Entering the colorblind zone
11/29/04
Chicago Tribune
Observations from someone who’s been there: Welcome to racism when you’re biracial
By Alysia Tate. Alysia Tate is the editor and publisher of The Chicago Reporter, a publication of the Community Renewal Society
November 23, 2004
It’s funny how one group’s compliment becomes another group’s insult.
There sat a TV panel of white male journalists, joined by one African-American woman, praising the victory of U.S. Sen.-elect Barack Obama. They shared the usual commentary about strategy and vote totals for a while; then the analysis took a bizarre turn.
“He’s not an African-American candidate,” one of the men said. “He’s a candidate for everyone.” Another affirmed his agreement a few moments later. Obama hadn’t emphasized race and had instead “campaigned as a candidate for all of Illinois.”
Here’s another mixed race idiot whining because whites frequently don’t see biracial people as “black.” Of course, when they say that they don’t want to be “black,” the same whiners scream that the dreaded WHITE people will consider them negroes anyway.