In America in the spring of this year, 2008, a widow named Mildred Dolores
Loving died at the age of 67. Let me hand the story over to the late Chief
Justice of the US Supreme Court, Earl Warren, writing in 1967.
“In June 1958,” Warren explained, “two residents of Virginia, Mildred Jeter, a
negro woman, and Richard Loving, a white man, were married in the District
of Columbia pursuant to its laws.” But not pursuant to the laws of their
native Virginia. When they returned to the state and set up home in Caroline
County, a Virginia grand jury indicted them for violating the local ban on
interracial marriages.
“On January 6, 1959,” Warren continued, “the Lovings pleaded guilty to the
charge and were sentenced to one year in jail; however, the trial judge
suspended the sentence for a period of 25 years on the condition that the
Lovings leave the State and not return to Virginia together for 25 years. He
stated in an opinion that: ‘Almighty God created the races white, black,
yellow, Malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but
for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such
marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend
for the races to mix'.”
The case took nearly eight more years to resolve. The Attorney-General of the
state of Virginia pleaded - through the Beatlemania era and into the hippy
age - that, since the ban was equally applied to blacks and whites, the
legislation was not discriminatory. The Supreme Court unanimously rejected
this argument.
“The Fourteenth Amendment,” Warren wrote, “requires that the freedom of choice
to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discriminations. Under our
Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race
resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State.” He
concluded: “These convictions must be reversed. It is so ordered.”
This was the year that I turned 13. How, looking back, is it possible that
such laws existed well into the postwar era? Existed, in fact, in no less
than 16 states? In Virginia miscegenation legislation dated back to 1661. In
1691 the state could fine any white woman who bore a mixed race child, or
put her in indentured servitude for five years, and her child for 30. To the
Virginians, mixed race meant black. In 1924 whites were forbidden to marry
anyone with “a single drop of negro blood” in Virginia. Six other states
already had such a provision.
If I have heard one phrase in continual use about Barack Obama, it is about
how he “represents”, in himself, whatever virtue or trend the user wishes to
associate him with. In particular, of course, he is continually referred to
as the first African-American” or “black” president of the United States.
It seems pedantic, and something worse, to argue that Obama is, in fact, mixed
race. In some mouths this sounds like - and probably is - an attempt to
deprive black people of a victory. It's a bit like when the inevitable
stupid soul, unaware of the origin of the term, objects that, since Arabs
are Semites, one cannot appropriate “anti-Semitism” to mean Jew-hatred. I
always suspect the motives behind such plausibility.
And in the case of the President-elect there do seem to be two Obamas. The
Hawaii Obama, brought up on that mixed-race island group by a white mother
and two white grandparents, and a later Chicago Obama, living in the black
community, marrying a black woman, attending a black Church and seeking his
lost black father.
“He had to leave the island to find himself as a black man,” David Maraniss
wrote in The Washington Post.
“He's black,” a friend said to me yesterday. “Most people would look at him
and see him as being black.” Certainly 1924 Virginians would. And if the man
see himself as being black, then where's the argument? Except, he isn't. To
say that Mr Obama is black is to say, in effect, that his mother had no race
or that her race was somehow obliterated by her choice of husband. Is to say
that no one much had realised, had quite noticed, that her son was, in fact,
mixed race. Is to say that being mixed race is not also to be something.
To me this feels important partly because my mildly extended family now
includes four mixed-race children, who are not black and are not white, or
who are both. It may be important to me because my father was Jewish and my
mother wasn't.
It is important in a bigger way because, both in America and here, the number
of mixed-race children being born is growing steadily. In California, one
estimate is that the proportion is now one in six, in the UK the
fastest-growing ethnic category is that of mixed race.
Trevor Phillips, of the Commission for Equalities and Human Rights, has noted
the “astonishing rise” in the number of mixed-race Britons, expecting that
they will be the single largest minority group by 2020 - and by far the
youngest. The evidence of this rise is all around us, first manifested - as
ever - in the fields of sport and popular culture. Lewis Hamilton, of
course, Theo Walcott, Leona Lewis and dozens more. As the geneticist Steve
Jones pointed out at the weekend, demographic mobility combined with desire
has rendered race-mixing far more likely, once prejudice has been abandoned.
But we are being very slow to recognise how this trend subverts the old
categories. The ancient proscriptions, on all sides of the racial divides,
for all their narrowness, render life less complicated. Even an Obama
doesn't make it by being mixed race, he makes it in politics - finds himself
- by identifying as black. A recent and admirable survey of the attitudes of
mixed race people by Kent University, referred to members of the “mixed-race
community”. But, of course, there's no such thing to belong to.
And then, last week, safely selected and elected, the Obamas went dog-hunting.
One option was a “shelter-dog”. “A lot of shelter-dogs are mutts,” the
President-elect said. “Like me.”
Not “black”, but “a mutt”, a mixture - the very mixture, perhaps, that allowed
people to identify with him in such varied ways. This was surely a return by
Mr Obama to what Maraniss described as “the notion of Hawaii... the spirit
of aloha, the transracial if not post-racial message - that has made his
rise possible.”
How I hope, in the year that Mildred Loving - married to Richard - died, that
it is so ordered.
All you need to create a "race" is two people and a lot of inbreeding. Too many people confuse genetics with culture.
