Reply to Racial issues in DCPS for mixed race kids

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][b]I really don't think biracials are being harassed about their identity.[/b] I think that the way race is lived is highly personal. This discussion includes issues of color and class. There is also a strong undercurrent of power which is part of discussions of racism. If someone on the street says you are black and you don't feel that way, that person at most has made you have a bad day. If someone excludes you from an opportunity because of your race and/or ethnicity this is something completely different. The challenge in a school setting is that you want your child to be treated with respect and not discriminated against.

I grew up in urban and suburban settings. I was teased by some black kids growing up in the urban setting, but I was excluded by white teachers from extracurricular activities because I was not white or "white enough" (hair not straight enough). I cannot recall a single incident of teasing although it happened relatively frequently (at least a few times per week), but the incident with the teachers makes my blood boil to this day.

- A biracial person who self-identifies as black, but is often perceived as not being black
[/quote]
I really do think they are. That was my experience and something I here from other biracials frequently. Ironically, biracials who identify as black are quick to say the harrassment doesn't exist. That's part of the game to maintain the vail. Sad.[/quote]

I'm not the PP but I understand her to say they may be "teased" by some people (as PP was) but that's different from harassment, which at least to me has a more systemic/institutional sound to it.  As a black/white biracial who does NOT identify as Black that rings true for my own personal experience.  Some black kids teased me for acting white whatever, but at the same time one of my best friends in high school was black.  I also experienced racism from whites and just because of the power dynamics of our country I experience that more as institutional discrimination rather than as a few bad apples.  YMMV.  P.S.  I grew up in mostly white suburbs.[/quote]

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