In the Black World, Obama isn't even really considered "light Skinned"

[FrenchieCat]

Hell, it's hard to even look at him and conclude that he is Mixed!
Nearly half of the Black population in the US are lighter than Obama.
In addition, Obama's features are clearly those of a Black man.
Further, Barack Obama married a brown skinned woman,
and is raising brown skinned children.

Barack Obama never ran away from his Blackness,
he went in search of it.

The fact that he can speak the King's English as well as being able to keep it real
is a good thing.

[Karenina]

1. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I LOVE YOU, FC!!! YOU are truly our beloved FC! AYYY-OOOO AY-YO AY-YO AAAY-YO!!!* (Number23 will likely get my too-obscure-to-be-funny-to-most reference! How 'bout that cricket chicken, eh? :rofl: )

As a teenie, I was assaulted regularly for speaking the Queen's Englisch; she being my Mom. One learns about details of register right quick! ;-)

What's had me :rofl::rofl::rofl: for DAYS is the focus on the word "negro" completely devoid of CONTEXT. Hell, during the primaries I was ALL; "HEY FOCUS ON HIS WHITE HALF IF IT WORKS FOR YOU! KEEP CARIBOU BARBIE OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE!!!" Can you even imagine? No, don't bother. Dodged that bullet. Where's the next one coming from?

???

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/peopleandpower/2010/01/201015124739316797.html

[FrenchieCat]

2. I wrote this op because I saw Michael Eric Dyson on MSNBC this morning

talking smack!

Here's the video:
http://vodpod.com/watch/2844169-professor-michael-eric-dyson-this-president-runs-from-race-like-a-black-man-runs-from-a-cop

Now of course, Mr. Dyson's wife says she is Hispanic....
so I'm not sure whose doing what, in terms of running away
from their race.

It ain't Barack Obama sleeping with someone whose damn near White,
not that it should matter.....but the point is that Dyson needs
to think a bit more of what he is saying, considering that he's out there
in the limelight.

The last time that Pres. Obama had something to say about race,
which was when he commented on the Harvard professor being arrested,
his ass was bar-b-qued for two damn weeks!

Dyson needs to deal with the truth of the matter,
instead of thinking that this President is supposed to
be the one to end racism as it exists yesterday.

[Number23]

4. Oh, and you noticed that the two other black people in that conversation

with the Good Professor looked clearly unimpressed with his statements, didn't you??

[butterfly77]

6. Now,what are the conservatives to do..

there are an assortment of black people who are disagreeing on this subject.

I wonder what in the hell they want us to talk about these people have an agenda and they are just out to prove that there are racists Dems as though we don't know. Scar is just shitting his drawers as I suspect Hannity will be doing tonight.

Scar thought he would throw a little Imus at Sharpton and when he knocked down the bull,he couldn't take did he go off set to take some medication. Its a damn shame when Pat Buchanan can get it..

[Number23]

3. lol! I just love you, Karenina.

Cricket chicken, indeed! :eyes: Like I said in another AAIG post, I live in a country full of loving, kind people in DESPERATE need of some racial education.

As someone who REGULARLY slips back and forth out of my "Negro dialect" depending on how badly I've been pissed off (:rofl:) I get what Reid is saying but Frenchie is right. All of these white people describing Obama as "light skinned" seem confused at best. I mean, when I think of a "light-skinned black person," these two come to my mind immediately:

The slithery Harold Ford -

The lovely Ms. Vanessa -

Now, this is probably because I recognize the full spectrum of black physical characteristics. I am fully aware that there are black people who are dark as night and there are others that you have to squint and close one eye to even be able to tell that they ARE black.

Obama damn sure does not appear to me to be in that latter category. I would never describe him as light-skinned. He damn sure ain't "dark" but he isn't light either. And as for Michael Eric Dyson, again, on one hand I hear what the brother is saying but DAMN. The few times Obama has tried to tackle race (Jeremiah Wright, Prof. Gates etc.) the whole damn country practically blew up.

He keeps saying that this is a "teachable moment," but hasn't he realized by now that Obama cannot be the one to do this?? Someone else will have to step up to the plate in an effort to make this moment "teachable" because 1) Obama has enough that he's dealing with right now and 2) this country has made it LOUD and CLEAR that even today, the people who have been the most affected by racism are the ones who are the least able to talk about it without offending the masses. If this conversation doesn't come from Reid himself or some other white person in power, it probably won't be dealt with at all.

[kwassa]

5. Does anyone remember Julian Bond in this old SNL skit?

I wish I could find a clip of the whole skit, from the original cast years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8QEIaATPis

But the real question: Does Obama pass the paper bag test?

:rofl:

[Number23]

8. I have NEVER seen that before!

I love that look that Julian and Garrett give each other after Julian makes his little quip. :rofl:

Julian Bond was once the man, even though he appears to have slipped into damn near total obscurity since Obama came to town. My youngest (craziest) aunt almost married one of his sons.

