Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 23:54:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: Lowsarr
Subject: Letter to the Editor
Like several people who have responded, I’m not sure if I understand the fervor around self-classification–a lot of this is about culture, having turned a negative into a positive. Of course the one-drop rule is ridiculous and oppressive. My family and most so-called black people I know are of mixed African/European/Native American descent. These mixtures are very recent. Most people I know have a parent or grandparent(s) or great-grandparent(s) who are not black. We’ve taken the negative race classifications and turned them into markers of culture. I grew up surrounded by the loveliness of African-American culture and confused by race. In the community where I grew up–Cleveland, OH–“black” people looked liked Africans, Asians, Polynesians, Latinos, Italians, Greeks, Spanish–Those with the lightest skin, lightest hair or most straight hair were more likely to have 2 “black” parents than one. I know I’m a “multi-racial” because of my family’s history and a! ppearance but I don’t identify with the concept of race at all–it’s too oppressive. I enjoy and celebrate African American culture–the beauty therein is real, tangible, tactile, aural, oral and spiritual. I oppose racism by the way I live my life but I refuse to define myself by racism. I found the 2000 Census offensive. The emphasis on race still gets down to determining whose black–and therefore who is viewed as negative in this society. I guess I could look at my high yellow, redbone and creamy brown, sandy-haired, curly-topped, black coffee family and friends and see multiracial people. Instead, I just see the people I know and love living and enjoying life beyond categories.