One of my pet-peeves is the hypocrisy innate to liberal racism. In lieu of the recent posts by our ‘friend’ Mustafino, aka Sallasan, aka Jaime Pretell I think a brief investigation into this movement is called for. Especially the approach to bio-anthropology used by the adherents of this school of thought. The main proponents of this school are White American groups with recent Sub-Saharan input via colonial American slavery (‘Latinos’, Melungeons, Red Bones, etc). The STATED focus of these groups is to discredit the so-called ‘One-Drop Rule’, whereby anyone with recent Black ancestry is considered Black. This is fine. But there approach becomes cowardly because they try and pass this protest of Blackness off as a egalitarian, anti-racist movement. The reality is they are not fighting racism (which is White Supremacy in essence). They are fighting for their own privilege in the White caste social structure. They are not fighting to destroy the caste system. They are fighting to have a place above ‘normal’ Blacks in the caste structure. If they were TRULY fighting racism they would challenge the notion of ‘Whiteness’ because this is where the privilege is held. They would point out that race is a pseudo-scientific concept because almost everyone on earth is ‘mixed’ and Mediterranean Europeans have substantial and recent African genetic inputs. But they don’t do this. Instead they go after the low-hanging fruit found in the descendents of Blacks who passed into White society and actively work to sustain the privilege therein.
No spokesperson of the movement to abolish government sponsorship of the “race” notion has been more eloquent than A.D. Powell. She aims her barbs at Americans of all complexions who insist upon the one-drop rule. She is the nemesis of those who advocate the uniquely American notion that there is no such thing as a White person with African ancestry—that such a person is, at best, a “light-skinned Black.” Powell believes that the one-drop rule ignores science, crushes tolerance, and mocks the American Dream. And yet it is advocated by liberals, and its enforcement is demanded by most Black leaders. She argues that coercing someone’s ethnic choice is tyranny.
This collection of essays on multiracialism originally appeared in Interracial Voice magazine.
I found this book to be a fascinating treatise on race and ethnicity, or more accurately our perceptions on race and ethnicity. A.D. Powell takes a stand that, in essence, argues for each human being's innate right to identify with the ethnic culture and heritage, or heritages, that he or she chooses. While this may ruffle the feathers of some, it is a common sense approach to the outdated and oftentimes harmful American tradition of assigning all people to strict racial categories (that may or may not coincide with their own view of themselves). As Wayne Winkler points out, whether you agree with her or not, A.D. Powell's Passing for Who You Really Are will make you think long and hard about our long held disjointed notions of race. — Brent Kennedy, author of The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People : An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in America.
A. D. Powell’s book of essays on the odious “one drop rule” is one of those rare works that will make you examine America’s—and your own—assumptions and attitudes about race. Whether you agree with these thoughtful pieces or not, they will make you think about some things you may have never considered before. Passing For Who You Really Are presents ideas that will stay in your mind for a long time to come. — Wayne Winkler, author of Walking Toward the Sunset: The Melungeons of Appalachia.
Should be required reading for “blacks,” academicians, “white” liberals and especially Latinos. — William Javier Nelson, sociologist and author of The Racial Definition Handbook.
I am glad someone is [publishing A.D. Powell], because there is so much crap being published by the university presses about the multiracial issue! — Francis Wardle, executive director of the Center for the Study of Biracial Children and author of the textbook Introduction to Early Childhood Education: A Multidimensional Approach to Child-Centered Care and Learning.
She reminds you of H.L. Menken, driving intellectual midgets into frenzies of outrage, a spectacle that entertains her fans. — Frank W. Sweet, historian and author of Legal History of the Color Line.
rasol Member # 4592
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quote:The STATED focus of these groups is to discredit the so-called ‘One-Drop Rule’,
^ Yes, the strawman around which they attempt to hide their hatred of their own Black ancestry.
They are obvious in my opinion. Not a word comes out of their mouths that can effectively hide their true motivation.
quote:The reality is they are not fighting racism (which is White Supremacy in essence). They are fighting for their own privilege in the White caste social structure.
Correct of course, and this is why they focus their rhetoric on attacking the reality of Black identity construct.
The construct of European-whiteness, or Jewishness is either unaddressed or only poo-pooh'ed in passing, in hopes of lessoning the sheer obviousness of their manifest hypocrisy.
quote:If they were TRULY fighting racism they would challenge the notion of ‘Whiteness’ because this is where the privilege is held. They would point out that race is a pseudo-scientific concept because almost everyone on earth is ‘mixed’ and Mediterranean Europeans have substantial and recent African genetic inputs.
Mixed race racism, and pure race racism are the same thing.
One thing you should add...in the case of the "Latino" variations of this racist ideology, they are also interested in maintaining the marginalisation and sublimation of Native Americans - by burying their distinct identity and status as aboriginal peoples... within the essentially Eurocentric construct of Latino, or Hispanic, which is why many Native Americans reject this appelation.
The mixed race racialist ideologues are ultimately ineffective, as their identity constructs are too internally conflicted, and defined in negative contexts - ie - what they 'aren't' as opposed to what they 'are'.
If you scratch beneath their surface, invariably you find identity confusion and anger searching for a target-outlet. Blacks are simply their preferred target.
rasol Member # 4592
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quote:She is the nemesis of those who advocate the uniquely American notion that there is no such thing as a White person with African ancestry
translation: waah, waah, why can't i be white?
the answer is white americans created their particular version of aparthied to prevent people like her from polluting it with their non-white ancestry.
this is the reality of the contempt in which she is held by white supremacy, which is the logical, though intimidating target of her wrath.
easier by far to attack a strawman, than to confront a powerful adversary.
The white Brazilian population, paradoxically, seems to be an excellent resource with which to study the phylogeny of western- and central-African mtDNA.
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Notice something revealing about this line...
[In America] that there is no such thing as a White person with African ancestry
Actually the American race definition system doesn't care about "African" ancestry.
African is not one of their 'races'.
What is actually at issue is if you can be a 'White' american with Black ancestry.
This is what the writer of the above means to address.
But they can't even bring themselves to do so.
The must eliminate Black even from the 'question they are asking' [whiteness is still there however], thus giving themselves away.
Like I said....they [Frank Sweet and the like] have no idea of just how transparent their racism is. They think they are hiding it, from themselves...maybe, but not from anyone who is the least bit perceptive.
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My mother is a Redbone and so am I, we don't deny our blackness nor are we fighting for a position in the white caste social structure. You have some that do this and these are the very "near white" looking ones who can "pass".
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