Race & Ethnicity On TV

[Popples]

I'm no fan of Tyler Perry, but I'll give credit where it's due, that's astonishing. And the fact that it's located on an old Confederate Army base...

[ursula]

OK, that is amazing news.

Now Perry can we branch out of the Madea movies and start making more - and the irony does not escape me - diverse movies/TV shows for black people?

[In2You]

On 9/28/2019 at 7:54 PM, Neurochick said:

Is the woman actually biracial?  I get tired of every damn time there's a light skinned black woman, someone complains that she's biracial.  I'm the same color as Nathalie Emmanuel, and both of my parents are black, so there is that.

Though I do agree that they tend to cast a lighter skinned black woman with a black man, on TV shows.

But then again, I remember in the 1970's when actresses like Vonetta McGee and Anazette Chase were told they were "too pretty" to play black women, so there is that.

Theres a difference between light skinned black women with two black parents and a biracial woman with a whole white parent. These casting directors know the difference too.

[Raja]

3 hours ago, In2You said:

Theres a difference between light skinned black women with two black parents and a biracial woman with a whole white parent. These casting directors know the difference too.

For most of my life biracial did not matter. You were simply single drop ruled to the race that American society had assigned the lower social status. Announcing yourself as mixed race simply lead to the question "mixed with what" so that you could be racially categorized.  My generation has not finished its working life yet.

[SimoneS]

12 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Here's an article about it.

Now that is a party I would have liked to attended. Sounds like it was loads of fun. Guess, Tyler Perry has made it. I am ambivalent about him, but he has kept hundreds, maybe even thousands, of talented African American actors and crew employed both in tv and the movies for many years. Many of them would be out of the industry or bankrupt if it wasn't for Tyler Perry.

Edited October 7, 2019 by SimoneS

[topanga]

12 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Tyler Perry just opened 'Tyler Perry Studios.'  He is the first black person to own a major motion picture studio.  It sits on 330 acres and, according to a tweet from Ava Duvernay, The studio lots of Disney, Warner Bros, Paramount, Fox, and Sony could fit inside of it.

(...personal side note:  this an interesting factoid because my family owns 300 acres of farm and woodland and I've never had a sense of how big that really is)

One of the coolest things is that he named 12 massive sound stages after people who inspired him:  Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey, Halle Berry, Sydney Poitier, Della Reese, Spike Lee, Harry Belafonte, Cicely Tyson, Whoopi Goldberg, Diahann Carroll and Will Smith.  The inclusion of Diahann Caroll is even more poignant considering she died just before the opening.

Now, I knew he made bank but damn... LOL.

Here's an article about it.

I'm not a huge Tyler Perry fan, but good on him! Nice to see wealth-building amongst people of color. 

[DearEvette]

12 hours ago, Popples said:

I'm no fan of Tyler Perry, but I'll give credit where it's due, that's astonishing. And the fact that it's located on an old Confederate Army base...

I mean... he built an entire ass replica of the White House!! 

Regards:  Raising Dion -- I watched the first four episodes and it is very well done.  A lot darker in tone than I thought it would be.  The actress who plays his mother, Alisha Wainright, is excellent.    She's carrying the weight of the show esp. in these first four episodes and she is killing it.  I can feel her fright, her grief, her just total out of control life and she's doing a lot of with inner acting -- you just see it all on her face.  There is a scene where she has to talk to Dion about racism and it is pretty heartbreaking.  The kid who plays Dion is sooo sweet.  He just a natural.  Honestly, the series, from what I can tell is really well cast.

Edited October 7, 2019 by DearEvette

[Sparger Springs]

12 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

I mean... he built an entire ass replica of the White House!! 

Regards:  Raising Dion -- I watched the first four episodes and it is very well done.  A lot darker in tone than I thought it would be.  The actress who plays his mother, Alisha Wainright, is excellent.    She's carrying the weight of the show esp. in these first four episodes and she is killing it.  I can feel her fright, her grief, her just total out of control life and she's doing a lot of with inner acting -- you just see it all on her face.  There is a scene where she has to talk to Dion about racism and it is pretty heartbreaking.  The kid who plays Dion is sooo sweet.  He just a natural.  Honestly, the series, from what I can tell is really well cast.

I've been watching raising Dion too. I like it. The boy is a horrible actor and the mom is okay. There is nothing special about either one of them. 

