Reply to Racial issues in DCPS for mixed race kids

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I find this to be a very intriguing thread, which has brought to the forefront something very difficult for everyone- a changing of the status quo. People with biracial ancestry- 1st generation, 2nd generation, "light-skinned blacks with green eyes, etc"... are finding themselves comfortable in this era to challenge racial stereotypes of the past. And this is uncomfortable. I'm a first generation biracial (1/2 MGM and half white- technically 1/4 AA) and I can tell you that the MGMs on my mom's side who look white never felt comfortable calling themselves black. [b]They very much wanted to assert the DNA that gave them blue/green eyes, which was European, but pressure from the black community forced them into the closet. I have a great-aunt who's in her 90s and she has told us stories of prejudice she endured by AAs in her community.[/b] Certainly, not all AAs are guilty of oppressing biracials, but there are many. This thread is the first that I've read pulling the veil of secrecy and shame off of this evil behavior. This discussion where this is discussed is upsetting to many because it's uncomfortable and AAs have been given a pass for the behavior. Whatever the case, I keep drawing the conclusion that what is important here is that people need to define themselves. Whites, AAs and biracials don't get to choose for others. That right is inherent in the individual. Period.
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Sorry, but the bolded really gave me pause!  Based on your aunt's age, and the horribly racist, segregted time she lived in, it sounds like what you're saying is she could have and WANTED to assert her European heritage, translation: "pass" (a hugely fraught term with all kinds of personal/political implications) as white and other black people resented her for it.  I can really symapthize with the black people in this position!!!  I remember an Oprah episode about how family membes who were out in the world "passing" often wanted nothing to do with their black-looking relatives for fear of being outed themselves.  (The show was about family reunions.)  Not to say your aunt did this, but just to point out that for a 90-year old, yeah, there would have been some really understandable tension b/w a white-looking MGM wanted to "assert" that and other blacks back then.  I can understand where all sides were coming from...[/quote]you lost me with the sympathizing with the haters bit. Why would anyone resent someone else for their thoughts about their own race? Sounds like jealousy and envy to me. Sad. People wo are confident in themselves. Don't have time for that silliness.[/quote]

Why?  Well, when someone's thoughts about your own race may make (or are perceived to make) it less likely that you will stand in solidarity with a cause that was hugely important at the time.  There are certainly elements of jealousy and envy to it ("This person has options I don't") but it was also a matter of political principles at that time.  It's not a matter of being "confident" in yourselves when you're living in segregation and Jim Crow and fighting for basic human and civil rights.  I'm talking about a particular era in time, people.  [/quote]

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