http://www.post-gazette.c...al-328436/

Heather Curry believes President Barack Obama is denying his white heritage by identifying himself as African-American.

"It's great that he's biracial," says Ms. Curry, 19, a Point Park University advertising major who identifies herself as biracial. "I wish he would accept it a little bit more."

The election of Mr. Obama -- the son of a white woman from Kansas and a man from Kenya -- has jump-started a national dialogue on race and racial identity as America's view of multiracial people changes.

Mr. Obama always has acknowledged his biracial background but identifies himself as African-American. With Mr. Obama, people see who and what they want to see, says Joy M. Zarembka, the Washington, D.C.-based author of "The Pigment of Your Imagination: Mixed Race in a Global Society." "And most everyone can relate to him -- whether [they're] white, black, rich, poor, foreign, American, etc."

People often look at multiracial people and highlight whatever aspect of their background makes them feel most comfortable.

"I've never received so much attention merely for being a similar racial combination as someone else," says Ms. Zarembka, a Point Breeze and Squirrel Hill native who has a Kenyan mother and European-American father. "People now automatically apply some of his attributes to me -- fairness, calm under pressure, etc."

However, she wonders: "If he were to fall from grace, would I automatically as well?"

Some mixed-race people feel they can relate to Mr. Obama, but so can an Iowa farm boy, says Ms. Zarembka, executive director of the Break the Chain Campaign at the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank in Washington.

Ms. Curry thinks the media have helped define him as only black and fears that history will forget that America's "first black president" actually is a biracial man.

"I feel like there are not enough [biracial] role models out there," says Ms. Curry, whose father was white and mother is black. "We need to say we're proud of our heritage."

Her roommate, Erica Stewart, has a different view. Ms. Stewart has a white mother and a black father. Because her mother raised her, she identifies more with white culture than black culture, but she embraces aspects of both and often is mistaken for Hispanic.

"If [Obama] feels more African-American, I don't have issues with that," said Ms. Stewart, 19, an art major at the Community College of Allegheny County. "If I had grown up with [my father] instead of my mom, I would have identified more as an African American."

Friends since middle school in Erie, the two young women recall how they struggled to figure out their own racial identity, routinely seeming too black to some whites and too white to some blacks.

"I feel like growing up, different people would interact with me differently," Ms. Stewart said.

They both felt a bit squeezed between two cultures. Ms. Stewart's maternal grandparents dressed for dinners out and enjoyed classical music. Her mother was into classic rock. Her dad's side of the family expected her to be into R&B and rap music and know certain things about black culture.

When she'd come home from a weekend visit with her dad, with new R&B and rap music in tow, she couldn't play it too loudly at her mom's house.

"I felt I couldn't mix the different sides of the family," Ms. Stewart says.

In the 2000 U.S. Census, when Americans first were allowed to check more than one box for race, about 6.8 million people out of 281.4 million reported being of two or more races. In a 2007 American Community Survey, when the U.S. population was 301.6 million, about 6.3 million people reported being of two or more races. However, given the survey's margin of error -- plus or minus .3 percent -- that figure could be as high as 7.2 million.

Ms. Curry thinks Mr. Obama identifying as African-American could be confusing to mixed-race children, making them feel they have to choose or making them think, "If Obama says he's black, does this mean I'm black?" She thinks biracial people shouldn't choose one race over the other because they are both.

"I'm biracial," she says. "I will fight somebody who calls me black."

Mr. Obama has a special resonance with African-American people, people of African descent, people of color in general and multiracial people.

"Because he identifies as African-American rather than multiracial ... there's a certain tension there," says G. Reginald Daniel, a University of California, Santa Barbara, sociology professor and author of "More Than Black?: Multiracial Identity and the New Racial Order."

Elliott Lewis, a mixed-race man, journalist and author of "Fade: My Journeys in Multiracial America," finds the ongoing debate about whether Mr. Obama is black or biracial frustrating.

"We assume that these terms are mutually exclusive, and they're not," he said. "The biggest mistake people make in this discussion is to assume there's only one correct way to be biracial."

The formation of a person's racial identity is a psychological process, not a mathematical equation, he says. Ancestry doesn't necessarily equal identity.

"You can't just look at somebody's ancestry and say, 'They're half and half, so therefore, their identity is biracial,' " Mr. Lewis says. "This is a process that has to do with ancestry and culture and the racial climate you grow up in and how you see yourself in society."

Mr. Lewis' parents are mixed-race people who identify themselves as African-American while he is a mixed race man who identifies himself as multiracial. He doesn't feel a special kinship with Mr. Obama because he's biracial, but he has been impressed with how Mr. Obama has handled questions of race.