[possibilities]

Holy white savior narrative, Batwoman!

I really want to like the new Batwoman, because I'm all in for lesbian leads, and women who kick ass.

But... did anyone see the pilot? I'm trying not to be too TOO upset, but... didn't it seem to be really gruesomely stereotyping, and not in a satirical, campy way, but for realsies?

Also, Amber Rose looks like she's smirking no matter what her mood is supposed to be.

I wanted to believe The CW had a clue; Black Lightning gave me reason. But I guess not??

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

Amber Rose looks like she's smirking no matter what her mood is supposed to be.

We got the "backdoor pilot" sort of for this in last season's cross over. And a piece of wood has more animation that Rose does. She stops.Pauses.Poses.Flicks out hand.shoots whatever.

Edited October 7, 2019 by GHScorpiosRule

[Jaded]

I haven't watched the first episode yet but don't you two mean Ruby Rose?

[In2You]

10 hours ago, Raja said:

For most of my life biracial did not matter. You were simply single drop ruled to the race that American society had assigned the lower social status. Announcing yourself as mixed race simply lead to the question "mixed with what" so that you could be racially categorized.  My generation has not finished its working life yet.

You say biracial did not matter yet there's a long history of biracial people being treated better than black people.

[janie jones]

never mind.

Edited October 8, 2019 by janie jones

[possibilities]

5 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

We got the "backdoor pilot" sort of for this in last season's cross over.

I didn't see the crossover. I came into this cold, and I'm really disappointed to hear the problems were evident all along and no one did anything to fix it. To me, that means either they don't know how to direct, or they don't see the problem. And that bodes ill for it ever improving.

5 hours ago, Jaded said:

I haven't watched the first episode yet but don't you two mean Ruby Rose?

Maybe? I honestly just hated her so much, I will trust that I got her name wrong, because I'm too bummed out to look it up.

[Raja]

11 hours ago, In2You said:

You say biracial did not matter yet there's a long history of biracial people being treated better than black people.

Only when neither parental contributor was colored/black. So a Chloe Bennett (Wang) of agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for an example  can pass for white and then for Asian as  needed for the promotion of her latest project. I think you are confusing light skin privilege with biracial. If both parents were colored/black but passed the brown paper bag test a lighter skinned black child had privileges.  However if a parent, especially the father was known as colored/black and the mother was white not only was the child still black to the society he faced the very real possibility that his parents would be lynched, arrested or just forced out of town because they rebelled against the society's rules.

[adora721]

48 minutes ago, SevenStars said:

Every actor wants their characters to be involved with characters who will give them more screen time, more stories , and more exposure as actors. So I get it. 

For me, it rubbed me the wrong way because DP was undermining an amazing opportunity for a woman of color. Women of color as female leads or primary love interests for the White male lead is a relatively new experiment on TV. Its success would lead to more opportunities for women of color to have those roles. It's also failed in the last 10 years or so (see Abbie Mills in "Sleepy Hollow.")

The CW, like any other business, cares about profit, which stems from a show's success. If Iris had failed as a character or if WestAllen had failed, it would make it harder for future WoCs and IR couples.  

While it's understandable for any actor to want more exposure, DP's opportunities as a privileged woman would always be there. There's no shortage for her. That she couldn't put aside her own selfish ambition seems to be beyond just normal actor ambitions.

If she'd succeeded, its negative impact may have affected the career opportunities for many people of color, not just Candice. That's why it's unforgivable for me. DP is a member of the feminist platform, Shethority, but was undermining another woman's job. That's hypocrisy at its finest.

Edited October 8, 2019 by adora721

[Katsullivan]

5 minutes ago, adora721 said:

DP's opportunities as a privileged woman would always be there. There's no shortage for her. That she couldn't put aside her own selfish ambition seems to be beyond just normal actor ambitions.

What baffles me is that I don't really understand what she thought she was doing by whipping the fans into a frenzy. That's not going to help her job, in fact the right kind of show-runners might have fired her for that reason. If I was a showrunner who wanted social media to be going in one direction, and had a crew member trying to push social media to go in the other direction, I'd be irate, because that person is being unprofessional and actively sabotaging my show's chances. Rather than letting myself be arm-twisted, I'd write that person off the show in such a way that no amount of social media frenzy can bring them back. 

