Is Barack Black?

Not so many years ago grown people called me 'milano,' confusing the offensive name for a mule and a pepperidge farm cookie. It's exciting how much more sophisticated the dialog around race has become now that someone brown will be living in the white house. Although I was blogging about these nuances ages (ok, days) ago, this article is super interesting and from a legitimate news source (thanks Nora!).

"One well-known African American writer, Debra Dickerson, famously objected to calling Obama black on the grounds that because he is not descended from slaves, he is not of the people properly defined as "black." Ergo, he is not black - at all."

The implications of this are fascinating...and I can't help but relish in the thought of being blacker than Barack. Booyakah! Look who's coming to dinner on Turtle Island!!!!

However, the author - of mixed origin - concludes:
"Many of us forged a black identity, one that was not at odds with being mixed-race, but arose out of our experiences as mixed people: from an awareness that the racial dilemma we were born into has its deepest roots in anti-black prejudice. For us, being black and mixed-race are not mutually exclusive. We have learned to live with the contradictions. Perhaps it's time for everyone else to learn to live with them too."