"He's embraced his black identity while firmly acknowledging his biracial background at the same time," Mr. Lewis said. "I think that's important because it demonstrates to young people, even though you may identify as one way, it doesn't mean you're dissing other parts of your heritage."

There's a generational difference in how mixed-race people racially identify, Mr. Lewis said. Biracial or mixed-race baby boomers, like Mr. Obama, are more likely to identify as black, and black alone, than are biracial Americans of Generation Y.

"Younger biracial Americans have grown up at a time when diversity has been seen as positive, as something to be celebrated," he says. "Biracial baby boomers did not grow up in that kind of racial climate."

Multiracial and biracial people born within the past two decades haven't felt as much pressure as earlier generations of multiracial people to choose one racial identity over another, Dr. Daniel says. Much of identity comes down to color, and people with darker skin, regardless of ancestry, will be treated as people of color in society. Mixed-race people with lighter skin have more options.

A decade ago, people who identified themselves as biracial had to explain or defend their identity. Today, biracial people who don't call themselves biracial have to explain themselves.

"It's almost like we're trading one arbitrary rule for another," Mr. Lewis said. "It's almost like we're trading the one-drop-and-you-must-call-yourself-black rule for the one-drop-of-any-two-races-and-you-must-call-yourself-multiracial rule."

Multiracial people have to decide their racial identity for themselves, he says.

"Most of the people I have heard who want to insist that [Mr. Obama] call himself biracial are either mixed-race people themselves, who want him to identify as they do, or they are the parents of biracial children who want him to identify as biracial to serve as a role model for their kid, or they are white voters who are trying to convince other whites it's OK to vote for him," Mr. Lewis says.

About 75 percent to 95 percent of Americans have combinations of heritages.

"There are a lot of 'white' people who are actually the product of racial mixture, and the word 'Latino' fails miserably in its attempt to define a race," says Ms. Zarembka, who has been mistaken for Filipino, Italian, Pakistani, Puerto Rican and Ethiopian.

Mr. Obama's election doesn't mean there's now a post-racial America or that institutional and individual racism don't still exist. However, society's ideas about race are evolving.

"We have a mixed-race president," Ms. Stewart said. "Maybe it will open some eyes up and end some racism."

Mr. Obama is the right person for the job because of his talents, education, experience and skills, the young roommates say. His background is a bonus. Ms. Curry watched the inauguration live in a Point Park University auditorium with other students.

"It wasn't just one race, it was everyone," she says. "So, hopefully from my generation on, you'll see different attitudes toward politics and race and culture. It was really encouraging to see."

When I had my DNA analyzed, it revealed a mixture of heritages. But the majority(64%) is sub-Saharan African. I've always gone with black - it's how I was raised. For me, 'black' is more about culture, history and life experiences than skin color.

uPtoWnNY said:

When I had my DNA analyzed, it revealed a mixture of heritages. But the majority(64%) is sub-Saharan African. I've always gone with black - it's how I was raised. For me, 'black' is more about culture, history and life experiences than skin color.

Only 64%? Makes me wonder how African I am...

smoothcriminal12 said:

Oh don't start that now! You were the one who wanted him to only be identified as black because he's like, duh, black and stuff!

Spinlight said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

Oh don't start that now! You were the one who wanted him to only be identified as black because he's like, duh, black and stuff!

How can you be sure that's what I actually believe?

OldFriends4Sale said:

http://www.post-gazette.c...al-328436/

1/2

Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette

Roommates Heather Curry, left, and Erica Stewart chat between college classes at Starbucks in Market Square.

• 

Roommates Heather Curry, left, and Erica Stewart chat between college classes at Starbucks in Market Square.

By L.A. Johnson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Heather Curry believes President Barack Obama is denying his white heritage by identifying himself as African-American.

"It's great that he's biracial," says Ms. Curry, 19, a Point Park University advertising major who identifies herself as biracial. "I wish he would accept it a little bit more."

The election of Mr. Obama -- the son of a white woman from Kansas and a man from Kenya -- has jump-started a national dialogue on race and racial identity as America's view of multiracial people changes.

Mr. Obama always has acknowledged his biracial background but identifies himself as African-American. With Mr. Obama, people see who and what they want to see, says Joy M. Zarembka, the Washington, D.C.-based author of "The Pigment of Your Imagination: Mixed Race in a Global Society." "And most everyone can relate to him -- whether [they're] white, black, rich, poor, foreign, American, etc."

