The public radio program "Talk of the Nation" aired a shamelessly pro-hypodescent program on July 24 attacking Tiger Woods. Host Juan Williams and sportswriter John Feinstein made a ludicrous comparison of Tiger Woods with Muhammad Ali, speculating as to when Tiger will use his fame to promote a "black" political agenda for "his people." These idiots tried to promote the idea that Tiger is somehow morally bound to use his money and fame to promote some kind of black militancy. They implied that Woods was somehow deluded or foolish to not identify as "African American" and abandon his Asian and other non-black heritage.
Thankfully, one Asian caller to the program pointed out that Thais and other Asians are well aware of Tiger's kinship to them, but they do not demand constant assertions of "pride" and oaths of "racial" loyalty the way American "blacks" do. To but it frankly, they do not have a major inferiority complex while "black" Americans are almost totally defined by their emotional insecurity.
Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 21:05:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: vera
Subject: Letter to the Editor
The one thing I really hate about this board is the broad generalization of people. This especially concerns the July 24 message from A.D. Powell to James Landrith concerning a Tiger Woods special on “Talk of the Nation”. Why do people constantly say black people are trying to claim Tiger Woods? Have you talked to every single black person in America? Did every black person in America and the world call into “Talk of the Nation” and tried to claim Tiger Woods was black?
I do not care what Tiger Woods does or what he is. My life has gone on before and I know it will go on after Tiger Woods leaves the limelight. I’m so tired of people saying blacks are so insecure we have to try to claim Tiger Woods. Do you think we all are betting our lives on Tiger Woods? Please give us a break. NOT ALL BLACK AMERICANS CLAIM TIGER WOODS IS BLACK!!!!! And then you have the audacity to say one, I repeat one Asian caller called and because he said Asians do not have to claim loyalty to Mr. Woods you felt he talked for all Asians because ONE single Asian caller called in. So really you see a few people making remarks and you broad stroke the whole culture. You do not know every black person and it is really insulting to make such an insensitve generalization. I am so sick and tired of people thinking blacks are monolithic, we only have one train of thoughts or views. I hope if you are in an interracial relationship with a black person you will give that person the respect of individuality.
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 13:25:06 -0700 (PDT)
From: K. Jackson
Subject: Letter to the Editor
I would like to concur with Vera, most black Americans do not care what race Tiger Woods chooses to be, that is his own right. Some of us support him for his honesty and pride in the fact that he is of both worlds. But Tiger, like Juan Williams, is not a spokesperson for all Blacks. When will the national media and the rest of the world get it that Blacks are no more monolithic in their beliefs than any other group.
It is a racist, paternalistic statement to make to say that we are all democrats, liberals, poor, uneducated, on welfare, and it is racist to think that we all sit around waiting for a role model or spokesperson. I for one do not fit the mode of any of these categories. I have never voted for Democrat and never will, I am not liberal and have never been poor. I am fifth generation college educated (paid for not by financial aid or handouts, but rather by my hardworking professional and educated Father and mother) and I have never even seen a food stamp.
Let Tiger Woods be Tiger Woods, a bi-racial/multi-racial young man and one hell of a golfer. Let’s worry about our lives and helping those less fortunate, not trying to create false idols and icons to give racial pride. I am Afican American married to a Scottish American. We are proud of being Americans, of where we come from, but especially of where we are going. My color doesn’t give or take away from my self esteem, what I am proud of is being a Christian and living to serve God by serving others.
Peace Be with You all!!
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 16:34:47 -0700 (PDT)
From: Cheyenne Yarber
Subject: Letter to the Editor
Well first of all I have to thank you guys for having such an open non-politically correct forum.I’d just like to say that I am the product of a marriage between two “mullatoes”. My mother is brown skin and my father is very fair. I came out copper brown with green eyes. Now for all the one drop rule supporters, DOES THAT SOUND like what a person from Africa would look like??? I didn’t think so. Obviously I am not White. But isn’t it also obvious that i am not Black or african American! It means yes that I am Biracial!!! To anyone who says Ttiger Woods is wrong for identifying as Biracial ask yourself if his father is African American and his mother is Asian, what is he?? To all the Biracial youth out there here are some of our great brethren…Booker T washington..We DuBois.. Thurgood Marshall and endless list of others. Dont be classified by the one drop rule. You are what you are!
Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 00:22:29 -0700
From: Kenji Hughes
Subject: To Multiracial Activist Editor – “Least Desirable”
I applaud the Multiracial Activist for providing a forum for this important set of issues that have been (and continue to be by most people) overlooked for so long.
