Comments on: Are You Sure You’re Black?

By: Jason

Jason — Sun, 06 May 2007 17:47:28 +0000

Mike, no I hadn’t heard that but it’s interesting. Can you provide a link? I’d like to read more.

Could it be that because they are in the US, they are reacting to the particular definition of black we have here and saying they don’t accept that?

By: mike

mike — Thu, 03 May 2007 15:17:29 +0000

has anyone ever heard a haitian, jamaican, or a dominican like sammy sosa say im not black.i guess what they are trying to say is that their not african american. but it is still obvious that they are descendents of africa.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 14:19:50 +0000

That’s fascinating. Separating the notions of race and caste helps make it easier to think all this through. I wonder how many cases like the one you describe exist vs. color-line breakdowns. There is a caste system in India, for instance, but I’ve also heard Indians talk about “black Indians.” And in Vietnam, women cover their skin all summer to avoid getting tans because it’s not “beautiful” to be dark. I wonder if that was there before Hollywood films arrived there to teach them that good and bad are defined by skin color. I bet many a thesis has been written on this. I’d love to hear more.

By: judy

judy — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 16:28:32 +0000

About ten years ago I spent a month in France researching the lives of immigrant African women. While there I was amazed to discover something I was not looking for: that at that time in France, the Africans the French really despised were those from North Africa… people who, in my view, didn’t look very different from many French. Surveys also showed that the French had more positive feelings towards those Africans from sub-Saharan Africa, people with very dark skin. This is probably due to the fact that Algeria used to be part of France, and that the Algerian war for independence lasted eight brutal years. It is also very likely due to the fact that at that time there were many more North Africans in France than sub-Saharan Africans. But, finally getting to your question (“Is there a place that’s an exception” to the social rule”the darker your skin, the lower your social status?”),
the answer is “yes,” and I saw it in France. It was a good reminder to me that the creation of categories of people called “race” is basically about the creation of a caste system, not biology.

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 03:21:39 +0000

Interesting. It’s sad that people seem to think of you in terms of stereotypes but the upside (if there is one) is that you don’t play into them and so force folks to rethink the boxes they put people into. It’s hard for me to imagine having to answer those kinds of questions daily. I think I would flip after a while!

By: davo

davo — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:41:17 +0000

It’s amazing that you say this, because here in the south (as is probably expected, who knows?) your social identity is determined by how you act. I was raised in the Midwest, and to anyone but Midwesterners, it’s obvious.

So everyday I’m barraged with questions and statements like

“Why (do) you act so white?”
“You talk like a white boy”
“Do you even date black women?”

etc.

But never once have I been asked ‘are you mixed’ because my skin is typically dark (well, it’s lighter but not darker dark). The idea here is, if you act black you’re black. Even if you’re inherently white.

Great post.