[AspenRose]

12. OK, that was funny

Julian Bond is one of Stephen Colbert's black friends. Not that he sees color, of course. :rofl:

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/182096/july-20-2006/julian-bond

[butterfly77]

7. Scarb's boy...

where was he today.

[AspenRose]

11. True story:

In college, one of my spanish professors was from Puerto Rico. Here he was lecturing in this redneck, backwater, majority white college in Texas and had the NERVE to mention in class that he had black relatives. "Where do you think I got this dark curly hair from? My grandmother!" he said. You could have heard a pin drop. I just nodded and grinned this big ol' toothy grin. Because WE know, you know? But here he was ADMITTING it!

Anyway, after he dropped that bombshell, he then said: "I never understood why people here call Vanessa Williams the first black Miss America! Anyone can look at her and tell she's not black!" Again, stunned silence. He looked at me and shrugged. I cracked up. :rofl:

He gave, in a nutshell, pretty much the definition of how Latin America has defined blackness. It was an enlightening lesson on the differences between the One Drop Rule in the U.S. versus Latin America, but I doubt anyone in that class understood the nuance to get it.


I might be stepping out on a limb here, but it may be that one of the contributing factors why the average white person can't differentiate between light and dark skinned brothers and sisters is because for so long, society has elevated light skin and eurocentric features as the epitome of what is considered beautiful and acceptable. White people saw that and used THAT as the standard of the "acceptable" black person, meant to be emulated by black people everywhere. They didn't care about the light/dark implications behind it. Naturally this has had subconscious ramifications and consequences, as we are all too aware of the tacit approval from whites of blacks who promote white standards of conformity in dress, speech and demeanor, especially in "corporate" America. We don't want a black person marketing a product, or representing a good or service, that will "scare off" potential white customers or make them "uncomfortable" by being "too black," in appearance or demeanor. I'm willing to bet most don't know they are doing it. And the ones who do can't give good reasons or excuses for why they do it; it's "just the way it is." This is basically the logic behind Harry Reid's comment. Light skinned blacks have usually been the "acceptable" ones, so by that logic, it isn't hard to jump to the conclusion that Obama is a light skinned black person; that's been the default for what's been acceptable for so long.

I have to wonder about the white person who can't see the difference between Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, though! I think that may be more of a case of not WANTING to acknowledge the difference out of fear of being considered racist for acknowledging it. Acknowledging it isn't racist or colorist; ascribing perceived value to the difference IS.



Michael Eric Dyson needs to get it together. I hate to say it but I unsubscribed to Cornel West's page on Facebook because I got tired of the Obama bashing between him, Tavis Smiley and Dyson. Perhaps Tim Wise is the white guy that other white people will listen to (when they aren't accusing him of being a self-hating white person). Unfortunately he doesn't have the reach or "power" that Reid (or any other politico) would have. Jimmy Carter has tried...I don't think anyone's accused him of being a self-hating white person (yet).

Oh, and here's another political light-skinned brother for you:

[Number23]

13. Thurgood is The Man!

That's why I had smoke coming out of my ears when that Turdley, errr... I mean Turley chap, the constitutional law professor, was downplaying his intelligence and significance to the Supreme Court a while ago. :eyes: Haven't seen hide nor hair from him since all of that blew up in his face. Like I said at the time, I'm surprised he didn't come on tv and do a mea culpa while wearing a "I heart Coretta Scott King" button. For some reasons, racists and bigots have ALWAYS loved (mis)referencing and (mis)quoting the Kings.

I think there's a lot of truth to your post and that many whites, being in the position of power, see those most like them as the ones who are the most beautiful, the most desirable, the least threatening etc. I also think that for alot of whites, again being in the position of power, they don't even go that deep. Why? Because they don't really have to, do they?? They just see black/brown skin and keep on going. Like you said, when someone can't tell the tell the difference between Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier it's obvious that they're not even trying.

I also like what you said about Latin America. Having spent quite a lot of time in Argentina, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico (and even a spent a day in Uruguay!) there is no question that they have a whole different set of standards there racially. I get so much love when I go to Latin America it's ridiculous. :blush: Even more than I got in the Middle East and I got marriage proposals there! In Argentina, everyone thought I was from Brazil because Argentina has basically killed off its indigenous (brown) population. Many Argentines look Spanish (European). But to me, the bottom line is that people have a different racial "sliding scale" based on whatever their home country's history regarding race has been. What's black one place may be considered something else somewhere else. If I could guarantee that I'd live for another 50 years, I'd try to compile how each country views race (particularly "blackness). That would be a hell of a read.

[Karenina]

14. Check this out:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/01/201011153951276431.html

[Number23]

15. Absolutely amazing

That people who look like this:

And this:

are considered "white" in their own country. The ways in which people describe themselves and their communities along racial lines simply astounds me sometimes.

I think I mentioned before about the black Iraqi man I met who when he first saw me, his face lit up like the 4th of July and he almost yelled "you're black like me!" He had met many Americans but had never met a black American before, let alone a black American woman. His effusiveness was almost embarrassing but charming at the same time.