I would like to add my two cents to the issue of black/multiracial identity that was touched upon in the postings from “Cheyenne Yarber” and “jaquio” sent on August 31st and September 13th, 2000 respectively.
In the first e-mail “Cheyenne Yarber” claims his/her biracial identity and simultaneously denies having the appearance of a black person:
I came out copper brown with green eyes. Now for all the one drop rule supporters, DOES THAT SOUND like what a person from Africa would look like??? I didn’t think so.
Ignoring, for the moment, the fact that there are many racially mixed people in Africa, I believe that the above statement illustrates an important point. There is a definite tendency among mixed people who are part African to try and disassociate themselves from blacks in general.
Before I continue I want to make it clear that I understand that race is a social construct which is gradually (albeit slowly) becoming obsolete and which one day will hopefully be largely irrelevant. Having said that I think it’s important the we not ignore the desire of many part African people to deny their blackness, or to play up their other lineages. From my observation this tendency is definitely stronger among people who are mixed with African than those who are mixed with different combinations. The reasons for this are obvious. Black people have been and continue to be the most vilified group on the planet; almost universally considered to be the stupidest, ugliest and laziest of races among the majority who believe (consciously or subconsciously) in distinct racial categories and characteristics.
So I see two reasons for mixed/black people to assert their mixed identity:
1. To acknowledge the reality of racial mixture and attempt to get others to acknowledge it as well.
2. To escape membership in the least desirable “racial” group.
So how do we know which train of thought someone is coming from when they make the multiracial claim? It’s hard to say sometimes, most often it’s probably a mixture of the two. In any case I think reason number 2 is very important to acknowledge, otherwise you’re really in denial of reality, at least as much as the so called “one droppers”.
If you reject distinct racial categories, without confronting the white-supremacy, and thus black inferiority, within yourself then you’re essentially trading the American model of racism for the Brazilian one. In the Brazilian scheme of racism (at least in it’s classical form) there aren’t distinct racial groups (or there are many), but rather a continuous spectrum of colors and features encompassing white, black and Amerindian. White however is still the most desirable color and black the least.
The enlightened era where people have the freedom to define themselves and not be pigeon holed by others will never become a reality unless people deal with white-supremacy (and all of it’s legacies) in addition to acknowledging the mixture of peoples. Denying racial classification without acknowledging white-supremacy is effectively claiming superiority to black people and black people pick up on this. I believe that this is a legitimate source of hostility that mixed people sometimes get from so called “one droppers”.
I’d like to hear any feedback that anyone has on the position that I’ve expressed.
Sincerely,
Kenji Hughes
Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2000 09:08:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: George D. Allen
Subject: Letter to the Editor
Mr Hughes in “least desirable” makes some good observations and expands my personal understanding. These preceptions help me understand why civil rights organizations justify being very exclusive to one category.
I believe there is another reason people assert their identity as being something other than black who are mixed racially.
If they have a cultural identity, as the Dominican Republic, which is a legitimate nation/culture, and that identity is denighed to exist for reasons of white supremacist doctrine, the rejection of being classified on a hate basis which rejects the existance of that nation/culture is pretty reasonable. What right do racist have to force people to discount their own cultural identity.
Another reason may just be reactionary. The attacks and dirty tricks of racism in schools is based on black. My son is half Domincan. We have had a great deal of hate based alteration of grades and multiple detrimental things done because of this 1/32 rule of black ancestry. His grandfather on his mother’s side was Chinese. We have never been attacked or cheated because of this Chinese ancestry. It seems to be like a game of paper and scissors, one thing beats another thing. Perhaps if being mixed race of only Chinese and “Anglo” were the case we would be reacting to whatever is thrown at that catagory as the white supremacist kicked in a different rule.
Another might be what your ox is that is being gored. If you are Hispanic in Texas, you would be hard pressed to get excited about blacks being categorized as the lowest rung on the whitesupremacist ladder because they have plenty of hate stored up to cover Hispanics completely. Having your child shot into the disposal chute in school automatically and irrevocably simply because he is Hispanic has the exact same result as having your child shot into the disposal chute because your child is Black or part Black.
Remember pitting race against race and covering children with hate to destroy their opportunites has nothing to do with melanin pigmentation. It is to give the children of those doing the hating all the opportunities by excluding all others. As often stated to us, it is “us against them”, where all others are them. You have heard of mothers who have enough love to go around, well the essence here is that to assure no one gets anything but us these folks have enough hate to go around
Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 20:36:44 -0800 (PST)
From: “Maximus Lyricus”
Subject: Letter to the Editor
Concerning the July 24th letter from A.D. Powell regading “‘black’ Americans are almost totally defined by their emotional insecurity.”