People often look at multiracial people and highlight whatever aspect of their background makes them feel most comfortable.

"I've never received so much attention merely for being a similar racial combination as someone else," says Ms. Zarembka, a Point Breeze and Squirrel Hill native who has a Kenyan mother and European-American father. "People now automatically apply some of his attributes to me -- fairness, calm under pressure, etc."

However, she wonders: "If he were to fall from grace, would I automatically as well?"

Some mixed-race people feel they can relate to Mr. Obama, but so can an Iowa farm boy, says Ms. Zarembka, executive director of the Break the Chain Campaign at the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank in Washington.

Ms. Curry thinks the media have helped define him as only black and fears that history will forget that America's "first black president" actually is a biracial man.

"I feel like there are not enough [biracial] role models out there," says Ms. Curry, whose father was white and mother is black. "We need to say we're proud of our heritage."

Her roommate, Erica Stewart, has a different view. Ms. Stewart has a white mother and a black father. Because her mother raised her, she identifies more with white culture than black culture, but she embraces aspects of both and often is mistaken for Hispanic.

"If [Obama] feels more African-American, I don't have issues with that," said Ms. Stewart, 19, an art major at the Community College of Allegheny County. "If I had grown up with [my father] instead of my mom, I would have identified more as an African American."

Friends since middle school in Erie, the two young women recall how they struggled to figure out their own racial identity, routinely seeming too black to some whites and too white to some blacks.

"I feel like growing up, different people would interact with me differently," Ms. Stewart said.

They both felt a bit squeezed between two cultures. Ms. Stewart's maternal grandparents dressed for dinners out and enjoyed classical music. Her mother was into classic rock. Her dad's side of the family expected her to be into R&B and rap music and know certain things about black culture.

When she'd come home from a weekend visit with her dad, with new R&B and rap music in tow, she couldn't play it too loudly at her mom's house.

"I felt I couldn't mix the different sides of the family," Ms. Stewart says.

In the 2000 U.S. Census, when Americans first were allowed to check more than one box for race, about 6.8 million people out of 281.4 million reported being of two or more races. In a 2007 American Community Survey, when the U.S. population was 301.6 million, about 6.3 million people reported being of two or more races. However, given the survey's margin of error -- plus or minus .3 percent -- that figure could be as high as 7.2 million.

Ms. Curry thinks Mr. Obama identifying as African-American could be confusing to mixed-race children, making them feel they have to choose or making them think, "If Obama says he's black, does this mean I'm black?" She thinks biracial people shouldn't choose one race over the other because they are both.

"I'm biracial," she says. "I will fight somebody who calls me black."

Mr. Obama has a special resonance with African-American people, people of African descent, people of color in general and multiracial people.

"Because he identifies as African-American rather than multiracial ... there's a certain tension there," says G. Reginald Daniel, a University of California, Santa Barbara, sociology professor and author of "More Than Black?: Multiracial Identity and the New Racial Order."

Elliott Lewis, a mixed-race man, journalist and author of "Fade: My Journeys in Multiracial America," finds the ongoing debate about whether Mr. Obama is black or biracial frustrating.

"We assume that these terms are mutually exclusive, and they're not," he said. "The biggest mistake people make in this discussion is to assume there's only one correct way to be biracial."

The formation of a person's racial identity is a psychological process, not a mathematical equation, he says. Ancestry doesn't necessarily equal identity.

"You can't just look at somebody's ancestry and say, 'They're half and half, so therefore, their identity is biracial,' " Mr. Lewis says. "This is a process that has to do with ancestry and culture and the racial climate you grow up in and how you see yourself in society."

Mr. Lewis' parents are mixed-race people who identify themselves as African-American while he is a mixed race man who identifies himself as multiracial. He doesn't feel a special kinship with Mr. Obama because he's biracial, but he has been impressed with how Mr. Obama has handled questions of race.

"He's embraced his black identity while firmly acknowledging his biracial background at the same time," Mr. Lewis said. "I think that's important because it demonstrates to young people, even though you may identify as one way, it doesn't mean you're dissing other parts of your heritage."

There's a generational difference in how mixed-race people racially identify, Mr. Lewis said. Biracial or mixed-race baby boomers, like Mr. Obama, are more likely to identify as black, and black alone, than are biracial Americans of Generation Y.

"Younger biracial Americans have grown up at a time when diversity has been seen as positive, as something to be celebrated," he says. "Biracial baby boomers did not grow up in that kind of racial climate."

