WTF: Part 1--The Color of Our Skin

So, you may have missed the Colbert Report interview with Debra Dickerson, author of the The End of Blackness, but here is one of her claims regarding blackness:

"Black," in our political and social reality, means those descended from West African slaves. Voluntary immigrants of African descent (even those descended from West Indian slaves) are just that, voluntary immigrants of African descent with markedly different outlooks on the role of race in their lives and in politics. At a minimum, it can't be assumed that a Nigerian cabdriver and a third-generation Harlemite have more in common than the fact a cop won't bother to make the distinction. They're both "black" as a matter of skin color and DNA, but only the Harlemite, for better or worse, is politically and culturally black, as we use the term.

In a Harvard Magazine article, by Craig Lambert, he explains Dickerson's perspective a bit more:

"Consider the case of a 51-year-old high-school principal in Los Angeles, a man of Louisiana Creole ancestry who had always considered himself an African American and lived his life accordingly. On a whim, he sent a mouth-swab sample to a company in Florida that, for a fee, will analyze DNA to genetically locate the origin of one's ancestors. He learned that he was 57 percent Indo-European, 39 percent Native American, and 4 percent East Asian—and zero percent African. "So; was he black?" asks Dickerson. "Is he still black?""

I would say, "Ask him!" We are what we identify as and that is shaped both by our inner worlds and the external world in which we live our lives. If this man feels black, then he is. It sounds as if he always identified as black and has been treated as black his whole life. I imagine that has shaped his character and sense of self, just as gender does. It seems absurd to expect him to suddenly identify as Indo-European or Native American when he is unfamiliar with those cultures and has never felt he belonged to them. If he does, it's his business, and doesn't necessarily speak to the experience of every other person of color.

In reference to Barack Obama, the exchange with Colbert went as follows:

Colbert: Your book is called The End of Blackness and I want to come out right here and say I'm against ending blackness. I believe that everyone has a right to be black. It's a choice and I support that. Now settle something for me. Is Barack Obama black?

Dickerson: No, he's not...(see above).

Colbert: OK, so if he's not black, why doesn't he just run as a white guy? Because we know that black people will vote for white people and white people will vote for white people, but we're not sure that white people will vote for black people....

Dickerson: Well, he's not white either. He is an African African-American....

Colbert: Should we make up a new name for what he is?

Dickerson: Yes, we should.

Colbert: What about nouveau-black?

My husband I were both laughing out loud, very loudly. Come on, "African-African-American"?!

Certainly, I don't have the right to tell anyone how they should identify themselves racially or culturally, but neither does Debra Dickerson.

This is only one of many writers focused on Barack Obama's race. This saddens me, much the same way the focus on Hillary Clinton's gender does. The Obama issue is both complex and telling. Many have questioned the willingness of white voters to elect black candidates, but nearly as many also doubt the black community's willingness to elect a black candidate. Now, we are parsing Obama's racial, cultural, and social identity.

Some have finally started to focus on Obama's actual politics, and they don't paint an entirely rosy picture. But he knows his candidacy is audacious; he said that himself. I support Obama, at least for now, because if nothing else, he is bringing energy and hope back into the political realm. Even if he loses, his presence is changing the tenor of the race for president and our country's discussions. Once people stop focusing on his race, and start listening to the man's words, they may find that he has something to offer no other candidate does--inspiration. In the end, the President is only one person who consults and works with a myriad of experts to run this country. Imagine what might be different if instead of Bush's twisted and nearly retarded public speeches, we had Obama talking to us and guiding us through this precarious moment in history.

People tend to follow their leaders, even into folly. With President Bush, a lot of people have followed him into a place of fear, revenge, greed, and oversimplified thinking. These same people might just be moved towards tolerance, justice, hope, and critical inquiry with the right person encouraging them to do so. Even if he's a political rookie, even if he has some lackluster energy policies, Obama can give me what I know I have been missing since 9/11--faith in the goodness of the people leading this country and hope that our better natures might be able to thrive.

And, about his race: He was born in Hawaii. His father is Kenyan and his mother is American (from Kansas). That's about as African American as it gets. In some ways, he is both more African and more American than Debra Dickerson.

NPR Rocks

Thank you, NPR! You'll find three audiofiles from NPR's "This I Believe" series in my shared items today. NPR has called for people to send in essays stating their philosophies of life. This is a revival of an Edward R. Murrow series.

It is a very moving project. If you need a little lift or contemplative moment, just listen to these. I think I'm going to have to incorporate them into my writing classes somehow.

Enjoy!

Family Values, American Style

UNICEF ranks well-being of British, U.S. children last in industrialized world


That's the US News headline for Valentine's Day. The article explained:

"The U.S. was last among the 21 nations for health and safety, measured by rates of infant mortality, low birth weight, immunization, and deaths from accidents and injuries.

