Monday, April 11, 2011
The Compromising Factor.
I remember Chloe saying in the class the other day how she is half white and native American, but people would know that because they automatically assume that she is white, when truth is she is not entirely. I found it interesting how one can be half black and white, but still be considered black; that if any part of one's pure whiteness were diluted by a hint of black, they would automatically be considered black, and my question is, why is this only for black and white? Clearly, by her description of herself she is not purely white, so why then can she not be considered her other half, native American, when her so called "purity" has been affected by her native American heritage? Why is it just that black is only now considered the compromising factor in one's identity and not those such as native Americans who were also once enslaved just as blacks?
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I'm glad that you brought this up Brittany because this has also always been of interest to me. I suppose it is just due to the fact that the black and white races are the two that dominate our minds and have done so throughout history. That must have been one of the beiggest clashes. And it is also simply the lasting effects of the strength of the racism and exclusion of the past. The separation of those with black blood from those without it was just another way to alienate the black race and we are still dealing with that.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good point. One product of white privilege is that people while people have the ability to self-select and choose their racial heritage while blackness is a assumed to be an all-encompassing characteristic.
ReplyDeleteI think that has been a question for years. I definitely agree with Kimberly. There is a choice. I think if she decided that she wanted to be Native American, regardless of how she looked, I think that she could, bu if a black person wanted to be white, it would be harder. I think society has played a large role in this state of thought, but it is also history.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting point. I have known several people throughout the years who, upon knowing them a while, told me they were 1/4 or 1/2 Native American, yet I don't all of a sudden think of them as Native American. I think it has to do with that critical period in meeting someone where you start to determine who they are, what their personality is, what we have in common, and unfortunately, their race is something that group them in our minds as. With most Native American's we aren't forced to assume or ask if they are, since they could easily 'pass' for Caucasian. With many Blacks we are, and for Blacks who we assumed were white, and told us later they weren't, I think there is some sort of psychological assumption that no person would claim their blackness unless they were undeniably black. The thought process might go, with the difficult life of a black in America, why would you claim it if you could 'pass'?
ReplyDeleteWith Native American, it is seen as just another part of their ancestry. I know I'm shooting from the hip in this comment, so I hope I wasn't overtly offensive; just some thoughts.
Society has definitely played a role in who can pick what race they are, but I have to say that I don't think Chloe would be able to claim she is Native American. I can't remember exactly, but did Chloe say she was half and half? If not, I think it's harder to make the claim that she could be Native American. Interestingly though, if she was half Native American, it would be easier for her to claim that she was Native American than to claim that she was black if she was half white and half black. Is this simply because Native Americans are such a small minority in the US?
ReplyDeleteThe point that it boils down to is that we as members of society have a lack of autonomy. Some things are beyond our personal control. In class on Tuesday, one of the most prevalent topics that continued to surface was the idea of how our societal perceptions of people are the determinants of one’s identity. While this is very true, some of us were struggling to understand why society has so much power and control over how we tend to ultimately view ourselves.
ReplyDeleteHey ya'll,
ReplyDeleteJust to clear up details, I'm 1/4 Native American. An interesting point I would like to bring up is that I can get a Native American registration card and I have many relatives that live on reservation property still. It's interesting to think about this because the card is a choice, and I've never had one simple because I've never had the time or real desire to go through the process and such (it's cumbersome), but it is a choice. Just something else to add.