Comments on: READERS REACT:KARYN PARSONS BRINGS UP CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE “ONE DROP RULE”

By: izzy

izzy — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:19:49 +0000

How is there no such think as a light skinned black person, but there are such thing as tall dark and handsome whites, olive toned white, or dark skinned whites (Italians)? More BS multiracial HYPOCRITICAL rhetoric. You CAN be a light skinned Black person and you CAN be a darker skinned White person. light is a adverb not a race (not that race is even something we should believe in).

By: AP

AP — Mon, 25 May 2009 06:33:39 +0000

It is often a surprise for people to learn
that, in reality, there is actually No Such
Thing As a “Light Skinned Black” person.

The term “Light Skinned Black” is really nothing
more than a racist oxymoron that was created by
White Supremacists in an effort to forcibly
deny those Mixed-Race individuals, who are
of a Multi-Generational Multiracially-Mixed
(MGM-Mixed) Lineage, the right to fully
embrace and to also receive public support
in choosing to acknowledge the truth
regarding their full ancestral heritage.

The people who have been slapped with the
false label and oxymoronic misnomer of
“Light Skinned Black” person are simply
Mixed-Race individuals whose family has
been continually Mixed-Race throughout
their multiple generations.

By: Thoughtful 2day!

Thoughtful 2day! — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 03:02:09 +0000

The one-drop rule was coined by racist white people, back when America was extremly racist…remember their were hundreds of bi-racial slaves! House -you fill in the blank- it wasn’t right, it carried from then until now, and I say that because if you, rather white or black, look at Halle Berry/Faith Evans/Barack Obama, you just think they’re light skin black folks. In addition, when you look at the people of Africa, from Kenya to Egypt, Morrocco to Madagascar you see an array of shades…the point being, BLACK IS A RACE, you have Black-Latinos, Black-Asians, Black-Jews. My family is composed of a variety of ETHNICITIES, and how you feel about fitting in is up to you! Of course ppl in the str are going to have their opinions-

BUT GET A GRIP THEY ALSO HAVE OPINION ABOUT YOUR WEIGHT, YOUR CLOTHES, THE WAY YOU SPEAK, THE SOUND OF YOUR VOICE, THE SHAPE OF YOUR EYES ETC…

People have opinions, and so do YOU! Opinions only mean what you let them mean, go where the love is…and you’ll find when you stop distracting yourself with all the negativity the world can offer!

By: Mina

Mina — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:15:43 +0000

I agree with everything Marla said. The one drop rule is very out dated. We do not have to identify ourselves as belonging to any particular group unless we choose to do so. All the boxes that identify race on applications should be abolished along with one that asked a persons age. They don’t do that one anymore. Imagine the outrage if those applications started asking people their weight?
Children should be brought up to be proud of who they are, there is no shame in that unless you are ashamed of who you sleep with. I feel that unless I marry you or give birth to you, my bloodline is none of your business.

By: Tona

Tona — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:15:18 +0000

I don’t understand when “biracial” people state that they are white also, as Ms. Parsons states. African Americans didn’t make the “one drop” rule. The people that you claim that you are one of, purposely excluded you out of their race and gave you and all of your confusion to us. There is no biracial box on anything that I’ve ever seen, so whether you like it or not, we are stuck with you.

By: SHILOHDREAM

SHILOHDREAM — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:09:31 +0000

she’s absolutely correct, If i were half white and had a white parent I’d feel insulted if you diss them to.

By: Victoria

Victoria — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:58:50 +0000

Hello, I am a new reader of the blog (and am really enjoying all of the thought-provoking posts!) and would like to add my thoughts to the conversation here.

I myself am a person of mixed background (Black mother, White father) and I consider myself African-American. As regarding what is frequently referred to as “the one-drop rule”, I think it can make it hard for people of mixed-race (only of certain mindsets) to live in America. I tend to view a common identity for all people of African descent as a good thing, for I feel it binds us together, provides a strong community base for us to stand upon and not to mention, provides invaluable support for countless children of black & white mixed-race who eventually come into contact with the ugly prejudices of society that most of us (of African descent) inevitably experience at some point in our lives. Every person of mixed-race has the choice and right to identity as something other than African-American if they so wish of course, but I feel for the many Biracial people who are comfortable and content being a part of the Black community, that this common racial/cultural bond is a very positive thing. In my opinion, strength, [i.e. social, political and economic] is in numbers.

I know for me personally, I am very happy and proud to be of African descent and to identify as a light-skinned Black woman. In my own Black family on my mother’s side, my relatives vary in their looks from high-yellow and deep brown to Japanese and white-appearing (myself). The African-American community is rich, complex, and beautiful.

By: Ada

Ada — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:17:06 +0000

Carol Channing is/was part black?? For REAL??? I’d never heard THAT one before! BTW, is Ms. Channing still alive or deceased?

By: writeone

writeone — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:56:10 +0000

If balck & white is mixed then why doesn’t the courts sentence WHITE cocain users HARSHER than it sentences BLACK crack users? BCK can you Find out?

By: Izzy

Izzy — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:56:42 +0000

Sara Jane,

Please google your brother Leo Felton for more info on why I don’t support your kind and your logic.