Meanwhile, Britain was last in family and peer relationships ranking, which measured such things as the rate of single-parent families and whether families ate the main meal of the day together more than once a week. It was also last in behaviors and risks, which considered factors such as the percentage of children who ate breakfast, were overweight, used drugs or alcohol or were sexually active."

At a time when the lawmakers in our capital, and pundits across the nation, are pondering questions which include:

Should we bring back our soldiers from a failed war?
Should we provide universal healthcare for our citizens?
Should we ensure that Social Security is, well, secure?
Should we invest more in education?
Should we allow illegal immigrants many of the rights of legal residents?
Should we regulate corporations and individuals to enforce environmental responsibility?
Should we end tax-cuts for the rich and return to Clinton-era tax levels?

We get this NEWS--America is not caring for its children. Isn't the connection obvious? Isn't it clear that every single thing we do, from healthcare to environmental regulations, affect our children?

Should we bring back our soldiers from a failed war?

When parents are deployed, redeployed, maimed, or killed , children pay the biggest price. They lose a parent, sibling, caretaker. Even if Mom comes back, if she is suffering from PTSD or disabled, her child's quality of life is permanently altered. The same is true when Dad comes back a little less himself than before the war. I know this is the price of war. I admire the soldiers willing to fight to protect my rights. That is precisely why it is outrageous that their gifts and sacrifices are being squandered in Iraq. It's just not worth it.

Should we provide universal healthcare for our citizens?

When parents can't pay for preventative healthcare, for themselves or their children, it's children that suffer. It is far worse for a child to end up in the ER, than to get the flu shot. When parents are sick, they have less energy to be good parents. We save money by privatizing healthcare, but the ones who pay are children. They will in turn, grow up to be less healthy, happy, and productive adults than children who did have access to regular medical care.

Should we ensure that Social Security is, well, secure?

Isn't Social Security a problem for the elderly? Not if you look around. When the elderly can't take care of themselves, there are a few things that can happen:
1. They end up on the streets. This is the worst case.
2. Their grown children take care of them.
(3. Right now, social services can step in and help, but this requires continued funding.)

Option 2 might be okay if the grown children have enough money, help, and time to care for a parent and their own children. Picture a middle-aged couple with ailing parents, if they have to pay for mom and dad to be in a nursing home, that leaves less money for their kids' college, school, etc. If mom and dad live with them, that is a drain of time from the kids too.

When grandparents live in the same house as their grandkids it can be an amazing experience. Having my grandma live with us was a wonderful part of my childhood. However, she was very healthy and I had a large family support system. Many Americans are in not in such an ideal situation. Even my grandma relied on Social Security to help pay some of her personal expenses, such as medications.

When we cut back on social security and other services for the elderly, it impacts their entire family.

Should we invest more in education?
Should we allow illegal immigrants many of the rights of legal residents?

Education AND granting rights to illegal immigrants are linked issues. In my experience teaching community college I have seen some important things:

A large number of students graduate high school without the basic skills needed to understand the information they will encounter at work, in the world, and at home. It's not just their vocabularies that are limited, but their sense of empowerment and motivation. The schools have not just failed to inspire them to learn, they have taught these students that learning does not matter because they do not matter. This is the worst type of trap.

Also, MANY talented and motivated students in California are paralyzed at the community college level (or lower) by the fact that they cannot work legally in the U.S., even if they do complete their education. Imagine how futile it must feel to study and work to pay tuition, knowing full well that your work will mean nothing if or when you are deported.

Should we regulate corporations and individuals to enforce environmental responsibility?

One of the things that made teaching in Southgate difficult was the noxious air from the freeways and god-only-knows-what-kind of factories. When children breathe dirty air, drink filthy water, live in roach-infested public housing, and play in graveled lots, they are unable to experience the joy we typically associate with childhood. They miss out on rolling in the grass, or biking along a stream, or even just breathing easily (without asthma-meds). Our health affects our quality of life. This is just as true for children. How can they concentrate when they have headaches from the fumes, or are constipated from the trashy fast-food they ate?Hasn't the mind-body connection been established by now?

Should we end tax-cuts for the rich and return to Clinton-era tax levels?

Tax cuts--HA! The tax burden has shifted to the middle-class. Those of us who are middle-class can't afford nannies and vacations in the Hamptons. When we are struggling, we work overtime, trim our grocery budget, and cancel our family vacation. Maybe when the President is picturing his rich friends smiling about the tax cuts, he should picture the millions of average-income kids sitting at home alone watching TV while mom and dad work overtime. They are truly being left behind.

Let's talk politics; let's examine the issues that affect families and kids. The personal is political. When we forget that, we forget what government is really for--to serve the people, even the ones who aren't old enough to vote.