Sociology

Jesse Washingtons article on Barak Obama explores why a bi-racial man, especially one of such high importance, has to be vocal about what he is. Obama very clearly states that he is an African American because this is how he is perceived. He has never tried to hide the fact that his mother and maternal heritage is Caucasian but he accepts that when someone looks at him, he or she sees a black person.

Of course, many people raise issues with Obamas situation. Rebecca Walker, a self-described human of several different racial heritages, understands that Obama is what he is because of how others see him. She believes that he should accept all of his racial makeup because without all of it, he would not be him. G.K. Butterfield feels different. Butterfield is a black congressman who has the appearance of a white man. Coming from a black family, Butterfield identifies as a black man and does not try to hide this information. He feels that he, along with Obama, has the choice to decide whom to be, and he and Obama choose to be black men.

The short article continues on that pride is the center of racial identity and delves deeper into Obamas heritage. The article ends with a black woman saying she does not think Obama can really identify as a true African American because of his white mother and his Kenyan, not American, father.

I think this article shows that no matter what a mixed person wants or chooses to be, non-mixed people will have issues with the decision. The article paints a difficult picture as to where people of mixed heritage can fit in. I hope that mixed people can believe in themselves strongly enough that these issues will not weigh too heavily on them. Washington does a decent job of relaying the facts and remaining objective. He offers clever observations from both sides, showing that both sides have clear issues with the other side. Why is Obamas race important to anyone but Obama

Paul Spickard explores a relatively new genre in the literary world - the multiracial autobiography. The majority of the books he mentions are by people that have some African American heritage and mainly embrace that culture. Gregory Howard Williams, Lisa Jones, Shirlee Taylor Haizlip, and many others all have recent white ancestors but all choose to identify as black. Many of them claim that they identify with this culture first because of their physical appearance. They find it much easier to embrace a culture that welcomes them easily.

There are other authors who do not choose to be black, and this causes others to have problems with them. Anatole Broyard is a black man who chose to pass as white in order to have a successful career in literature. Henry Louis Gates, a well-known black man, takes issue with Broyards choice, but Spickard defends Broyard. He makes a good point that at the time Broyard began writing, in the 1950s, he would not have been able to be a writer, but a black writer, seriously limiting what he could achieve. Another bi-racial author, Philippa Schuyler admits to changing her name and attempting to pass as an Iberian so she could succeed in the classical music world.

Spickard also writes about multi-racial Asians and Native Americans and the choices they make. Overwhelmingly, the choice that is made is to identify solely with the minority heritage, and not accepting the idea of being mixed.  One author, Maureen Reddy, a white woman with two black children, emphasizes that her children are black and even becomes upset when her son tries to identify as black and white. She knows how her children are perceived in this world and wants to prepare them for life as black people. Another author, Jon Michael Spencer, argues that black people need to stick together and be black. I support being able to choose who you identify with but again, I read this article and wonder why it has to be so important. I feel like a lot of these authors are looking for reasons to argue and then claiming this is why they had to choose to be what they are.

Lisa Nakamuras article on the website Mixedfolks.com again reflects on the importance of someone elses race to other people. At first glance, this website appears to be mainly gossip, aimed at outing celebrities of their not clearly defined race or races. Vin Diesel, Lisa Bonet, Jessica Alba, Cameron Diaz, and many other celebrities are racially exposed and explained here.

The article also focuses on the actor Vin Diesel and his attempts at breaking into the acting world. More than ten years ago, Diesel created a short film about this subject, showing people what he was up against because of his physical appearance, including a humorous situation when he is cast in a Spanish soap opera but does not speak Spanish.  Once the film was aired at the Sundance Film Festival, Diesel received his first role in a major motion picture, cast as an Italian American. Nakamura continues discussing how versatile Diesel is, and when he is cast as a certain type (Hispanic, Black, Italian), people tend to accept that that is what he is. Why should Diesel need to explain his heritage when he wants to be a versatile actor and is achieving this goal

Nakamura states that when it comes to picking out races and heritages, black people are better at this than white people. Why is this Do white people just not care or do black people care too much Are black people looking for role models and want to claim any decent black celebrity as their own Vin Diesel has never denied being black, but because he openly identified as a black person, many in that community had a problem with this. Why isnt it as big of an issue in the Asian community when an actor like Keanu Reeves has no problem being perceived as white I would like to ask if race is not important to the character, why does it matter

The main question about Mixedfolks.com is why is this important The creator, a bi-racial man, claims that the true mission of the site is to celebrate having multiple heritages. The celebrity facts are just used to get people exploring the site, where visitors will find message boards, chat rooms, links to books and other available media, and more educational information on being mixed. From this point of view, the website makes more sense, but is it really necessary to out actors who do not appear to have any problems keeping their heritage to themselves

David Parker and Miri Song discuss the rise of multi-raced people in the United States and Great Britain and what this means for those countries. In the last census for both countries, mixed races were to be identified. This does not come as a surprise as more people begin to identify with more than one culture.

The very fact that this area is being recognized is a great sign of progress for both countries and the world as well. It was only in the last century that many people strongly believed that people of mixed races were inferior. Now many scientists believe that race is so unimportant, it is only kept alive so people can continue being racist. A person is quoted in the article as saying People with attitudes towards us better get used to us being around and this person is right. The authors continue the article exploring the ups and downs of being of mixed race, actually identifying as mixed race, and where this topic will go in the future.

Parker and Song remind us that so much of what we know on this topic is from subjective historical accounts, and that a general look at things is required, so more people can be observed and acknowledged.

After reading the four articles, the main theme appears to be that if you are of mixed race, the minority race is the one you are most likely, almost expected, to identify with. Not being of mixed race, it is hard for me to identify with these issues, but in the United States today, race matters. I appreciate cultures other than my own and wish people could just be who they are and not feel the need to just stick to one group where they think they belong. I am glad people are talking about this topic, because it does seem to affect a lot of people, both of mixed heritages and not. I believe that all five authors did an excellent job remaining objective and not allowing their opinions to influence the information given.