Multiracial and biracial people born within the past two decades haven't felt as much pressure as earlier generations of multiracial people to choose one racial identity over another, Dr. Daniel says. Much of identity comes down to color, and people with darker skin, regardless of ancestry, will be treated as people of color in society. Mixed-race people with lighter skin have more options.

A decade ago, people who identified themselves as biracial had to explain or defend their identity. Today, biracial people who don't call themselves biracial have to explain themselves.

"It's almost like we're trading one arbitrary rule for another," Mr. Lewis said. "It's almost like we're trading the one-drop-and-you-must-call-yourself-black rule for the one-drop-of-any-two-races-and-you-must-call-yourself-multiracial rule."

Multiracial people have to decide their racial identity for themselves, he says.

"Most of the people I have heard who want to insist that [Mr. Obama] call himself biracial are either mixed-race people themselves, who want him to identify as they do, or they are the parents of biracial children who want him to identify as biracial to serve as a role model for their kid, or they are white voters who are trying to convince other whites it's OK to vote for him," Mr. Lewis says.

About 75 percent to 95 percent of Americans have combinations of heritages.

"There are a lot of 'white' people who are actually the product of racial mixture, and the word 'Latino' fails miserably in its attempt to define a race," says Ms. Zarembka, who has been mistaken for Filipino, Italian, Pakistani, Puerto Rican and Ethiopian.

Mr. Obama's election doesn't mean there's now a post-racial America or that institutional and individual racism don't still exist. However, society's ideas about race are evolving.

"We have a mixed-race president," Ms. Stewart said. "Maybe it will open some eyes up and end some racism."

Mr. Obama is the right person for the job because of his talents, education, experience and skills, the young roommates say. His background is a bonus. Ms. Curry watched the inauguration live in a Point Park University auditorium with other students.

"It wasn't just one race, it was everyone," she says. "So, hopefully from my generation on, you'll see different attitudes toward politics and race and culture. It was really encouraging to see."

For the most part I agree with Mr. Lewis' explanation of the dynamic, however I do feel that for many people the answer to the question is as simple as what they see when they look in the mirror.

uPtoWnNY said:

When I had my DNA analyzed, it revealed a mixture of heritages. But the majority(64%) is sub-Saharan African. I've always gone with black - it's how I was raised. For me, 'black' is more about culture, history and life experiences than skin color.

Even most of African-American culture 'bi-cultural'

I love the shock on AA faces' when they realized Jumping the Broom at Weddings originated in England and the slaves in American got it from poor whites & endentured servants

OldFriends4Sale said:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sectionfront/life/obama-election-stokes-debate-over-what-is-biracial-328436/

Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette

Roommates Heather Curry, left, and Erica Stewart chat between college classes at Starbucks in Market Square.

Heather Curry believes President Barack Obama is denying his white heritage by identifying himself as African-American.

Obama is NOT denying his ANYTHING by identifying as black.

Just like my Asian brother Tiger isn't.

lawd. Why do people think it's their place to make us identify as they want?

imago said:

Obama is NOT denying his ANYTHING by identifying as black.

Just like my Asian brother Tiger isn't.

lawd. Why do people think it's their place to make us identify as they want?

Good question! I don't get it but I am just a boring old white girl.

imago said:

Cuz ultimately, there's always gonna be a segment unhappy with your choice of identity. So just don't worry about it and do what suits you. Unless he's trying to pull of some kind of, "im an Eskimo," bullshit.

imago said:

Obama is NOT denying his ANYTHING by identifying as black.

Just like my Asian brother Tiger isn't.

lawd. Why do people think it's their place to make us identify as they want?

People think it's okay to be opinionated and overbearing.

It's not only Obama and Tiger's choice, but their right to identify any way they choose for whatever reason, period.

imago said:

Obama is NOT denying his ANYTHING by identifying as black.

Just like my Asian brother Tiger isn't.

lawd. Why do people think it's their place to make us identify as they want?

Us non-mixed people are trying to have a conversation on what you are, stop trying to give us your opinion.

smoothcriminal12 said:

uPtoWnNY said:

When I had my DNA analyzed, it revealed a mixture of heritages. But the majority(64%) is sub-Saharan African. I've always gone with black - it's how I was raised. For me, 'black' is more about culture, history and life experiences than skin color.

Only 64%? Makes me wonder how African I am...

I had my test done at ancestrybyDNA.com. If you can afford it, go for it.

controversy lyrics (in part) by prince

i just can't believe all the things people say -- controversy
Am I black or white? am I straight or gay? -- controversy
Do I believe in god? do I believe in me? -- controversy
Controversy controversy
I can't understand human curiosity -- controversy
Was it good for you? was I what you wanted me to be? -- controversy
Do you get high? does your daddy cry? -- controversy
Controversy controversy

prince said it all imo.