The thing with DP was that she was banking on her pet status with the previous showrunner and the innate racism of the network, the media and the fans to take her "side".

[adora721]

3 hours ago, Katsullivan said:

The thing with DP was that she was banking on her pet status with the previous showrunner and the innate racism of the network, the media and the fans to take her "side".

Again, she saw what happened to her BFF Katie Cassidy, so she was aware of how another female could get the spotlight from the female lead if the fans preferred that new woman to the actual female lead.

ETA: To be fair, EBR didn't steal Katie's job; that was a MG decision.

I'm sure she was hoping to get the fandom on her side; she already had AJK on her side along with some other higher ups. You are right that if the TPTB didn't support her behavior, she wouldn't have done it. For TPTB, it's a win-win. They can claim that they gave a WoC a lead opportunity, but it just didn't work out. Diversity points for them.

Edited October 8, 2019 by adora721

[phoenics]

On 10/6/2019 at 10:26 PM, DearEvette said:

Now, I knew he made bank but damn... LOL.

The man has his own private island with individual bungalows and a central area that he lets his friends use.  It's like a mini-resort.  TP has money MONEY.  I may not like the themes of his movies (he tends to do this "White Collar Black Man = always evil and Blue Collar Black Man = always good" thing that annoys me, not to mention some of the characterizations of women are bothersome and sexist...

BUT...

He's an amazing public speaker.  He's extremely inspirational and he teaches something whenever he speaks.  I'm super impressed by THAT part of Tyler Perry.  I was at the OWLA Graduation in South Africa last year when he spoke and in his speech he gave advice about how to manage success - especially financial success when you suddenly end up in a financial class far and away above your friends and family, who are struggling.  Meaning - when these girls graduate, they would go on to have jobs that would put them in a financial class so far above where they came from (it's how OWLA selects girls to admit, they have to come from extremely poor backgrounds).  So they would deal with family/friends asking for help and money a lot, which could be debilitating.  TP talked about how when he first made it big, he gave away all of his money because he felt guilty about what he'd earned.  So here he was in dire financial straits because he was helping every body else out - bailing them out of leaking boats while his sunk.  He had to learn to take care of himself first and make sure he was solid so he could continue earning and help in moderation.  I'm butchering what he said but it was so profound.  I might have it recorded... I'll check.

[phoenics]

On 10/8/2019 at 7:44 AM, Raja said:

Only when neither parental contributor was colored/black. So a Chloe Bennett (Wang) of agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for an example  can pass for white and then for Asian as  needed for the promotion of her latest project. I think you are confusing light skin privilege with biracial. If both parents were colored/black but passed the brown paper bag test a lighter skinned black child had privileges.  However if a parent, especially the father was known as colored/black and the mother was white not only was the child still black to the society he faced the very real possibility that his parents would be lynched, arrested or just forced out of town because they rebelled against the society's rules.

When you say "colored/black" do you mean "PoC/Black"?

[Raja]

7 minutes ago, phoenics said:

When you say "colored/black" do you mean "PoC/Black"?

No colored, Negro, black, African American. NAACP.

[praeceptrix]

50 minutes ago, phoenics said:

The man has his own private island with individual bungalows and a central area that he lets his friends use.  It's like a mini-resort.  TP has money MONEY.  I may not like the themes of his movies (he tends to do this "White Collar Black Man = always evil and Blue Collar Black Man = always good" thing that annoys me, not to mention some of the characterizations of women are bothersome and sexist...

BUT...

He's an amazing public speaker.  He's extremely inspirational and he teaches something whenever he speaks.  I'm super impressed by THAT part of Tyler Perry.  I was at the OWLA Graduation in South Africa last year when he spoke and in his speech he gave advice about how to manage success - especially financial success when you suddenly end up in a financial class far and away above your friends and family, who are struggling.  Meaning - when these girls graduate, they would go on to have jobs that would put them in a financial class so far above where they came from (it's how OWLA selects girls to admit, they have to come from extremely poor backgrounds).  So they would deal with family/friends asking for help and money a lot, which could be debilitating.  TP talked about how when he first made it big, he gave away all of his money because he felt guilty about what he'd earned.  So here he was in dire financial straits because he was helping every body else out - bailing them out of leaking boats while his sunk.  He had to learn to take care of himself first and make sure he was solid so he could continue earning and help in moderation.  I'm butchering what he said but it was so profound.  I might have it recorded... I'll check.

