This is America

Submitted by Hathor (United States), Jul 27, 2008 at 08:07

Mixed race may be use more now, but the one drop ruled has been the determinant . Also Obama is brown and that is the cue that determines how he is perceived. He has identified himself as black. If he is stopped by the cops, on a DWB (Driving While Black), telling them his mother is white will not cut it. Black is not an ideology, race or culture; it is a construct of slavery and Jim Crow. So whatever his beliefs and values are, they are of no conseqence. The 1964 Civil rights Acts did not change that fact.

If he had been white in color and admitted to having Kenyan ancestry, he wouldn't get stopped for DWB, but the racist would still treat him as black, maybe as an ascendant black, but he would be a lesser being.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".