BobGeorge909 said:

imago said:

Obama is NOT denying his ANYTHING by identifying as black.

Just like my Asian brother Tiger isn't.

lawd. Why do people think it's their place to make us identify as they want?

Cuz ultimately, there's always gonna be a segment unhappy with your choice of identity. So just don't worry about it and do what suits you. Unless he's trying to pull of some kind of, "im an Eskimo," bullshit.

But you've just stated do what suits you. Why would it be such a problem, if he says "I'm an Eskimo". I don't follow you.

Beautifulstarr123 said:

Well there wouldn't be a grain of truth in the statement "im an Eskimo" if it came from Obama's mouth . What the hell is hard to follow there?

BobGeorge909 said:

Beautifulstarr123 said:

But you've just stated do what suits you. Why would it be such a problem, if he says "I'm an Eskimo". I don't follow you.

Well there wouldn't be a grain of truth in the statement "im an Eskimo" if it came from Obama's mouth . What the hell is hard to follow there?

How would you know? Did you check his DNA, and what if he suddenly found out he has Eskimo heritage, and claim it? If it was BS to you, do you really think he cares? That's what the hell I'm talking about.

Beautifulstarr123 said:

Listen SNIP{OF4S}...we've all seen pics of his mamma and we've all seen pics of his Pappa...so if u believe him when he says he's an Eskimo....SNIP{OF4S}...

uPtoWnNY said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

uPtoWnNY said:

When I had my DNA analyzed, it revealed a mixture of heritages. But the majority(64%) is sub-Saharan African. I've always gone with black - it's how I was raised. For me, 'black' is more about culture, history and life experiences than skin color.

Only 64%? Makes me wonder how African I am...

I had my test done at ancestrybyDNA.com. If you can afford it, go for it.

Thanks. I've been thinking about it a lot, but I think I might finally do it.

Smooth, I also had my paternal & maternal DNA analyzed at AfricanAncestry.com. Paternal was traced to the Nkonya people of Ghana - maternal to the Serer people of Senegal. When ancestrybyDNA analyzed my maternal DNA, it contained a haplogroup that originated in northern Europe. Wild stuff.

uPtoWnNY said:

Smooth, I also had my paternal & maternal DNA analyzed at AfricanAncestry.com. Paternal was traced to the Nkonya people of Ghana - maternal to the Serer people of Senegal. When ancestrybyDNA analyzed my maternal DNA, it contained a haplogroup that originated in northern Europe. Wild stuff.

Wow! That would be neat to find out.

BobGeorge909 said:

Beautifulstarr123 said:

How would you know? Did you check his DNA, and what if he suddenly found out he has Eskimo heritage, and claim it? If it was BS to you, do you really think he cares? That's what the hell I'm talking about.

Listen SNIP{OF4S}...

we've all seen pics of his mamma and we've all seen pics of his Pappa...

so if u believe him when he says he's an Eskimo....

SNIP{OF4S}...

Good greif, read the article. People pass for this and that, all of the time, especially white.

Oops...
[Edited 5/29/12 10:25am]

Beautifulstarr123 said:

I think I see what's happening. I'm assuming we're talking about someone with whom we know their parentage. U're assuming its a stranger. I agree with you, seeing a stranger, we don't know their parents and and other background info. A reason to dismiss the claims would be hard to find. I was speaking of an individual where this info is public...common even, information.

I feel ya cuz people wonder my parentage sometimes and ask, I tell, and its not met with suspicion. But if a friend of mine had met my parents, then asked what I was and I said I was Phillipino, they for sure, and with good reason, call bullshit.

BobGeorge909 said:

Beautifulstarr123 said:

Good greif, read the article. People pass for this and that, all of the time, especially white.

I think I see what's happening. I'm assuming we're talking about someone with whom we know their parentage. U're assuming its a stranger. I agree with you, seeing a stranger, we don't know their parents and and other background info. A reason to dismiss the claims would be hard to find. I was speaking of an individual where this info is public...common even, information. I feel ya cuz people wonder my parentage sometimes and ask, I tell, and its not met with suspicion. But if a friend of mine had met my parents, then asked what I was and I said I was Phillipino, they for sure, and with good reason, call bullshit.

Whether they're notorious or not, we choose to either take their word for it or not. Because society has been taught and trained to put people in different shoe boxes, we make judgement calls, based on appearances.