Thank you for this information. I know very little about Tyler Perry beyond the discussions on PTV which have convinced me that I would not like his movies (I'm not his or anyone's target audience, given my age and general lack of awareness of most popular culture). Still not interested in watching his movies, but I have a lot more respect for him now, thanks to you!

[biakbiak]

Like many stories for women of color this could also go in the gender thread. Mindy Kaling was forced by the Academy to “prove” that she deserved a producer credit on The Office when her white male counterparts were not.

[adora721]

On 10/6/2019 at 11:49 PM, ursula said:

OK, that is amazing news.

Now Perry can we bnranch out of the Madea movies and start making more - and the irony does not escape me - diverse movies/TV shows for black people?

He needs to make some holiday movies to rival Hallmark Channel's yearly roster of movies co-starring super attractive Black women as the dateless best friend. Last year's "Throwback Holiday" on BET was fantastic! And Lifetime's "Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta" was also amazing. I need more of those. Netflix's "Falling Inn Love" was such a refreshing change.

Edited October 9, 2019 by adora721

[Stats Queen]

10 hours ago, phoenics said:

He's an amazing public speaker.  He's extremely inspirational and he teaches something whenever he speaks.  I'm super impressed by THAT part of Tyler Perry. 

Same here. I’m not a huge fan of a lot of his shows/movies, but I’m a huge fan of him as an exceptional human being and his positive impact on many people.

[xaxat]

8 minutes ago, Stats Queen said:

Same here. I’m not a huge fan of a lot of his shows/movies, but I’m a huge fan of him as an exceptional human being and his positive impact on many people.

My grandmother was a big fan for the same reason. She saw Oprah interview him back in the aughts and was totally impressed because "he takes care of his people."

[DearEvette]

2 hours ago, adora721 said:

He needs to make some holiday movies to rival Hallmark Channel's yearly roster of movies co-starring super attractive Black women as the dateless best friend. Last year's "Throwback Holiday" on BET was fantastic! And Lifetime's "Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta" was also amazing. I need more of those. Netflix's "Falling Inn Love" was such a refreshing change.

I know he has two projects on board for BET.  Sistas and The Oval. (the show that he built the White House set for).

Also Ditto on BET or OWN getting in the the Christmas Rom-Com business and move the black women and WOC out of the  best friend zone.

13 minutes ago, Stats Queen said:

Same here. I’m not a huge fan of a lot of his shows/movies, but I’m a huge fan of him as an exceptional human being and his positive impact on many people.

Same.  I have guiltily enjoyed the Madea movies and thought the 'Why Did I Get Married' movies were nicely soapy, but I think as a writer/plotter and character developer, he lacks nuance and has some very white and black idea about 'good' vs. 'bad'.  But I madly respect his hustle and have a lot of community racial pride in his accomplishments.

Even though I think he, as a writer could use some attention to his craft, I do think that some of the debate around him is wildly steeped in respectability politics.  Interestingly, I think this past season on 'Dear White People' made a great point about the value of his (stand in character's) cinema as part of the black history lexicon.  He isn't trying to mimic or interpret mainstream (European) film conventions, but is leaning into the entertainment forms that appeal to and was created by the rural, working class and often evangelical black community.  And since he's been able to make so much money from it there is an argument that his storytelling is serving a niche audience that is happy to consume it

[piccadilly83]

7 hours ago, adora721 said:

He needs to make some holiday movies to rival Hallmark Channel's yearly roster of movies co-starring super attractive Black women as the dateless best friend. Last year's "Throwback Holiday" on BET was fantastic! And Lifetime's "Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta" was also amazing. I need more of those. Netflix's "Falling Inn Love" was such a refreshing change.

I don't know why, but this comment just reminded me I need to subscribe to BET+ to see the First Wives Club. Has anybody seen it? I saw the trailer, and well, Jill Scott is a treasure. I think I'm going to wait until the first season is done airing though because I already pay for a lot of streaming services and I don't want to have another one on my bill for longer than I need to.  Better to just binge them in one month, than pay for the dribble over 2 or 3 or however long it's going to take to run the whole season.

Oh, wait, I just checked IMDB and it looks like the entire season was released at once.  Does anyone know if that's true?

[adora721]

5 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Also Ditto on BET or OWN getting in the the Christmas Rom-Com business and move the black women and WOC out of the  best friend zone.

The movie that was my last straw was "My Christmas Prince" on Lifetime. Here's Tyler Clark who played the dateless, manless, Black best friend who never had any male even bat an eye at her.

[Sparger Springs]

11 hours ago, piccadilly83 said:

I don't know why, but this comment just reminded me I need to subscribe to BET+ to see the First Wives Club. Has anybody seen it? I saw the trailer, and well, Jill Scott is a treasure. I think I'm going to wait until the first season is done airing though because I already pay for a lot of streaming services and I don't want to have another one on my bill for longer than I need to.  Better to just binge them in one month, than pay for the dribble over 2 or 3 or however long it's going to take to run the whole season.

Oh, wait, I just checked IMDB and it looks like the entire season was released at once.  Does anyone know if that's true?

I will not be subscribing to BET plus. The subscription is more than the new Disney subscription and Netflix.   I can't see this service lasting long.

Edited October 10, 2019 by Sparger Springs

[In2You]

BET Movies are trash. I tired to watch the Christmas movies on TV One but they love to throw ratchet messes and stereotypes into them. I like fun feel good movies. Not someone's jealous baby mama throwing on her best lingerie to try and steal her ex from his new girl for Christmas.

[phoenics]

On 10/9/2019 at 5:55 PM, adora721 said:

He needs to make some holiday movies to rival Hallmark Channel's yearly roster of movies co-starring super attractive Black women as the dateless best friend. Last year's "Throwback Holiday" on BET was fantastic! And Lifetime's "Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta" was also amazing. I need more of those. Netflix's "Falling Inn Love" was such a refreshing change.

Ugh - I meant to watch Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta - is that available on streaming anywhere?  I'd totally watch.

[adora721]

7 minutes ago, phoenics said:

Ugh - I meant to watch Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta - is that available on streaming anywhere?  I'd totally watch.

I haven't been able to find it elsewhere since it aired on Lifetime. I'm hoping they sell it at some point. It was really excellent!

ETA: I will say that Lifetime is trying to compete with Hallmark Channel for the Christmas movie market. Lifetime seems to have more diverse casts, too, with PoCs that aren't quite so stereotyped. This is based on the new spate of movies they've adverstised, not on past history.

Edited October 11, 2019 by adora721

[phoenics]

On 10/10/2019 at 2:21 AM, adora721 said:

The movie that was my last straw was "My Christmas Prince" on Lifetime. Here's Tyler Clark who played the dateless, manless, Black best friend who never had any male even bat an eye at her.

You should have watched the royal wedding part 2 movie in that series - because in that one, she ends up with another royal (bad boy turned good) in it.

[adora721]

3 minutes ago, phoenics said:

You should have watched the royal wedding part 2 movie in that series - because in that one, she ends up with another royal (bad boy turned good) in it.

Considering there's Meghan Markle, married to Prince Harry,  and Angela Brown, who married  Prince Maximillian Nikolaus Maria of Liechtenstein, no one in TV can say a PoC marrying into royalty is farfetched.

[phoenics]

On 10/9/2019 at 8:47 PM, DearEvette said:

Even though I think he, as a writer could use some attention to his craft, I do think that some of the debate around him is wildly steeped in respectability politics.  Interestingly, I think this past season on 'Dear White People' made a great point about the value of his (stand in character's) cinema as part of the black history lexicon.  He isn't trying to mimic or interpret mainstream (European) film conventions, but is leaning into the entertainment forms that appeal to and was created by the rural, working class and often evangelical black community.  And since he's been able to make so much money from it there is an argument that his storytelling is serving a niche audience that is happy to consume it

Yes - but he does that by demonizing other aspects of black culture.  As if kind, decent and well to do black people don't exist and only evil well to do black people exist.  And don't get me started on the madonna/whore paradigm he pushes in women characters.  I find he traffics in almost a reverse kind of stereotyping where he props up blue collar black men as always being the hero, with any well to do black man ALWAYS being the bad guy (unless it's literally him - his character).

I chafe at it the same way that I chafe at certain politicians who assume that all black people are inner city or are uneducated and poor.  

