Growing up I was always very
confused by the idea of race. I first noticed that I was not normal when people
in elementary began bullying me by calling me adopted because my black father
would pick me up from school. Apparently since I wasn’t dark skinned there was
no way he could have been my biological father so I had to have been adopted.
Being mixed placed me in a weird
limbo state of race because I was never able to fully racialized into either
ethnicity. I culturally felt very black growing up because I would do things
like attend black church, get my hair braided and eat a lot of soul food. But the truth is no matter how culturally
black I am I will still never truly know what it is like to be black in America
because I will never experience being pulled over due to racial profiling or feel
discriminated against because of my skin color.
In counterpart I will also never know what it means to totally be white.
Racialization
is defined as the formation of a new racial identity in which new ideological
boundaries of differences are drawn around a formerly unnoticed group of
people. I think that America should start to racialization mixed people
as a new racial identity because we don’t really have a category that we truly
conform with.
Hi Faith! Although I am not of mixed race, I can see how it would be confusing for someone in that situation. You said that you do not completely feel part of one side because you are not racialized into a certain race, but this could also be looked at in a positive way: you have the ability to gain insight on both sides of the race spectrum. I think that it's pretty cool that you are able to learn about both cultures and their differences.
ReplyDelete-Kathleen
Hi Faith,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, I thought back about the "Invisible Knapsack of White Privileges." If a white person were to have been raised culturally black, I wonder how he/she would feel about the concept of such privileges. Would this person take advantage of having privileges? Would he/she see it as unfair and stand up against it?
I feel like if this concept were brought up by a white person who is culturally black, more of the public would start to notice/think of how active white privilege might be.
Cynthia Tai
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI find your last proposal interesting. To have a unique category to identify with would mean the government would have to list every possible "mix" of races. I believe since there are too many possibilities to mix races, they simply allow "other" to represent mixed race people. However, I do feel you on that same topic. Whenever I don't see "Chicano/a" on a government form, I choose "other". Personally, I feel as if this category does no represent what I wish to identify as at all. By checking the "other" box, I believe it makes people feel excluded and different.Great job on your post!(:
Hi Faith,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic. It was very interesting and eye-opening to hear about your personal experiences. I appreciate the fact that you are able to approach other sides of this situation objectively and you're able to analyze both sides, like being considered white or being considered black.