We have a gem in our midst – Pam Spaulding, an extraordinary, conscientious blogger from North Carolina who introduces us to social and economic justice issues in ways we might not other wise consider.
Pam has a post up today – “The 2010 census and the browning and seasoning of America” - in which she discusses the personal enigma of how we identify. (Syd Peterson posted on LGBT POV on why and how LGBTs should fill out the US Census here.)
Here’s an except from Pam’s post – but I encourage you to read the whole piece at her famous LGBT blog – Pam’s House Blend:
We’re really going to learn a lot more from the 2010 census about the browning of America, as well as how many of us identify racially — understanding that “race” is an artificial construct.
The white supremacists’ worst fear will be realized — we’re increasingly mixing up the gene pool; most would say that’s a good thing, but from the supremacist’s perspective the white race is being contaminated. How can you hate when you can’t tell what anyone is? Oh, so sad. Bring out the tiny violin.
When my brother and sister-in-law came down to visit the other weekend, we discussed how my little biracial nephew Mr. E (seen with me at left) will view the world when he’s old enough to understand the bizarre notion of race. Many questions ran through my mind, such as how he will identify? Nearly everyone who sees Mr. E and I together see the strong family resemblance, even down to our complexions. My brother, who is a bit darker than I am, had straighter, darker hair; he and I are not biracial, but the products of two light-skinned black parents who themselves were born of lighter-skinned blacks and black/Native American and West Indian heritage. Neither of us can pass for white, but obviously we have white relatives somewhere in there, but they are generations back in the family tree.
But it’s also interesting to think about those who deal in the politics of race when it comes to mixing black and white. For instance, our biracial President has chosen on the census to select “black.”
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