The Race Draft

I remembered one of Dave Chapelles skits not too long ago about a race draft, and how a few members of each race got to select the person that they wanted to include into their race. For instance, the black race selected Tiger Woods, and the white race selected Condoleeza Rice or something like that...lol Anyway, i thought it would be fun to play a little game, and post some pictures of famous mixed individuals, and ask you guys who you would consider to be "black," and who you would NOT consider to be "black."

I don't have any negative intent whatsoever with this, i just want to see if my theory is correct about what makes a person black. I've never agreed with the one drop rule. I've always felt like a mixed person has to willingly let it be known that they are an african american. I don't like how the one drop rule forces people to be black. I've always felt that was unfair for mixed individuals. In my eyes, they can choose to be whatever race they so choose, despite having some black blood in them. Well, what do you all think about the one drop rule?

For each individual, go through and say "yes" if you feel like that person is "definitely" a black person, "maybe" if you feel like that person should be considered a black person, or "no" if you feel like that particular mixed individual has disassociated themselves from the black race and has chosen to be an active member in the white community instead. It's also worth mentioning that i don't actually know what each individual labels themselves as, i was simply wondering how each of you guys see "them." Remember, this is just for fun. I have no negative intents with this. :wink:

Okay, here are the contestants:

First up: Tiger Woods



Second: Jennifer Beals



Third: Tracy Bingham



Four: The Rock



Five: Scary Spice



Six: Rosario Dawson



Seven: Derek Jeter



Eight: Mariah Carey



Nine: Lenny Kravitz



Ten: Vin Diesel



Eleven: Rashida Jones (Daughter of Quincy Jones)



Twelve: Hines Ward (Wide Receiver Pittsburgh Steelers)



Thirteen: Stacy Dash



Fourteen: Sade




Also, if you guys can think of anyone else to add to the list, feel free to share.

 

I would add the one and only Sade.

 

One more interesting thing. Can you guess what race the singer Foxy Brown is?



And can you believe that this girl, i think her name is Jamila Wideman (she's a pro basketball player) is actually of mixed/black and white heritage? I think she looks so much like an everyday white girl. I could hardly tell she was mixed...lol

 

Jamila is the daughter of John Wideman...the writer. And his teenage son turned out to be a killer.

I used to live down the street for Foxy and know her family is from the Caribbean.

 

Tiger Woods yes
Jennifer Beals no
Tracy Bingham no
The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) maybe
Scary Spice no
Rosario Dawson no
Derek Jeter maybe
Mariah Carey no
Lenny Kravitz maybe
Vin Diesel no
Rashida Jones maybe
Hines Ward maybe
Stacy Dash yes
Sade no


A few quick points. First, being black myself, I've never truly understood or accepted the "one drop rule." It's just racist BS as an argument against mixing. As for my selections themselves, several of those "NOs" to me are folks who are constantly attempting to convince people of their ethnicity other than black or who themselves never associate with black folks, or both. At least the "maybes" I can respect. Rashida Jones for instance was on "Boston Public" a few years ago and prior to dating that white dude (or was he Jewish?), she made it known that she was half-black. She's never tried to hide that, even though alot of people already know she's Q. Jones's little girl.

AS for Jamila Wideman, I knew who she was from her Stanford days because there was a Sports Illustrated article about her and her father. Though, I wasn't aware of Foxy's background. Thanks for the info, Lexington.

In the end, people are people to me. Personally, I think everyone on that list is black/African descent in some way. Well, maybe not Vin because I don't think he's every told Hollywood about his family history. But it is how they are perceived in society. And we all probably know most people would consider them people of color as well.

 

hellspawn72

hellspawn72, "white dude (or was he Jewish?)" so you agree with neo-nazis that being jewish is not white?

 

It's quite simple really, unless you have 2 black parents, you're not black. And unless you have 2 white parents you're not white...so everything in between is "mixed". Just because someone has lighter skin, that doesn't make them less black or more white than someone with similar parentage.

I don't like all this "claiming" someone of mixed herritage, purely because of how we perceive them, rather than what their actual genetic make up is.

