Ashley Graham and her husband, Justin Ervin

Ok, I know for the two African American/German kids I know it is true. Their mums are already light and probably have some white recessive genes, so in their case it's true. However,
1. Very few mixed kids have African American parents over here. I'd say more than 90% of mixed kids have an African parent.
2. It could as well be wrong, because like I said some Afro German kids are also really light, and some African American German kids could be dark. I know a Nigerian German boy with blonde hair. So I find those skin colour categories difficult to sustain.

 

I would think South Africa has the highes percentage of mixed people in Africa. Think Trevor Noah. As for light-skinned people, yes there are light skinned people with no European ancestors. Two caveats on social media pics of Africans: They like to take pics with loads of extra lighting and flash to make them look way lighter than in real life. Trust me. I have seen it a lot with people I know what they look like in real life. Secondly, African women are specialists in the use of bleaching creams. They come out looking way lighter than they would usually look. Especially those beauty obsessed Instagram babes.

 

Do you live in the UK???

The reason most mixed people with a Black parent in the United States identify as Black is because White society doesn't let someone with Black ancestry and African features the luxury of claiming to be White.

It's the same in most European countries as well.

If you didn't know your son and saw him at a daycare center, would you assume he was a little White or Black boy???

I'm just curious.

BTW I pulled that, 'Why are you Black, mom??' crap when I was about the same age as your son, and she responded succinctly, '..Because you're Black.'lol

At the time we lived in a mostly White community and I was having identity issues. Kids IMO need to be taught a strong sense of self so they can grow up loving and respecting themselves and others.

 

Yes, you are right in correcting me. I should have said some are the result of mixing with Europeans who arrived on the coast.
And our perspective on what is white or black depends on where we are living. Who is black or white might mean something completely different in Brazil.
I'm often wondering why people refer to Barack Obama as black, when he is of mixed black and white parents.
We are too quick to define people.

 

Well, I'm in Germany and the good thing is we don't have that long history of black people living with us so we don't yet have many of the hang ups that exist in other countries. Secondly, no people don't automatically think he's black when he's at the daycare. He could be an Arab or Spanish. So if he wants to call himself white for now I'll just leave him. He can decide that as he grows up. It's important for bicultural children to be in touch with both their parents' background and languages and we want to make sure they know where they come from from both sides. My son has never had any issues with other people about how he looks and so on so I don't want to talk him into issues he doesn't have. If he wants a label from me what he is, I'll tell him he's mixed or Afro German. I won't tell him "My son, you are black!" That's just ridiculous. After all wasn't it me who carried him in my belly for 9 months?

Do you live in the UK? Somehow I thought you were in the US. Lol@ your mum's answer. Well, if I had white kids, I'd just tell them I'm white and you are white period. Wouldn't want to raise another Rachel Dolezal;-))

 

Thought the same thing about Barack Obama.

 

I thought that was if you were lighter than the paper bag you were considered to be not black and if you were darker than the paper bag you were black.

 

There are people in the US who are biracial who are much darker than people who are not. There are people of all different hues that are biracial, and of all different hues who are not. The same could be said in other countries. There are those from Africa who are lighter than those in the US. I think we all know families where there is a huge array of different skin tones within the same family with the same genetics.

This statement, "When you see a lighter biracial person they are either from the US or UK. If darker Africa." has absolutely NO merit.

 

No, I'm in the U.S. I just wondered where you lived.

 

I see. What's important for my kids is that their German is absolutely spotless. People need to recognize after one word that they aren't foreigners but native speakers in spite of their exotic look. So they won't get that foreigner stamp.
Secondly I didn't want a name for them that is too exotic or not pronouncable for Germans. Those were the important factors. The first part has worked out well, the second so-so.

 

Yeah I prefer talking about different cultures rather than different skin tones. It's more interesting and it's something human beings can actually influence. I also prefer to say I have a bicultural family/marriage because that's where I have seen issues arising, when they were any, not from our different skin colours. Hope that makes sense.

 

I definitely wouldn't expect the first lady to be 80-85 percent black....interesting. They are both obviously black but the first is quite light as well.

 

This is where some immigrants make a big mistake. Some like the Asians make a big effort to learn the language and to integrate.
Others believe it is better to remain like their former compatriots.

 

I looked up her instagram and found out her father is White.

It's hard to find light skinned Black celebs who have two light skinned Black parents, although IRL I see it all the time.

 

Yes,I believe you since the genes of those Germans in the colonies 100 years are still in some of the tribes there.

 

More than North Africa?

 

Sorry, I just mentally left out the northern African countries (the Maghreb) because to me they are Arabs. I was just thinking of Sub-Saharan Africa. But I understand that division is debatable. For instance where do we put the Touareg and other Berber peoples? It's gradually becoming an anthropological research paper.

 

I think it was meant to be regarding Black Africa.
In North Africa, there is a mix of the native Berber people with Arabic people, as well as European mixes.

 

I thought this thread was about Ashley Graham and her husband, but what do I know

 

CNN's Angela Rye?