Paul, San Deigo, CA, USA
As a dark skinned black woman with some native American ancestory (my grandmother) and children whose complexion range from light to dark brown, I find it perplexing to say the least that this question is being raised now when nobody on this side of the Atlantic on other gave a damn before Obamania
Mary , Tampa, FL, USA
So called 'mixed' races have existed since the begining of time. My own family has been mixing lovingly with other races for at least 6 generations (6 different so-called racial groups). Stop looking at USA & address the racist problem in the UK. Genetically there is only one race, human.
Rose Byrne, London,
It is absurd to use the Racist standard of 'one drop'. I suggest we stop calling children of blck & wht parents 'Black'.
Since they can be more than just blck & wht I suggest mixed race is not a useful term. So let's use Postracial. This is where we need to go and where these children already are.
William Peak, Austin, Texas
I find it distasteful that while America has long discriminated equally against both light and dark-skinned Afican Americans it is only now, when a light skinned African American so powerfully achieves the ultimate accomplishment, that the authenticity of their 'blackness' is questioned.
Mark Hunter, london, UK
Can I ask a question of those who are annoyed that Barack Obama is referred to as, and refers to himself as 'Black':
If Barack Obama was in the news for something negative would you care that he was referred to as (or refers to himself as) Black?
Stephanie Tohill, London, UK
A long legacy of inter marriage or inter breeding has left huge swathes of Americans with traces of black ancestry. Many Americans who consider themselves white have a proportion of black ancestry. The melting pot effect has been going on for a long time.
c chapman, corridonia, italy
We are all people, and it is high time that we dropped our first identification process of identifying others by race, color, ethnic background, gender or religion. Can we rise to complete inclusivity? We see the damage that is done when one separates oneselve by identifying "Moslem", "Christian".
Marion, Panama city, Panama
An important article on a topic which needs redefining. The issue intimidates and bludgeons people into using the political term 'black'. Like the Emperor's New Clothes we purposely filter out what we're in fact seeing. It is above all cruel and harmful to any child to blank out half their identity.
jane, london, uk
When President-Elect Obama made the "mutt" remark, it made me start to like the guy, whom I did not vote for. Like many people in the USA, my family, on my mother's side, is mutt (Choctaw and Navajo in addition to European), so I identified with the remark.
Terry, Baltimore, USA
Be kind of different if we just choose to label them kids and let it be. Guess that would be way to simple for govt and those seeking to make a fuss.
Of course kids at an early age don't really care unless their parents teach them about the difference.
Evan, Boyd, Texas
Before the "Coalition to Never Offend Anyone" took over, people like Mr. Obama were correctly referred to a "mulattoes". Barack Obama is not the first black President. He is the first mulatto President.
Paul, Wilkes Barre,
My grandchild, and his sibling who will be born later this year, are/will be biracial. But, Obama to the contrary, I will not abide anyone calling either of them a "mutt."
We are all members of the human race, period.
connie, fayetteville, usa
Thank you for addressing this issue. My grandbaby is half white and half black. It IRKS me no end that he will be 'labled' Black by the school system so that they can use him and numbers like him to get 'minority' grants, privileges and money. He is NOT Black, he is mixed!!
marie arnold, portsmouth, usa
What's the point of Obama's race? It matters What matters is how well he performs and helps the world. And let's hope that he truly does so that this world will be even a better place and a dusty paradise to share with all other fellow beings.
Syed Sakhawat Husain, Acton, London, United Kingdom
Venus has hit the nail right on the head. Most 'Black' people, no matter what they look like, are mixed race in the U.S. None are 100% Negro, mixed with both White and Native American. It is time that more 'Black' people openly acknowledge this fact. We have been living a definition not our own.
Raymond Petit, Seattle, USA
Obama may be mixed race his policies will certainly be mixed .He held the race card during the election, his rhetoric of change attracted the floating white vote, the black vote was guaranteed, race got him elected, sadly there is no guarantee he will be a great president, on the contrary.
mike, bolton,
It doesn't matter how you get into the end zone. Just as long as made it. It doesn't matter how many tackles you broke, or how many times you were hit. When you get there, people have to recognize. Don't spin it: the Brother got in the end zone. Touchdown!
Gwyllem, Littleton, USA
Actually, Linda of Atlanta, Mrs Obama does have WHITE blood in her! And it is correct to acknowledge that they are both of 'mixed' race, neither black nor white. When the first Cape coloureds were produced of local black communities and imigrant white Europeans they were shunned to the gutter.
Venus, Maidenhead, UK
Am I the only person that didn't really notice what colour Mr Obama was - just what he was saying?
Jenny, Romsey, UK
Everyone can said what they like. But We will have a BLACK first lady in the White House. Case closed.
Linda, Altanta, Ga. USA
Its not uncommon for white parents to give predominate recognition to a child of mixed race by insisting they do not use consolation labels, such a 'halfcaste'. Many white parents openly and proudly tell their offspring they are black ,because thats how the world will see them, and quite right so.
Jewels, manchester, England
As a white man married to a black women with six bi-racial children I applaud those that are sophisiticated enough to see past the one-drop rule and recognize my children for what they are, mixed race. They are the product of both races, white and black and should to be recognized for what they are.
Anthony Finsland, Las Vegas,
Race and ethnicity are both real. To deny the existence of either is folly. Ask any Spanish American. To deny the existence of mixed-race individuals and groups is also folly. To deny Barack Obama his chosen ethno-racial African-American identity is more than folly, it is gross stupidity.
Luis Magno, Santa Fé, EEUU
Play the man,not the DNA.
Rosinante, London,
Its not about race and everyone who keeps talking this up is simply playing the race game. Its about the MAN and what HE represents and well he will stear the USA and (lets be honest) the world out of economic crisis.
Paul, Dorchester, Dorset
Obama is often described as being 'African American'. If his father had been a white Kenyan and his American mother black, would he still have been allowed to call himself 'African American'?
I rather doubt it - the term is a measure of colour, not race, and is heard as meaning black.
George, Wales,
I am white and my fiance is black and our son is mixed-race (as everyone is calling it.) I think that us as a human race need to start seeing eachother for other human beings instead of other "whites" or "blacks" or "inbetweens" it doesn't matter. Yes God created us all and he gave us options!!!!
Marina, North Andover, USA
As biracial, I was raised by both parents and accepted by both sides of my family as a black. This was not an attept by either parent to deny my white heritage, but a understanding that raising me as black would better prepare me for this world and the injustice it holds for people of my backround.
Christopher McCray, Las Vegas , United States
The truth is that in the USA, many blacks don't consider mixed race people black, unless they are famous like Obama. My mixed race wife was always told she was white by blacks. Her school teacher told her she wasn't black enough to be in the black student union. This racism gets ignored by the NAACP
Paul, Las Vegas, USA
By calling mixed race people black is denying the white side of his/her family. It is creating false perception that black people are in high position when in fact full black people encounter racism regular. Stop calling mixed race black. Mixed race is a race to thenselve.
richard mundle, Nottingham, England
Black characteristics are dominant. The White race is a very fragile variety within the human race, both in terms of the recessiveness of its genes and the diminishingly small percentage of humans on this planet who are of that rare variety. It is the only race whose homelands are disappearing.
Richard, Oceanside, USA
I am so greatful this was written. I have two mixed girls, black & white & it concerns me that if you are mixed between black & white, you are "black." People need to embrace both, not leave/ignore the other. What are we teaching our children? If we classified them as "white" people would be upset
E. Jones, Virginia Beach, USA
Excuse me ladies and gentlemen, i think everybody is getting the skin colour wrong; there is no white man or woman and there is no black man or woman. You are either pink, light brown, or dark brown. To be white, you must be white as snow; to be black , you must be black as coal or black polish.
Thomas, Bermondsey, UK
Excuse me, but race is ethnicity, not skin color--i.e., the Germanic race is not the Semitic race. We are all already mixed race. I like how this writer brought Jews into the equation--what does that have to do with anything?
Tilaya Jones, Los Angeles, USA
Mr. Aaronovitch is being eloquently but brutally truthful in his own rights. I sometimes confront within myself of what he wrote. The truth, however, lies not in what I or anyone thinks but what those "mixed" think they're. Every offspring should be entitled to both parents identity, I believe.
AbassJ, Minneapolis, USA
The concept of race is an artificial construct meant to control; this construct undeniably exists however; Blackness has more to do with the soul than the complexion any extremely light skinned black person can tell you that. In fact they probably wouldn't need to say a word and you would know.
Bob , New York, USA
Nowadays the black/white distinction is only propagated by extremists and the media. It has nothing to do with religion, i.e. individuals beliefs, and I dare say several generations into the future, the majority will be of 'mixed race'.
SteveF, London, United Kingdom
I'm getting on a bit now and considered 'white', however I've met very few people who I would have thought of as 'black' however irrelevant the reason for thinking it was! Get real everyone!!
SteveF, London, United Kingdom
When people say they are black or white, are they referring to skin colour or to specific ethnic identity? There is a spectrum of colours and many ethnicities. Are 'black' and 'white' descriptive or merely assertive? We could enjoy and learn from our differences more by not using the terms at all?
Paul, London,
It is time to quit the what race questions on the U.S. Census and all other documents and forms. Who will be majorities or minorities of what, anyhow?
Spence, Anchorage, AK, USA
I still can't understand why race is soooooo important to soooooo many people in this world. I am truly thankful for God blessing me with a mother that taught me like she did, about people. She said that God made us all, and that He made us in dfferent colors,shapes, and sizes, and He love us all.
Pat Hopwood, Temple,
I am the product of an unusual mix
my Mother was the product of a Scottish father and a portuguese Mother.
while my father was the progeny of an Egyptian mother and an Italian Father. I speak Italian, Arabic and Portuguese fluently
my wife is Romanian and my daughter is a mix of all the above.
Allan Cadwallader, London, England
The one thing this article leaves out is the fact that race is a fairly new concept with didn't even exist pre-enlightenment and that DNA research shows that a black man can be closer to a white man than another black man. Really, "race" is the wrong word. Culture, heritage, those words are better.
Michelangelo, Portland, United States
Oh Get Real! The only people who ever make an issue of this are Northern Europeans who won't acknowledge that many African women on slave ships were raped/impregnated by the sailors creating a New World population that was mixed race almost ab initio. ALL non-African blacks are mixed race.
Maureen, London,
Obama seems to have matured to face and understand that race is a matter of the color of your parent's skin and heritage. Many of all races have overcome the prejudice of heritage and custom.
One can hope that the President-elect will appoint people according to their merit and not by the skincolor
Gunther Steinberg, Portola Valley, United States
Well said. President-Elect Obama is indeed mixed-race. To claim anything else would be to deny his mother and two wonderful grandparents who lovingly raised him to be the man he is today. He is a man for all people. He was lovingly and wonderfully made by his Creator to embrace all that he is.
Sandra, SAN DIEGO, USA
In the bible it says "God created male and female, It does not mention color, only gender. It would be great if the people of this world viewed each other as God does MALE and FEMALE. Obama is a man whom have managed to do the one thing which no other president has been able to do. (Unite)
Doris Bennett, orlando, usa
There is only the Human Race.
Steve Smith, Montreal, Canada
He's mixed race. He is neither black nor white.
Neither am I. I am mixed race. It doesn't matter if "in general" millions of people call him black. Millions thought the earth was flat. Millions were, and are, wrong.
Calling him black is to claim a victory that doesn't exist. He's MIXED RACE.
Helen E., London, UK
Congratulations, David, finally someone has had the courage to define, not just the face of the future, but of now. There are many, many people (and if you scratch the surface of most DNA)probably all of us who are of mixed ethnic background. Obama is the face of plurality and hope.
Tobsha , London,
“Almighty God created the races ...and ...
Did God actually tell you all this in person? Or is it just your personal and individual interpretation of the situation? Maybe you’d better arrange for me to have a direct word or two regarding this matter. In order to clear this up once and for all.
a, london,
I am mixed race and do not consider myself either "white" or "black." My ethniticy is not a big issue for me and does not appear to a problem for people around me which allows me to plod on with my life in my own simple way. I prefer simply to think of myself as English.
Laurence , Hemel Hempstead , UK
Every farmer knows that hybrids improve the breed. I am pink (only albinos are white) anglo saxon, my wife is Philipino/Chinese/Spanish. Our daughters are prettier than either of us and my wife is a rare beauty. Racism is irrational and will die as races intermarry and produce stronger offspring
Tim Rankin, Bowral, Australia
As an African-American woman, I don't view Obama's victory as a victory for blacks. His victory is a victory for this entire country. Furthermore, I have Native American, Swedish and English blood flowing through my viens, but guess what? To society, I'm black. We're all "mutts."
Linda, Philly, USA
Are there still people who believe they are pure anything? Haven't we had enough hatred over religion and colour? As my grandmother would have said "enough already"!
leila , manchester, uk
I was disturbed when he referred to himself this way. A mutt is a dog. As for being multiracial, all black people in this country are multiracial thanks to the diaspora and there is no need to single out a few as being biracial or multiracial.
Clara, Richmond, VA, USA
I have a large family on my mother's side. My parents & their parents are of Mexican descent. My mother's side has siblings who married people of different races who are white, black, & pacific islander. My maternal grandparents have grandchildren of different races & we are all treated equally :)
Phil, San Diego, USA
I don't care if he's black or white, if he continues the genocidal war against the muslims i'm gonna call him a racist. Unless he makes moves to repeal the federal reserve act, i'm gonna call him a traitor to the constitution and finally unless he repeals the patriot act i'm gonna say he's a tyrant.
simon lomax, warrington, uk
My family in the Caribbean includes many who are blond, blue eyed, and others who are dark African descended people. I accepted both as part of me. But in America it's some kind of a novelty. Oh and I'm half persian. It's no surprise American notions of race have always frustrated me. GREAT ARTICLE
D, boston, usa
PARDON Ignacito and Ramos!! FREE them now!!
Abdulla, Detroit, USA
Race mongering, "minority" hustlers... this officially marks the end of white guilt! Get over it now.
John , Milford, USA
I can not say how glad I am that this has finally been committed to paper as it were.
In the 21st century a lot if bad; logics, science and revisionist history will have to be rethought, retaught and unlearned.
I am as African as they come but even here the mix has made old identities superfluo
Archibald, kampala, Uganda
I'm retired and must worry about my golf game and whether or not I will continue to be able to afford to play the game. I don't have time to worry about racial marriages.
Lloyd Lee, Emery, usa
Me being mixed race hate being called black and yet when i go to africa i'm seen as white . It is frustrating that the media still call obama 'black' i'm glad this article was written most people cant even begin to understand the identity crisis many mixed race people face . war on the one drop rule
alexander, buckingham, England
After years of white people calling mixed race kids people black, it is funny how now they want to claim part of that identity. Did it take the achievements of Obama and Hamilton to realize this. Furthermore anyone with a small drop of black blood is called black.
Patrick, Reading, UK
My Swedish half got lost when my mother immigrated and naturalized to American, losing her Swedish citizenship. On the other side, grandma was a whore and was thrown out of the tribe. My dad was sent into an orphanage, unwanted. I end up a non Swede. non native whatsit. So, does race really matter?
Ryan J, San Francisco, USA
I seriously doubt that people of mixed race are really a minority, just people who realize that they are.
Alan Paradis, Groton, CT., USA
Being Muslim isn't a slur, it's a religion.
rtmis, langhorne, usa
American Blacks are in fact, multiracial, therefore there isn't a realistic distinction. It is also false that all American Blacks are descended from slaves, many are not. Race is a perceived social notion. Obama has always been perceived as Black, that is his identity and it's not an issue.
George, Austin, USA
We're all mutts of some kind! So what??? Only in America , the so-called melting pot, does it become an issue. You are defined by your culture, your values, that's all. Leave it at that!!
elizabeth schumann, Paris, France
I think people who have white skin have difficulty understanding the idea that we are all mixtures. As a Mexican-American I acknowledge that I am also a Native American. We just come from different parts of the world.
Obama is to be congratulated for speaking so well for all us 'mutts'
Chris M., New Windsor, USA
Being Muslim isn't a slur, it's a religion.
rtmis, langhorne, USA
The concept of mixed race is not an easy one. Biologically it is a non-starter. The idea that dark skin is an indication of social inferiority is a social construct of dubious validity. I am a south Indian of very dark complexion but I have never bought into the idea of white superiority. Obscene.
sinna mani, london, uk
From a genetic standpoint, the gene for Negro is the dominant gene, and pretty much considered the original, All variations are thought to be mutations.
A black with blue eyes had two parents with the recessive gene.
Ray Walker, Franklin, TN, USA
This entire debate is silly and futile. The underlieing human tendency to hate people for entirely irrational reasons is not going to disappear or even be slightly affected by any sort of eimination of racial defferences. It will simply express itself in some other way.
Stan , Middletown, United States
Obama's not a "mutt," he's our "Messiah!" Go team go!
Holly , St Petersburg, United States
One of my grandmothers self identified ‘Black Irish’, the other ‘French/Spanish’. My first name is Welsh, my last name is German. I was born in Mexico, and to my continued surprise people say “There are no White Mexicans”. “You also can’t be Spanish, they’re all brown”, surprising most Spaniards.
Lloyd W., Austin,
I'm a Canadian close to the US border.
You put it well to support your title. Ours is a pluralistic society, more so in many ways than yours.
My son, blond, fair and blue eyed and his dark straight haired, wife expect their first child in early January. She is an Ishmaili Muslim.
John Lee , Victoria , Canada
The debate about racism and multicilturalism is redundant amongst people that have given some individual thought.
Racism is just an excuse for losers and failed individuals so I suggest to stop making an issue of it and give it the attention it deserves, which is none.
Foivos, London, UK
Sir,
There is a point not yet raised by any analyst, and it is that Mr Obama is the son of a free black immigrant to the US, not the grand child of slaves. In other words, the AfroAmericans of slave trade origin may be said not to have yet succeded in reaching the highest post of the US.
Ricardo Dominguez, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nigel - There already is only one race - the human race - we are all Homo Sapiens.
To hope that everyone is 'mixed' in the future is to give up on humanity culturally evoving enough to accept all its shapes and colours.
If everyone was mid brown we'd still have war, but be less interesting.
sean, London, UK
Obama already failed his first test by leaving Lieberman alone.
Obama is trying to please everyone, and in the end will end up pleasing no one.
This is not why i voted for him.
Rick, New York, USA
In lectures I give on evolution I point to Star Trek. 'Reality' is that, instead of racial stereotypes and a token 'mixed-race' in the Vulcan-Earthling, the bridge of the enterprise would be peopled by mixed-race humans. A single Human Race. The sooner this happens, the better.
Nigel Hywel-Jones, Bangkok, Thailand
God says in Last Testament:
O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you.
Tanweer Ahmad, Srinagar , Kashmir J&K
When President Elect Barck Obama gave his acceptance
speech, I watched on TV, two happy little girls, on the platform with their Mother and Father. Hopefully, they will remain happy in all their endeavors, and will be equally accepted by all Americans. That would be truly great for all of America!
R Lloyd Heberden, Tacoma, Washington, USA
I happen to be born in India , i am called an Indian but constantly reminded of that in New Zealand.I believe in one human race, we have adapted ourselves to the climatic conditions and environment over many centuries.So let us accept the uniqueness of everybody and rejoice in the freedom of man.
Moses, Auckland, New Zealand
Excuse me but why are whites the only ones who are supposed to celebrate their disappearance as a distinct subset of humanity? I don't see China, Japan, Africa, India or Mexico lamoring for more "diversity". The hatred is directed TOWARD, not from, Western Civilization.
Jake Smith, Dallas, USA
Equality is an indefinable notion. All one can ask for is a relatively level playing field- Obama got that & won.
Please don't forget- white/black is not the only "mixed" race. And Hawaii is no Shangri La- I spent 8yrs of my childhood there & dealt with nearly as much racism as 4yrs in Virginia
Brian W., Los Angeles, USA
My son has a mixed ethnic background. I now tell him that he is an "Obamaian."
Eloise, washington, USA
Surely in 1691 and dating back to 1661 mixed race to the Virginians meant Native American 'Indian' as much as Black.
Thomas, Birmingham,
We are almost ALL mutts, get over it.
Think "hybrid vigor."
Fred Tyler, Stony Brook, USA
I've always considered myself a mutt, as I am English, Irish, Scottish, French, Italian German and something else I forgot. I always thought most Americans were since we are all immigrants in one way or another and our country is based on an idea instead of a nationality.
Alex, Chicago, USA
Seems to me that racists must have a horrible time in Hawaii. I grew up there. There are plenty of them in all ethnic groups, sometimes couching it in anti-racism. But there are also a lot of great people. Like Barack Obama. -- from a non-mutt Caucasian, a haole.
Bill, Tacoma, Washington State, USA
All racial descriptions are problematic. The phrase "African American" has me particularly confused. A first generation Arab immigrant from Egypt is, presumably, an "African American", as is a South African of Boer descent.
georges, London, United Kingdom
It's not the color of your skin, it's the darkness in your heart.
Sam Deakins, Richmond, Kentucky - USA
China-watchers say that all the important institutins of China (whose government can buy all the companies on the London & New York Stock Exchange) government, television, police, army, judiciary, financial institutions are 100% Chinese .
Marco Borg, London, United Kingdom
The Bible says GOD created Adam and Eve. Then it states at some point the earth was covered with water and Noah and
his family walked off the boat and went to all corners of the world. We are kin to that clan at some point so we are different colors yet same human race, different cultures.
O C Fleming, powhatan VA, USA
Wrong. Obama was joking in that context. Aaronovitch was finished with the credit crunch. There is no reason why the likes of Kamm, Baker (who called Obama a 'dangerous socialist') and Aaronovitch should stay on anymore than the city workers who are losing their jobs. Intellectually discredited.
Alfonso Parelli, London, UK
Not an untimely article though clumsily argued in places. Surely it is now time to move on from anachronistic historical classifications of humankind. Isn't it up to each of us to do our utmost to make our corner of the world decent, courteous and respectful to all human beings? We are ALL mutts.
anne, London, UK
I want a day to come when asked what race someone is they simply reply "other" or rainbow. Thats how my brothers mixed race girlfriend decribes me and my brother. Rainbow children. The mix is that complex.
Ben, Osaka,
I feel that it does not matter what color a person is Almighty God loves us all the same, but as long as there is a devil there will be prejudice, and there will be hatred along with racism, and that's because they are being used by the enemy pray for them that they will change.
Salina Denise Ferguson, Holts Summit, MO, USA
My father is a black West African and my mother is a white European... Thankfully I was not raised by either of them to feel I had to ''compensate' by being multiracial, I was taught to embrace it. Obama has gotten to where he is by selling his black heritage and now as a 'mutt'; I'm proud to be me!
Alexander, London, UK
'In 1924 whites were forbidden to marry anyone with “a single drop of negro blood” ' Well that narrows it down to everyone.
Also, maybe it's better that there is a mixed race President - he combines the best of both races.
Meera, Reading, UK
Read his books or listen to his interviews esp on race, while Obama fully recognises his white family.He is immensely proud to be black. He consistently refers to himself as black and African American. He even began political career as representative of a black Chicago district.
Mark, Aldershot,
I am a Mutt too! But my skin is white. Why? Because I am a mix of French Canadian and British Canadian (English Grandmother, Scottish Grandfather). There is a lot of racial predjudice out there that has nothing to do with skin colour. Maybe I will just be Canadian from now on.
Jennifer La Chapelle, Everett, Canada
So what I look at Obama as a man who woke up one day and said I want to run for president I'm qualified and intelligent enough to look at wall street and see what I could do, to help put main street and the economy back in order. To me race should not be an issue I have mixed blood and Im Black.
Tashia Payne, Cleveland, United States
Race has no biological meaning: there is much much more genetic variation within any specific "race" than there is between them. So, it is fair to call Obama "black" even though his mother is white, because the fact that his father is black is significant to a tiny minded minority.
Matthew, Ringwood, UK
Black, white, or mixed race. Whatever. Barack Obama could have been purple for all I cared. His race had nothing to do with why I, or millions of other Americans, voted for him.
Cindy, Florissant, USA
Thank you for saying that!
Wolfgang, Boulder, CO, USA
Black, white, or mixed race, whatever. Barack Obama could have been purple for all I cared. His race had nothing to do with why I, or millions of other Americans, voted for him.
Cindy, Florissant, USA
Who cares what he looks like. Obama is, therefore,
he is. You're, so, you are. God is, so He is God. White people can say what they like, black people can say what they like...In this world in which we live
seeing is believing ain't it so mother?
tim, andover, uk
The real tragedy is that in this year -2008, racial bigotry exists such that this article is even relevant. Will tribalism, for that is what is at the root of racial prejudice in my opinion, ever cease? No doubt we'll find other reasons to discriminate against persons who do not belong to our tribe?
Nigel, Kingsbury, England
I am mixed race and consider myself to be black. I am not white, and have black in me, and therefore I am black. That is how I am perceived before people find out my parentage. Why do some mixed race people not want the black tag as if it's something to be ashamed of?
J Fleet, Birmingham,
What would folks classify Obama’s children? Are they mixed race, African American, Black or white or perhaps they belong to the “25%whitekansas25%kenyan50%africanamerican” category”?
Canter, London, UK
The term Black refers to Obama's otherness, looking at him it is clear that he is not white, the world therefore interacts with him as a black man and it is naive to claim otherwise.
Janine, London , UK
I am mixed race. My father is black and my mother is white. If I am referred to as black, where does my mother come into it? That has always been her argument and I agree. I am not white, I am not black, I am mixed race, thats just a fact.
Lucy, London, UK
I'm white, and as far as I know there are no non-whites in the family tree, however I consider myself to be a 'mutt'. Mutt to me means someone ordinary, as opposed to someone with a more, er, distinguished pedigree. You know the sort, the toffs who were chucked out of the House of Lords.
Steve, Glasgow,
Thank you for sending me on a quest wherin I learned the origin of the word, "Semite."
j. Peter Fuller, Warrenville, USA
Race mixing in the US started out before we even gain our independence from GB. I'm Irish, English, German and Dutch with a tinge of Mohawk. Gee where do you think the Mohawk came from. Slave masters also had relations with their female slaves. If people live together they will love together.
Paul Bahre, Granby, CT, USA
There are very few people in the Americas who, for one reason or another, are not mixed-race. This is not a 21st century concept. 'Black' is a political construct used since the 1970s to unify people who were divided by the shade of their skin even if they were siblings. The individual decides.
Maureen, London,
The reality is that almost every "African-American" is "mixed race (!) and almost every "Caucasian American" is "mixed race!" I suppose one has to be, whatever what one chooses to call their mixed genealogy. To try to explain further is just confusing and perhaps, nonsensical.
MW, montgomery, Alabama, USA
There are far too many black people (calm down and read a bit further) and far too many white people for there not to be enough diversity in each group to rule out the dangers of inbreeding. However it is noticeable that persons of mixed race are often "better" than either component, in some ways
D.L. Stephens, York, England
Nice article from DA. And why shouldn't a nation change its complexion? Besides, from a genetic point of view, we're all mutts.
Nullius, London, UK
Dilemma for who ? Those who still judge a man by the colour of his skin. What more must a black man do to prove he is worthy? The predjudice is stacked him everywhere.
Apartheid it would seem was just a bizarre attempt to legalise what the rest of the world where doing with not too much shame.
JABULANI, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
All this is nonsense. Why don't Americans just refer to themselves as Americans. If we have to bring in the question of race or racial mixture then we have lost the plot.
ian cheese, london, uk
I have always prouded myself on my heritage I am not just an American I am an Italian-German-American i always have been & always will be a MUTT! & I am very very very proud of who & what I am! i blame no one for the sufferings my immigrant ancestors endured i wouldnt be who i am today w/out it!
Lynne, Cleveland, USA
Barack Obama a " mutt " ? Surely not
He should be called Mr " Miracle "..
M-I-xed R-A-ce and C-L-E-ver
patrick connolly, WESTCLIFF on SEA, UK
I don't know about the UK, but in the US, not only is it difficult to have a person be recognized as being mixed (black and white) but mixed, period. Like when Tiger Woods first publicly called himself "Cablinasian." That was controversial.
Huong, Austin, USA
get over it I say! mixed races exist in ALL races & ethnic backgrounds! i am mixed too i have Italian & German blood flowing in my veins but my blood is as red as my mixed (black/white) Godchilds! so what??? does 1 mixed person deserve more then the next? nope! its 2008 not 1958! MOVE ON! LIVE LIFE!
Lynne, Cleveland, USA
I'm black, but my grandfather was white. Does that mean that i should call myself quarter cast, and be part of a quarter case community. No i don't think so. Lots of black people in America are mixed. It's difficult to tell who's black and mixed. End of the day, were all black. Thats how the world sees us, and thats how most of us see ourselfs. Barrack even calls himself African American and black. He talks about it in his autobiography. So don't know what the point of this article is.
Thandi, London, United Kingdom
Regardless of what Obama is does not make any different to me. They have classed mixed race as blacks for century and now they want to take the glory from us.
Obama is black and he has shown us that we ARE an equal nation regardless of the colour of the skin.
Monica, London, United Kingdom
it's hard for anyone who is mixed to accept the claim that Barack Obama is mixed more than black. For so long the claim has been that you are the race of your father. but now that obama has been elected to a position of power he becomes mixed.
rodrick, fayetteville,
The 2004 British Olympic gold medallist, Dame Kelly Holmes, born of a black father and white mother, refers to herself as "mixed race". In the end, it all comes down to the individual's self-perception.
Cadzow, Greater London, GB
My sister in law is married to a West Indian man, and their two little girls are referred to by her as "Jessie kidss" after Postman Pat's black and white cat! What a lovely way to refer to "mixed race".
baz, Coventry, UK
Unforetunately race has always been a divide and rule issue. Although there have been interracial mixings over the centuries people have always had adjustment issues. You only need to read Othello to see this highlighted. There is nothing new under the sun, same old recycled issues. http://ferozi.blogspot.com/
Yasmin, Yorkshire, uk
@ dave of slough; ethnicity is not race. you can not have an african ethnicity if you were brought up in slough and your a white person! ethnicity is about cultural background. now if you want to be very pedantic and sill you could claim an african racial heritage, not ethnicity.
James, London, UK
Obama grew up in a world where mixed-race people felt pressure to pick one race or another. That pressure is just starting to ease. Hopefully, the new generation of mixed race citizens will feel free to just be themselves.
Joseph, New York City, USA
It's not "white people" as such who see the world divided into white and black, as Tom S from London says. Rather it's an Anglo thing. To equate whites with the Anglos is in itself a form of prejudice/arrogance and a very narrow-minded one, too.
Francis, Madrid,
He points to the true complexity of the metaphysics of the self. He shows us that conventional reality is warped by power and the politics of identity. Through his strength and a successful, caring environment he has utilised the diverse range of skills he possesses to bring truth to power. OBAMA!!!
Niall Paulin, London, UK
I have never seen a white person. I've seen sick people who are grey or slightly green; pink people; yellowish people and brownish people in varying shades.
Having just watched the various hues and religions on Remembrance Day, how could anyone discriminate against anyone else?
leila, manchester, uk
Nobody seems to have pointed out that Obama actually is a genuine African-American (one of the few!) since his father was a Kenyan and his mother came from the USA. My husband is another, with an American father and a South African mother. But since she is white, does he qualify as such?
Ronni C, Johannesburg,
Garth Rex, I would agree with you, if it wasn't for all of those African Americans who hadn't previously voted in any presidential election, who rushed out to vote for Mr Obama.
David Leslie, Perth, Scotland
Will Obama be able to side step his colour, especially the demands from his "black" supporters, to be more "black"? Obama captured the word CHANGE in his campaign, and clearly this can mean anything to any voter? It does not mean a coffee coloured world, it does not mean a black Pope or a black Bond
Richard, Chelmsford,
The vast majority of us are 'mutts'!
For example mixtures of celts, normans, angles, saxons, jutes,scots,etc., has happened in Britain and elsewhere for centuries.
'Mestizos' have been an accepted part of South America's population since the 'conquistadors'
So whats new?
Journalists and semantics!!
John Gregory Flinn, Béalencourt , France
No human is white, as birds or animals are; for no human looks naked wearing anything white. Skin colour depends on how dark the continent of your ancestors was. In Europe our red hibiscus indoor grew paler with dropping sun until in December it bloomed white. Genetic intelligence is skin colour.
Dr. J. Gokhale, Bangalore, , India.
The notion of identity is usually by the self and by others, hence the exclusion and inclusion principle highlighted in both race and ethnicity literatures. Identity is not only of what you see or what you think you are but it is also about what others see and how it determines experience.
abiyogini, London , UK
I always consider myself as African when asked my ethnicity on forms, as 75,000 years ago, ALL my relatives lived there. So did everyone else's.
My white skin, straight hair and recessive blond hair and blue eyes genes are just adaptations to a cold climate.
Dave, Slough,
Black, White, Brown, Yellow, what difference does it make? We are 99.9% identical under the skin. The Virginia trial judge who sentenced the Lovings did not understand one fundamental Scriptural fact: King Solomon of Israel, the wisest man who ever lived, like Barack Obama, was of mixed race!
Jimmy C, Letchworth Garden City, UK
I left for South Africa in 1973. Within four weeks of arriving I was given the "Book of Life", basically a SA passport which is still valid today. In the back is an official document that classifies me as "A White Person".
Surely a Souvenir for ever?
Richard Sixsmith, Belgrade, Serbia
Everything should be achieved on merit only - ethnicity linked success is a cop out !!!!!!!!!!!
IAN PAYNE, Walsall,
The West mainly refers to "Muslims" as a race, although they can be white, yellow, increasingly "red" but mainly brown. I am Muslim, but with green eyes and fair hair - most people do not believe me at first
Timur, London , uk
Obama shows us the individual not the race. To contend that having a colour signifies wholesomeness, honesty, probity and friendship is a generalisation too far. We take people as we find them. Turning blacks into one person is to denigrate the cleaver, the social and the honest.
Malcolm Turner, Alsager, England
The majority of African Americans have mixed ancestry anyway. So Obama is no special case. I wonder were this desire to highlight his 'mixed' heritage has sprung from. Jesse Jackson, Jeremiah Wright, Mohammed Ali, Andrew Young, etc are all mixed and designated as Black and define themselves as such
Mbulawa, London, Uk
It is still very uncommon for the extremes in colour to marry, and this may have little to to with a conscious predjudice but more basic biological attractions. Would the USA have elected Obama if he looked like Robert Mugabe given the current demographic mix in that country?
David Bachauer, Manchester , UK
In electing Barack Obama, Americans of all races sent a forceful message to the World: "We don't give a damn about this man's race! We desperately need a competent leader who demonstrates vision, common sense, patriotism and - above all - integrity. We believe that Barack Obama is that man!"
Garth Rex, Glendale Heights, USA
I agree with Tom. In the early-mid 20th century United States a person could look white, but have a Black great-grandmother and still be considered "Black." It is sad that many Whites consider anyone of darker skin to be a person of color, even if that person is, in truth, half White.
Katie , Glen Carbon, USA
Dog-hunting? I already felt squeamish enough about Sarah Palin's moose-hunting.
Nice to see this point made. Finally. I often wondered how Barack's grandmother must have felt about the media's determination to deny her very existence, let alone her influence on her child's cultural background.
Malcolm, London, UK
I sunburn easily and I married a dark skinned woman. The Census takers asked for our race and that of our children - we said "Human Race". That really bothered them. We didn't fit into one of their nice boxes. So my wife said - feel free to put in what ever you like to the census worker.
Charly, Carrabelle, USA
I think that part of the reason that people of mixed race white/black are often considered to be black is because many white people see the world as being divided into those who are white and those who are not.
tom s, London, UK
Obama is a start but a much deeper hatred continues within the west and should not be discounted, ignored or used for political gain as in this last election cycle. The republicans refused to acknowledge Obama’s Christianity so that he could be slurred as a Muslim, substituting one racism for another.
cjacks, Tamarac, USA