 

I'm with you on this one; however our society isn't. They are quick to label you black if one of your parents are the least bit black. Its funny because magazines like Ebony/Jet have done articles on The Rock, Jeter, and Vin Disel at one time or another and I'm like "Oh, I didnt know they were black" LOL

I just wish that people could be people and we can look past the color of our physical "house" that our spirits/souls live in. To me thats the way it should be but thats just my opinion. Everyone is entitled to their's right?

 

It does not matter if these individuals are Black or "mixed". At the end of the day, they are considered people of color and NOT WHITE. Furthermore, the fact that they have Black blood, they will probably face more discrimination, racism, and what have you more so than any other "mixed" combination--especially when it really shows. They can choose to call themselves mixed all they want. IT DOES NOT MATTER. Labeling yourself as mixed and hob nobbing with the White Folks is not going to diminish the fact that you could still face police brutality and harrassment, it is not going to change the fact that you will still be subjugated to discrimination in the job market and face the "glass ceiling" on the job, that you may continue to be denied business and housing loans, and you will continue to deal with a society that promotes White supremacy and White privilege--and denying a part of yourself to get closer to White by having access to the rights and privileges that Whites enjoy and avoid the stigma of Black parentage is not going to work. The only time it works is when a person "Pass for White"--looks White and does a very good job of hiding their true identity from Whites and Blacks.

Furthermore, in the United States, any Black person who can trace their family 100yrs. give or take a few--ALL BLACK PEOPLE ARE MIXED!!! SO, WHAT IS YOUR POINT!

You can personally acknowledge you mixed heritage. You have that right. You even have the right to deny it and go either way. If you choose to associate with Blacks, or Whites, or Both--then that is your choice. However, it would be a big mistake to think that these actions alone will change how you are perceived and treated in society.

Instead of discussing how wrong it is to force people to be Black with the one-drop rule. We should discuss how disgusting it is that we live in a society that considers having a drop of Black blood is negative and limiting, and how twisted our country is that a person would even consider the decision between the two in the first place.

 

Tiger Woods - Yes

Jennifer Beals - No

Tracy Bingham - Yes

The Rock - No

Scary Spice - Yes

Rosario Dawson - No

Derek Jeter - No

Mariah Carey - No

Lenny Kravitz - Yes

Vin Diesel - No

Rashida Jones - Honestly no.

Hines Ward - Yes

Stacey Dash - Yes

Sade - Honestly no

 

Well Rashida Jones may be mixed...but I saw this thing on PBS where they traced Q. Jones' ancestry and did DNA tests....and he is only 66% black to start with....so she's not really mixed..in the 1/2 and 1/2 sort of way....i guess...like y'all say....we are all mixed....some of us more than others

 

Re: hellspawn72

NOOO! First and foremost, I don't agree with neo-nazis on ANYTHING. What I mean was it's my admitted ignorance of jewish people. I've never really knowingly had jewish friends, so I don't know what they consider themselves to be. All I've understood is that Jews follow a particular religion different from Christians.

As for what their race/ethnicity is, I don't understand that part of it. But I've heard they're not fond of intermixing with blacks. So, go figure. If you could explain the difference with someone being jewish, I'd be happy to hear it though.

 

I'll be the first to admit it. I don't even know what black is anymore. In some African country if you're not of a certain skin tone, you are not black. Some just see you as a "half breed" or white. My cousin from my fathers side who is mixed, is seen as a white man to most of my family. Atleast from my moms side. And he has a darker complexion than all those people in the pics.

When someone says black man, I always picture someone like myself. Dark complexion, nappy hair, flat nose, big lips,etc. Correct? But some of those pics, the people are natural straight hair, pointy nose, bright red lips,etc. I'm still having a hard time convincing myself that Mr.Jone's daughter is black.


On MLK day I was watching CNN. And a couple of "african americans" came on the show to discuss the legacy of MLK. One guy looked white and had red hair, while the other had bright red lips with blond hair. So I really don't know anymore. For all I know George Bush could be the first black president.


But it must be tough being mixed. No way will whites accept you, and alot of darker skin blacks will definately not accept you or hate on you.

 

I agree. But some mix people I know don't care what they're considered in society. It's just that they get rejected from their white side of the family and at times black side. Then what do you do?

Also what if 2 mixed people have a child. Is the child considered mixed or full black now? Technically he does have 2 black parents.

 

Also foxy,Lenny,Tiger, and the spice girl are obviously black. Or mixed blood. No doubt.