This news article could come from anywhere. It could come from reporting on blacks in Brazil, in Israel, in Venezuela, in Northern Africa... the list is limitless. And yet, not a day goes by without me seeing some white person comment that "race is a thing of the past" or echoing the sentiment of the "white" politician in this report who said: "Now politics is free for everyone and free choice. And whoever wants to be a member of parliament or heads the cabinet should present himself to the Iraqi people and they will elect whoever they want." completely ignoring the history of racial discrimination that would keep many of the "black" members of his population from doing what he so casually advocates.

[NOLALady]

17. What I find interesting is

the Black Iraqis and the White Iraqis look similar. My guess is they've been intermarrying and/or mating for some time.


"There are some traditions in the society that the two don't intermarry. But otherwise they co-exist together peacefully."

Right.

[Brewman_Jax]

21. Here's a color photo of him

[NOLALady]

9. Thanks for pointing this out Frenchie.

My Black, green eyed, white skinned husband is a light skinned Black man.

Obama's complexion is similar to mine. I am a brown skinned Black woman.

Negro dialect? Hell, most of us are "bi-lingual". We must be in order to succeed in our jobs.

I often wonder how can they live and work with non whites in this country and still many are so ignorant of our culture.

[FrenchieCat]

10. Agreed!

I look mixed......and I wouldn't have to tell you for you to figure it out, with my pale ass!

but Barack? :rofl:

Hell, his father being pure African, probably makes him about as "mixed"
as every other Black person in this country!

[Brewman_Jax]

25. What a small world

your husband sounds a lot like my great-grandfather. He made it through the Great Depression because of that and always had a job.

How do "they" do it, i.e. still so ignorant of our culture? Guided un-learning, willful ignorance, and selective amnesia. That's why I hate seeing this and similar topics in GD and GD/P. White people tripping all over themselves trying to deal with something they can't understand because most will never deal with it and don't really want to.

[NOLALady]

26. Wow. I hadn't thought of that.

"He made it through the Great Depression because of that and always had a job"


My GrandFather told me how he always had a job during the Depression. I assumed it was one of his life stories to remind me to never be to proud to take any job if it was necessary.
But, he was also very light skinned. That he kept a job during the Depression probably had more to do with his phenotype than his determination.

His biracial wife told me how she accompanied her dark skinned friends while they were job hunting. They would tell her friends that they couldn't hire them, but they would hire my liight-skinned GrandMom. She told them she didn't need a job, but her friends did. This was for maid work!

The more things change...

[Karenina]

27. Don't really want to

and DON'T HAVE TO.

[NatBurner]

16. so that addresses the "light-skinned" comment, but what about "negro dialect"?

it's been an interesting day on this site dealing with our brown bag issues, how do u think DU will handle code switching?

i predict some heads popping lol

[angee_is_mad]

18. harold ford looks more biracial

than Obama.

Unfortunately for lil harold he is black. Black, BLACK, BLACK, BLACK!!!

Wonder if the NY black political Establishment are going to let the black voters know all the shenanigans he did when he ran in TN. Remember when he claimed that his grandmother was white, but she passed for black.

link:
http://www.blackcommentator.com/177/177_cover_harold_fords_grandmother.html

In the black community Obama would be considered light brown.

[FrenchieCat]

19. Ford's wife is White and Blonde, isn't she?

:shrug:

[Number23]

20. Thanks for that link, angee! Harold is even more jacked up than I thought he was.

[firedupdem]

22. Thanks for the link....what an idiot...

I'm sure white folks were lining up to have the 'black experience' especially back in those days. :eyes:

[Raineyb]

23. Ford must REALLY think people are stupid.

Who in this country would pass for black if they could prove they were white?

Damn he's dumber than I thought he was, and I never gave him much credit for smarts.

[Brewman_Jax]

24. Ford is a long-time lawn jockey

and his "friends" and opponents will have no trouble throwing him under the bus and reminding the voters that he's black when he becomes...inconvenient.

How Bob Barr has gotten away for so long, I'll never understand. :shrug:

[Number23]

28. "How Bob Barr has gotten away for so long, I'll never understand."

:spray: Talk about somebody running away from something like "a black man running from a cop??!"

Bob Barr could teach a Master's course on running from who you are. That man is a MASTER at it.

[NatBurner]

29. hold up-

bob barr is Black?!?

i know what you're gonna say, so lemme beat u to the punch:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=is+bob+barr+black%3F

wow

[Number23]

30. Nat, that is the funniest thing I've seen all year

And yes, child. Mr. "Affirmative action is a tool of the devil!" is black (but don't tell his friends!) This is something black folks in Atlanta have known since the 80's.

This picture from Tanahesi Coates' web site says it all:

SEPARATED AT BIRTH: Bob Barr on the right; JEREMIAH WRIGHT on the left
:rofl: :rofl: Ow! My sides!! :rofl: