Recruiting at churches, schools, job fairs and community events, the Sacramento branch has nearly tripled from 323 adult members to 845 over the past 14 months, with another 45 youth members, said president Betty Williams.
“They’re white and black, Asian, Hispanic, Jewish, Muslim,” said Williams. “I think people are discovering that civil rights is colorless, whether it’s a gender issue, a religious issue, a same-sex issue.”
Jeanette Flowers Kimmons, who’s recruited more than 100 new members herself, added, “I always say don’t wait until something happens to be part of the solution.”
The Sacramento chapter – formed in 1916 in response to lynchings and kidnappings of mixed-race children who were to be raised as house boys – will mark the NAACP’s100th anniversary Nov. 14 with a fundraiser.
An image from 1929 of W.E.B. Du Bois with a chapter of the NAACP, Image courtesy of Americanrenaissance.com
Just to catch you up to speed. By the way, don’t worry about us. We are doing just fine. Thank you for your grave concern. That you would go to such lengths as interfering with God’s blessing of love and devotion (I know, I know- only to certain couples) just to spare us a lifetime of confusion and exclusion is sweet. But no thank you. Times have changed, my friend. I mean, you do seem to think of yourself as a kind of a friend of the mulattos. A really ignorant and misinformed friend. I see how it could happen. For years (white)people were taught that race-mixing was wrong. And if those people were desperate not to feel really racist, that belief was justified with feigned concern for the “spurious issue” which would result from interracial couplings. That coupled with the “tragic mulatto” propaganda that has been bandied about the country since way back in the day… Well, I can see how you may have been lead astray. I hope you can open your mind now. After the couple of weeks I imagine you’ve been having, you really have no excuse.
That Americans like answers in black and white, a cultural trait we confirmed last year when the biracial man running for President was routinely called “black”.
The flattening of Barack Obama’s complex racial background shouldn’t have been surprising. Many multiracial historical figures in the U.S. have been reduced (or have reduced themselves) to a single aspect of their racial identities: Booker T. Washington, Tina Turner, and Greg Louganis are three examples. This phenomenon isn’t entirely pernicious; it is at least partly rooted in our concern that growing up with a fractured identity is hard on kids. The psychologist J.D. Teicher summarized this view in a 1968 paper: “Although the burden of the Negro child is recognized as a heavy one, that of the Negro-White child is seen to be even heavier.”
But new research says this old, problematized view of multiracial identity is outdated. In fact, a new paper in the Journal of Social Issues shows that multiracial adolescents who identify proudly as multiracial fare as well as — and, in many cases, better than — kids who identify with a single group, even if that group is considered high-status (like, say, Asians or whites). This finding was surprising because psychologists have argued for years that mixed-race kids will be better adjusted if they pick a single race as their own.
The population of multiracial kids in the U.S. has soared from approximately 500,000 in 1970 to more than 6.8 million in 2000, according to Census data quoted in this pdf. In the early years, research on these kids highlighted their difficulties: the disapproval they faced from neighbors and members of their extended families; the sense that they weren’t “full” members in any racial community; the insecurity and self-loathing that often resulted from feeling marginalized on all sides. That simple but harsh playground question — “What are you?” — torments many multiracial kids. Psychologists call this a “forced-choice dilemma” that compels children to claim some kind of identity — even if only a half-identity — in return for social acceptance.
But the new Journal of Social Issues paper suggests this dilemma has become less burdensome in the age of Tiger Woods and Barack Obama. The paper’s authors, a team led by Kevin Binning of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Miguel Unzueta of the UCLA Anderson School of Management, studied 182 multiracial high schoolers in Long Beach, Calif. Binning, Unzueta and their colleagues write that those kids who identified with multiple racial groups reported significantly less psychological stress than those who identified with a single group, whether a “low-status” group like African-Americans or a “high-status” group like whites. The multiracial identifiers were less alienated from peers than monoracial identifiers, and they were no more likely to report having engaged in problem behaviors, such as substance use or persistent school absence.
The writers theorize that multiracial kids who choose to associate with a single race are troubled by their attempts to “pass,” whereas those who choose to give voice to their own uniqueness find pride in that act. “Rather than being ‘caught’ between two worlds,” the authors write, “it might be that individuals who identify with multiple groups are better able to navigate both racially homogeneous and heterogeneous environments than individuals who primarily identify with one racial group.” The multiracial kids are able to “place one foot in the majority and one in the minority group, and in this way might be buffered against the negative consequences of feeling tokenized.”
In short, multiracial kids seem to create their own definitions for fitting in, and they show more psychological flexibility than those mixed-race kids who feel bound to one choice or another.
Fortunately, all these questions of racial identity are becoming less important, as we inch ever closer to the day when the U.S. has no racial majority. One of these days, after all, we will all be celebrating our multiracial pride.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1880467,00.html#ixzz0W2BxqzTZ
I thought this news would make me feel better about the situation. Somehow I’m angrier than before. First of all, the man doesn’t use proper English. This bothers me to no end. But even worse he feels that he is the victim here, being punished for having a conscience. I’m sure he’s just beside himself with regret and worry for all of the confused half-breeds that he can no longer save from…. from…. what!? UGH! The insanity!
Louisiana justice who refused interracial marriage resigns
November 3, 2009
(CNN) — A Louisiana justice of the peace who drew criticism for refusing to marry an interracial couple has resigned, the secretary of state’s office said Tuesday.
Keith Bardwell resigned in person at the Louisiana secretary of state’s office, said spokesman Jacques Berry. The state Supreme Court will appoint an interim justice of the peace to fill Bardwell’s position, Berry said, and a special election will be held next year to fill the position permanently.
Bardwell- resigned because, “They was going to take me to court.”
Bardwell, a justice of the peace for Tangipahoa Parish’s 8th Ward, refused to perform a marriage ceremony for Beth Humphrey, 30, and her boyfriend Terence McKay, 32, both of Hammond, Louisiana, and sign their marriage license. The two were married by another justice of the peace.
The couple filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against Bardwell and his wife, Beth Bardwell, on October 20, claiming the two violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Bardwell, speaking to CNN affiliate WBRZ, said he was advised “that I needed to step down because they was going to take me to court, and I was going to lose.”
“I would probably do the same thing again,” he said. “I found out I can’t be a justice of the peace and have a conscience.”
Sen. Mary L. Landrieu, D-Louisiana, who had called for Bardwell’s dismissal, said Tuesday night that “Bardwell has finally consented to the will of the vast majority of Louisiana citizens and nearly every governmental official in Louisiana. Bardwell’s refusal to issue marriage licenses to interracial couples was out of step with our Louisiana values and reflected terribly on our state. We are better off without him in public service.”
Initial reports were that Bardwell refused to issue a marriage license to the couple, but in the lawsuit Humphrey and McKay say they obtained the license from the parish court clerk’s office and contacted Bardwell to see if he would perform the ceremony and sign the license to legally validate the marriage.
Humphrey wound up speaking by telephone with Beth Bardwell, the lawsuit said, and Beth Bardwell asked Humphrey if they were a “mixed couple.” When told they were an interracial couple, Beth Bardwell said, according to the lawsuit, “We don’t do interracial weddings,” and told her the two would have to go outside the parish to marry.
Humphrey and McKay
Bardwell did not return repeated phone calls from CNN in October, but told CNN affiliate WAFB that he had no regrets about the decision. “It’s kind of hard to apologize for something that you really and truly feel down in your heart you haven’t done wrong,” he said.
In addition, he told the Hammond Daily Star in an October story that he did not marry the couple because he was concerned for the children that might be born of the relationship and that, in his experience, most interracial marriages don’t last.
“I’m not a racist,” he said. “I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house. My main concern is for the children.”
I’d love to see the show that this article details. All whites are racist!? I have a hard time buying that. Prejudiced or biased, maybe. I think all people are no matter the color. Anyway, it upsets me greatly that the black father of the mixed-race girl doesn’t want to expose her “secret.” Um…. how is she supposed to form a positive, all-encompassing identity if her black father is hiding from her white friends? I wonder if this will be on BBC America.
A Bombshell new television show will tonight claim that all white people are racist.
An American schoolteacher and anti-race campaigner will conduct an experiment for Channel 4 to prove how prejudiced Britain is.
Jane Elliott, 76, whose nickname is The Bitch, travelled to the UK for the test.
Part of the show features former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher made up as a black person and US President Barack Obama as a Chinese.
Elliott is given a group of 30 volunteers, of mixed age and race, and splits them into two teams based on their eye colour.
Those with brown eyes are treated well, but those with blue eyes are ridiculed, humiliated and insulted.
Her aim is to create a mock “apartheid regime” to make the blue eyed people experience prejudice, discrimination and racism.
However at the end of the experiment, set in an old warehouse and lasting several hours, the white and black volunteers end up in a bitter row.
Some even walk out. Many of the white volunteers claim that black people do not have the monopoly on discrimination.
A middle aged white woman says: “They think racism is just for black people. I’ve had comments made about me because I’m blonde and white.”
However one dad, who is black, reveals how he never picks his daughter up from school because her mum is white and he doesn’t want anyone to know she is mixed race in case she is taunted.
At the end of the experiment, Elliott claims the white volunteers have shown their true colours.
She tells the C4 documentary tonight at 10pm: “White people should feel guilty about their behaviour.
“You don’t do things because you’re white, you do things because you’re ignorant.
“We are conditioned to the method of white superiority from the moment of birth.”
I have become totally slightly addicted to television since the start of the fall season. Of course I can’t help but notice every time biracial, mixed, or interracial coupling comes up, which isn’t very often. So far, I’ve only been satisfied by one show. And it should come as no surprise to anyone that Jennifer Beals was involved in that one.
What you need to know: Attorney Zoe (Jennifer Beals) enlists the help of her “human lie detector” ex-husband Cal (Tim Roth) in proving the innocence of a black college football star accused of statutory rape by a white high school girl.
Zoe to Cal: (The) ADA is a pompous a** who isn’t beyond charging just based on race. That is why Cabe McNeil is facing trumped up sex charges.”
Cal: “Do you really want to defend this guy, or are you just taking this personally because of the black and white leaves on the family tree?”
Zoe: “Both.”
several scenes later….
Zoe to afore mentioned Pompous ADA: “Because he’s black and slept with a white girl he belongs in jail?…Come on I know your track record and I know how you treat black defendants. And I know how you treated me in law school. I had one white parent and one black parent. I was the only brown student there, and you just looked down your nose at me all three years”
Toward the end of the episode he tells her the reason he had a problem with her in school was because she made law review and he didn’t. She apologizes.
It was perfect! Because it’s not always about race, but when you’re the brown person that could easily and justifiably (based on prior experience) be your first assumption. Way to go Lie to Me. And Jennifer Beals. My assumption here is that she contributed to the way that story was told.
Next up:
What you need to know: Main character Veronica walks into her parent’s home after work and is startled loudly by her brother. She notices that their parents are asleep in the living room, prompting her to “shush” him. He laughs it off and demonstrates how sound asleep they are by yelling shockingly dangerous things like, “Fire!” and even worse…
“Dad! Veronica’s got a new boyfriend and he’s black!”
On
What you need to know: In an attempt to save her failing marriage, the wife of Glee Club director Mr. Schuester fakes a pregnancy.
The couple take a private lamaze class during which Mr. Schuester is asked to leave the room for minute. Mrs. Schuster reveals to the lamaze teacher that she has a troubling secret. The lamaze teacher’s first guess seems to be the worst thing she could possibly imagine: “Is the baby black!?“
Lastly,
Here is an example of a missed opportunity. Wentworth Miller guest starred as a cop helping the SVU team with one of it’s victims. After discussing the results of a line-up, Wentworth Miller says something that prompts Ice T to tell him that “Not all black people look alike.” I really wish Miller had said “I know. I am black people.” Jennifer Beals would have. I think.
None of this is earth shattering or anything. But I think it’s important to note the ways in which “we” are discussed or alluded to. I am usually disappointed. It’s that “is the baby black!?” kind of mentality that that guy in Louisiana who will let black people use his bathroom but will not allow interracial couples to wed is plagued by. I believe that the majority of people think that way. I’m trying to change that.
HAMPTON, Virginia (CBS) – A young woman made history at a Virginia University Wednesday night by becoming the first biracial pageant winner at a historically black university.
Nikole Churchill was coronated as Hampton University’s new homecoming queen, becoming the first half-white, half-asian winner.
“As soon as she was announced the winner, you could hear seats closing, and people booing,” said Hampton University Junior Ashley Sowell.
Some on campus and many more on the internet made an issue of Churchill representing the school.
“You expect to see those types of roles, your representatives… let’s be honest, I want to be represented by someone who looks like me,” said Hampton University Junior Sade Scott.
The University says the controversy is overblown. Officials say Nikole Churchill has the full support of the university. She got a standing ovation at Wednesday night’s coronation, and says she’ll serve proudly.
Congratulations are in order for the 22-year old college Hawaiian senior who became the first ‘non black person’ to receive the honor on at the historically black University on Friday! But it seems that everybody on campus wasn’t happy to see Nikole take home the crown, and things got so bad she wrote a letter to President Obama:
Aloha Mr. Obama!
My name is Nikole Churchill, a senior nursing major at Hampton University. This past Friday October 9, 2009, I was honored to be crowned Miss Hampton University 2009-2010. It truly was the best night of my life! With that being said, I am sad to say that my crowning was not widely accepted and many negative comments regarding my win have been shared throughout my campus.
It would be much easier to say that possibly some were not accepting of the news because I wasn’t the most qualified contestant; however, the true reason for the disapproval was because of the color of my skin. I am not African American. Despite the unfortunate beliefs that some are saying I should not have won, I am desperately trying to focus on those who believe in me and support me and my goal to represent this beautiful, multicultural campus the very best way that I can. I would love your help!
I am hoping that perhaps you would be able to make an appearance to my campus, Hampton University, so that my fellow Hamptonians can stop focusing so much on the color of my skin and doubting my abilities to represent, but rather be proud of the changes our nation is making towards accepting diversity. People are even nicknaming me, “lil Obama” because of various reasons. This is truly an honor as well!
I am also from Hawaii (Wahiawa) and I am hoping that you can assist me in opening some closed minds and help share some aloha spirit throughout my campus. I feel as though you could relate to my situation, which is why I immediately wanted to contact you. I was interviewed last night at the HU vs. HU football game by news channel 13 and I mentioned how individuals such as you and myself are making changes in hopes people can stop placing so much focus on our skin color by letting that define what we can, cannot, should, and/or should not do. Dr. Harvey welcomed me last night to the family with open arms and I was beyond honored when he told me that he is behind me 100%. I am proud to represent Hampton University and I am so proud having you to represent our home, our country. Your support with my crowning as Miss Hampton University 2009-2010 would be graciously appreciated. Please reply, I will be looking forward to it!
“I’m a North London, working-class, black, Jewish girl,” actress Sophie Okonedo said. “I love my upbringing because it had so many different colors; it’s given me the equipment to play lots of diverse roles.”
In 2005, the tall, striking actress burst into the international spotlight when she was nominated for an Oscar for her harrowing turn as the wife of a hotel manager who hid more than 1,200 refugees from genocidal militias in “Hotel Rwanda.” As the unexpected new toast of Hollywood — Newsweek described her performance as a “revelation” — she went on to portray an emotionally disturbed young woman in civil rights-era South Carolina in “The Secret Life of Bees.”
Now she has tackled her first leading role in “Skin,” based on the true story of Sandra Laing, a biracial girl born to white parents — unaware of a black ancestor in their family tree — in 1950s South Africa. The film chronicles the parents’ battle for Sandra to be classified as “white,” her rebellion and marriage to a black man and subsequent struggle to be reclassified as “colored” to keep her children. At one point in the film, Laing’s parents learn the 10-year-old Sandra cannot continue to live in their home unless she is documented as a household servant.
The script stunned Okonedo when it arrived at her North London home not long after her Oscar nomination. “The story was so extraordinary I almost couldn’t believe it was true,” she said from the flat she shares with her 12-year-old daughter.
And then there was the personal connection for Okonedo, 40, who was raised by her Ashkenazi mother and Yiddish-speaking grandparents after her father, a Nigerian civil servant, abandoned the family when Sophie was 5.
“I could relate to being black and brought up in a white family,” she said. “Of course being raised in North London in the 1970s was much kinder than South Africa in the ’50s. But it was helpful to understand what it is like to have a family that is a different color than you — and to question your heritage when people say, ‘That can’t possibly be your mum.’”
…Okonedo was the only black congregant at the liberal synagogue she attended with her grandparents, although she refuses to discuss previous remarks she reportedly made about encountering discrimination from both blacks and Jews.
…“My grandparents kept a fairly Jewish household,” Okonedo said. “They celebrated all the holidays, and they spoke Yiddish when they didn’t want me to understand the conversation. I feel sad I didn’t learn Yiddish as a child,” she added. “It’s such a fantastic language, so expressive. And now my grandparents are too old to teach me.”
Now that her grandparents are in their 90s, the family holiday celebrations have ceased. “But culturally I’m still very Jewish,” Okonedo said. “It’s all in my blood.”
Over the years, her mother has remained Okonedo’s staunchest champion — encouraging her to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art after she dropped out of school at 16, and later traveling with her to theater and movie sets to attend to her hair. “I’m not very good at the whole dressing-up thing,” Okonedo said.
An image from 1929 of W.E.B. Du Bois with a chapter of the NAACP, Image courtesy of Americanrenaissance.com
Humphrey and McKay
I especially like this one because of it’s “ode to racial purity” feel.
mulatto diaries 