 

That child would be mixed too, just a different percentage! The child wouldn't have 2 black parents, but two mixed race parents. Having black blood in you somewhere makes you no more black than having white blood in you somewhere makes you white!

 

It's hard to believe Lenny is mixed but his mother was very dark skin elegant woman from the Bahamas.

 

Iffey's wifey

I'm sorry but I think you are delusional. Maybe you are not American?
that could explain it.

Doesn't matter what a child's genetic makeup is......in this white privileged world you're black if you have african blood. period.

Throughout history bw have been bearing "mixed" children and they have been seen as , black.

Now that white mother's are having "mixed" children there is now a push to have these children recognized as something else.....which I see as very determental to their mental health.

They need a solid grounding in the part of themselves that is shunned, not some fairytale about how they are bi-raical and therefore different than the majority of blacks living in America.

I agree with jeverage, most bp are mixed somewhere in their ancestry. By looking at my husband's father's coloring I suspect a white rapist/ancestor somewhere. On his mother's side his great great grandmother was Irish.

Explains why my kids are so ambiguous in their appearence. Both have red in their hair. I am a "true" redhead, so all of my genes are double recessives. So any recessive genes my husband has will link with mine and that's why our children have "white hair" and light skin. The only "African" look about my son would be perhaps his nose, but then again I've seen many a white person with a nose similiar.

My husband is a medium to dark brown, brown eyes, full lips, flatish nose and nappy hair, I am dayglow white, straight redhair, thin lips, straight nosed, and green eyed.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I mean you no disrespect

 

hellspawn72

Thanks for answering. I can give you my point of view since I am half jewish on my father's side so according to jews I am not jewish, your mother has to be jewish to be seen as a jew. Even in nazi germany I would have been considered a half breed as I have a german mother and a jewish father.

Now I wasn't raised with any jewish religion or awareness, I am a christian. So I know next to nothing about jewishness but I do have a half sister who is fully jewish......and I have discussed things with her and my father as I have gotten older and curious.

Jews will claim they are white and with this whiteness comes the inherent racial prejudices that whites are born with due to social conditioning. So I would say no matter how liberal, all whites are born racists due to the society they are born into.

European jews or ashkinazims, can be quite the racists, the word schwartze IS a derogatory term for blacks and when my sister married a man of columbian/native S. Amer, and spanish descent, her grandmother wanted to no if the kids would be green :shock:

Jews are semetic, as people of the middle east are, and sometimes those roots show, as in having "swarthy" skin, big lips and what is called a "jew fro". Moses's wife was a bw......and all jews, I believe whether they are white, brown or black are related as they descend from the tribes.....

My own grandmother was shown to the servants entrance when visiting her daughter because she was mistaken as a woc. But my great grandfather made it out of Poland on a Polish passport because he looked Polish, not jewish......

As far as jews not intermarrying with blacks that is true and not, many jewish men seem to like bw....like Bill Maher fgor one, maybe it's in their genes..lol...but overall jews are very elitist.

So it depends on the jew, whether you'd slap them with a white label or not but from my own personal experiences most run of the mill whites do not see jews as like themselves but as something different.

When asked my nationalities and I am 7 different ones, I have noticed that people will react strangely if I mention the jewish heritage. They say, you're jewish....me, no my father is/was...them, so you ARE jewish? :roll: No, I am christian......

So I think to other wp jews are a different race and not like them. I would agree that they are a different race. A race of semetic people, but the Euro jews who intermarried somewhat with whites, have a more "white appearence". But most jews have certain physical characteristics that they as a group alone share, the jew nose, lips and hair. And if you've noticed many jewish girls got that bubble butt......

 

Re: Iffey's wifey

It doesn't matter how people see you, your genes are what you actually are - everything else is just an opinion. Yes, having black blood in you may mean you are regarded as black by many people - black and white alike, but the fact is, YOU ARE NOT BLACK. Genes are not open to debate, they are factual.

And what do you mean by your comment about having mixed children seen as something else being detrimental to their mental health? I hate all this PC bullshit, so will not allow my daughter to be called half caste etc. But she has a black father and a white mother - my genes make up 50% of her, and her father's the other 50% so she is mixed race - NOT black, NOT white but MIXED. I couldn't give a shit how people CHOOSE to see her, that is just their own view view but not fact.