My sister Natalie, majoring in Race and ethnic studies at the University of Chicago, recently had this article published in the school newspaper:
In addition to feeling a very similar personal connection to the article, I think that it considers a very crucial aspect of race relations in society. Being racially mixed, and looking racially ambiguous, I too am constantly asked the question, “so what are you?” I think that when we ask each other questions like this, we are making the mistake of equating racial identity to something as objectively concrete as height or eye color. I personally do not necessarily identify with any of my racial backgrounds, but instead all of them.
When we ask each other for these racially concrete answers; Black or white, we make the same mistake we do when asking someone if they are heterosexual or homosexual. I believe that we should be able to embody all of our cultural identities, and not just pieces of them. I am not only African-American, or only Native American Indian, or only Dominican. I embody all of the diverse pieces of my ancestry, and try to give that same right to everyone, regardless of how they are racially categorized.
I really liked how you compared race to "something as objectively concrete as height of eye color," That was a very creative way of expressing what you were feeling and it makes a lot of sense too.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great article. We love to categorize and define others by race. Not everything is so concrete. Good job!
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