This is a very ignorant remark. Blacks are no different than anyone else. I am black (and, yes I do have Irish, white American, and native American ancestry). I, like many “blacks,” believe in self-determination. In short, I define myself. Like any human, I am sure that I have some “emotional insecurity,” but there is a myriad of other emotions, inherited characteristics, environmental factors, life happenings, religios beliefs, etc., that are the sum of who I am, and who I define myself to be–racially, or otherwise. Moreover, I could care less if Tiger Woods considers himself to be a rainbow man. Basically Woods (and others like him) try and distance (if not downright disassociate)themselves from their black ancestry because of all the connotaitons, myths, lies, and other negatives that are cast upon black people. It takes a strong black man to take pride in his “blackness,” and apparently Tiger Woods does not have the mettle and/or willingness to deal with the baggage.
Editor: You first say: “I could care less if Tiger Woods considers himself to be a rainbow man.” Fine, but you go on to say, “Basically Woods (and others like him) try and distance (if not downright disassociate) themselves from their black ancestry..” Woods has never disassociated himself in the manner you describe. You know that. You let the cat out of the bag with that remark. Saying you don’t care and then saying that he’s running from his “blackness” is truly silly. Decide. Are you a guilt-tripping “one-dropper” or do you truly not care? Honesty is admirable, deceit is not.
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 13:09:07 -0800 (PST)
From: “Kentucky Fried Chicken when Tanned” multigenetic@hotmail.com
Subject: Letter to the Editor
I would like to commend the Editor on the response he gave to the Jan 27 letter on Tiger Woods.
Any one that is part white that speaks with hatred about white people, and with hatred about people of mixed ancestry that are part white, are doing so because they are ashamed of their part-whiteness. They are ashamed of the reason why they are part white, and typically in America the reasons for them being part white is at some time in history their ancestor was a slave that was raped by a white person, or they were born an illegitimate child from such a union, or their parents thought they couldn’t get married for various personal and/or social reasons, or the parent that was left to raise the child, indoctrinated the child to believe that white people are horrible. These experiences are nothing to be proud of. Any one that has a history of slavery would naturally be ashamed of it, but they shouldn’t be, because there is nothing you can do about it. Until you accept the past for what it was and stop blaming white people for it, you will always be resentful towards white and mixed people that are proud of their heritage.
I am a first generation person of mixed origin, and I have never felt this hatred that black people here in America have for white people. Why? It’s simple. I am not the product of a raping. My parents have been married for decades. My ancestors were never slaves. Because I know where I come from, I am proud of what I am. You hate because you don’t know where you come from/who your relatives were/which part of Africa you came from.
I lived in the US for 6 years prior to now, and I have to tell you my truth. Every black American that I have met, in all the years that I have lived here,has constantly made reference to their being black and has made racist comments about whites, including those that were part white, but not first generation mixed. Why? I believe it is because they sadly have an inferiority complex about themselves. In all the years that I have lived in Africa, I have rarely met an African that hasn’t also made constant reference to their being “black”. Why? Because they also typically have an inferiority complex about their color. It is very difficult to relate to anyone that has a complex of any kind and I refuse to associate with anyone that makes racist comments about white people.
For those of you that say we are black because of cultural and social issues, you are very wrong. In fact stupidly wrong. You refuse to accept that we interact with all Nationalities so does that mean that we belong to all Nationalities? The reasons behind your explanations for us being black just don’t make any logical sense, which brings into question why you want to force us to be something we’re not. It is for your own personal reasons that you do this. You see us as having advantages over you and the reality is we do. We have 2 and sometimes more cultures that we can identify with. We speak two or more languages because of our heritage. We don’t see color. We can pass for several different nationalities and/or color eg white. We have superior genetics. These are the facts and this is not the end of the list.
Many people refuse to listen to us when we tell them we are mixed, and rudely dismiss our statements and experiences. It’s them that suffer, yet they accuse others of not making this a better place to live, when they refuse to listen to the truth and understand us.
In reference to the bastard that wrote on Jan 27th, the Multiracial activist is a forum for mixed people to share their experiences we have unique experiences that are unique only to us, and you can’t take that away from us. We are unique, physically beautiful and have the power to pass for any Nationality. This is the power that we have. You simply can’t tell exactly what our racial makeup is because we could be any combination of genetics. Our existence destroys the capacity for people to classify us racially, and you detest us for that.