Recently, my grandmother sent me a clip from the op/ed section of The Hartford Courant. The piece caught my grandmother's eye because it addressed presidential candidate Barack Obama's race. The writer, Rachel F. Gary, chose to respond to the media's habit of calling attention to Obama's African heritage. Ms. Gary observed that broadcasters label Obama as "the first African American, Democratic presidential candidate." She says this label is inaccurate. Barack Obama is biracial. Calling him "black" or "African American," Ms. Gary notes, does a disservice to his maternal heritage. It also identifies him as something he is not.
Ms. Gary is biracial and chooses to identify herself as such. She does not see herself as half black and half white; rather, she sees herself as a wholly, biracial being. I have struggled with the identification process myself. My father is East Indian, and my mother is Irish. I, of course, look white because of my fair skin. My mother indicated "white" on my birth certificate. My younger brother, however, takes after my father and looks Indian. My mother still chose to identify him as a white baby when he was born, though. Today, seeing Patrick, no one would ever suspect he is Irish.
The problem with these labels is that they rely on stereotypes. What if my brother Patrick were born in Ireland to Irish citizens? Wouldn't he then truly be Irish? The same problem occurs with my identity. Even when I tell some people that I am only half white, they say, "Well, you act white, so you should call yourself white." What an ignorant way of thinking! What is acting "white"? What is acting "black"? What is acting "Indian"? Differences in personality and lifestyle exist across cultures. People are products of their environments, not necessarily their races. Barack Obama has a fascinating background because he was raised in transnational settings. I am sure that he uses those environments, rather than his biracial makeup alone, to account for his identity.
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Yes, someday, I hope we are beyond the labels. I guess we're stuck with them for a while, but as a white person, I rarely have to deal with it. If I were of a different race, I guess I would be hearing it over and over ...
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