mixed. I do not identify on any census as mixed race. Even under the laws that identified people as black, you had to be 1/8th and I am 1/16th at the most. To identify as black now would seem to me an effort to take advantage of racial set asides and affirmative action and that would be really crap because I have never been subjected to racism and neither had my dad or his dad. My kids know and it is not a thing. It isn’t something that matters to us on a daily basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your great, great grandfather was black, that makes you 1/16th and your kids 1/32nd.

I am 1/16th Cherokee. I look white and I have lived my life in a cozy suburb and experienced none of the hardships that Native Americans have faced. My kids know our heritage, but they don’t identify as being Native American. I’m not saying what is right for you or your family, just sharing my own situation.

Definitely educate your children on their heritage if/when they are old enough to understand. It’s a shame that your grandmother felt she had to make that choice.

I wouldn’t consider 1/32 mixed race.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But you guys would be eligible for reparations to hang on to that report!

No they wouldn’t b/c there isn’t “heritage” enough to qualify—this is from a census perspective and how racial qualifications were determined.

The census doesn’t work that way for African ancestry.

One of my grandmothers was at least 75% white.

Your grandmother was classified as a quadroon:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadroon#Racial_classifications

And here are terms used by the US census:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/04/every-term-the-census-has-used-to-describe-americas-racial-groups-since-1790/%3foutputType=amp

Too far back to impact OP’s family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ummm, I'd get some verification first.

A DNA genealogy test kit is like $99.

https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/

My great-grandmothers census records(she died when I was about 9) seem like pretty accurate info and the fact that her father is buried in a African American cemetery in North Carolina, because he could not be buried in a “white cemetery”

Okay, but they're bound to have questions about where in the African continent they're descended from. You could make it a fun game of European and African heritage night. Then talk about your past generations struggles for acceptance, inclusion, race/racism etc.

PP, no you can’t make this piece of family history into a fun game night. Racial laws to identify degree of blackness were simply racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But you guys would be eligible for reparations to hang on to that report!

No they wouldn’t b/c there isn’t “heritage” enough to qualify—this is from a census perspective and how racial qualifications were determined.

The census doesn’t work that way for African ancestry.

One of my grandmothers was at least 75% white.

Your grandmother was classified as a quadroon:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadroon#Racial_classifications

And here are terms used by the US census:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/04/every-term-the-census-has-used-to-describe-americas-racial-groups-since-1790/%3foutputType=amp

Too far back to impact OP’s family.

These terms were used until the 1950s. It wasn’t until the 1960s that people were allowed to self identify on the us census:
https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/06/11/chapter-1-race-and-multiracial-americans-in-the-u-s-census/

And “negro” was dropped in 2013:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/OTUS/us-census-bureau-drops-negro-surveys/story%3fid=18591761