So I guess he is writing for a specific niche audience (even though I still think what he writes is vaguely patronizing)  - I just wish he would expand beyond that.  And if he doesn't, I wish he'd open his studio for other black writers who could write more diverse stories for us.

I thought Why Did I Get Married was great (until he jumped the shark with the second one) and showed multiple aspects of black culture and life.  I really thought he'd do more of that, but maybe after the 2nd one busted (because the writing was so bad) he gave up?

Edited October 11, 2019 by phoenics

[phoenics]

6 minutes ago, adora721 said:

Considering there's Meghan Markle, married to Prince Harry,  and Angela Brown, who married  Prince Maximillian Nikolaus Maria of Liechtenstein, no one in TV can say a PoC marrying into royalty is farfetched.

Agreed - I am still irritated that no one has done one of these royal movies though where a black woman (or even an outed biracial black woman) is the main character.  There is one that exists, but the black biracial woman is white passing and her black side is never mentioned ever, so that doesn't count.

[In2You]

3 hours ago, phoenics said:

Agreed - I am still irritated that no one has done one of these royal movies though where a black woman (or even an outed biracial black woman) is the main character.  There is one that exists, but the black biracial woman is white passing and her black side is never mentioned ever, so that doesn't count.

What is a black biracial woman? If she's biracial she's not a black woman or a white woman.

[Katsullivan]

5 minutes ago, In2You said:

If she's biracial she's not a black woman or a white woman.

One Drop Rule.

😶

[In2You]

47 minutes ago, Katsullivan said:

One Drop Rule.

😶

Is a racist concept from slave days that needs to be let go of.

[Raja]

48 minutes ago, In2You said:

Is a racist concept from slave days that needs to be let go of.

That is if you think there is something wrong with being black. Inclusive communities don't look at the alien DNA contributor first but the contributor that makes you part of their group. Thus Black Americans tend to count those with any known black heritage as fully black as the newest African immigrant from a nation with zero colonization.

Other groups like Filipinos are the same, a metizo is as fully Pinoy as a Filipino from an isolated province with no Spanish, American  or Japanese fathers in their history.

[Gramto6]

I wish I knew all of my heritage. My mother was adopted and there are no records available that I know of to document it. I'm 70 so that was a long time ago. I guess I have to try Ancestry DNA. She was born in WI so I kind of thought given her coloring she might have some American Native  in her....part of me wants to know and part of me is afraid to know...can't explain that feeling...not because I wouldn't be proud to have American Indian heritage but just because I don't know who I am...

Edited October 12, 2019 by Gramto6

[Pallas]

5 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

I wish I knew all of my heritage.

The major genetic testers for consumers will give you a detailed ethnic breakdown, and also show you degree of affinity with those of their clients proven to be relatives: on your mother's side, or your father's. 

Wisconsin now has adoption records available to children of adoptees, including a copy of the original certificate, and some genetic/medical information. If you wish, you can apply yourself, directly. 

[Gramto6]

6 hours ago, Pallas said:

The major genetic testers for consumers will give you a detailed ethnic breakdown, and also show you degree of affinity with those of their clients proven to be relatives: on your mother's side, or your father's. 

Wisconsin now has adoption records available to children of adoptees, including a copy of the original certificate, and some genetic/medical information. If you wish, you can apply yourself, directly. 

Thank you so much for this information!! I will look into it!

[PepSinger]

The one drop rule had one purpose: to keep biracial people, who were increasing due to rape (and Creoles once the Louisiana Purchase took place) from having full rights as white people. In other words, in perpetuated white supremacy. Slave owners could rape with reckless abandon because they didn’t have to worry about their children actually having rights. The one drop rule needs to back to the hellhole it came from, and we need to stop perpetuating it in 2019. Someone who has a black and white parent is biracial; therefore, they are both black and white. I’m at a loss as to why this is so complicated.

Edited October 12, 2019 by PepSinger

[Raja]

8 minutes ago, PepSinger said:

The one drop rule had one purpose: to keep biracial people, who were increasing due to rape (and Creoles once the Louisiana Purchase took place) from having full rights as white people. In other words, in perpetuated white supremacy. Slave owners could rape with reckless abandon because they didn’t have to worry about their children actually having rights. The one drop rule needs to back to the hellhole it came from, and we need to stop perpetuating it in 2019. Someone who has a black and white parent is biracial; therefore, they are both black and white. I’m at a loss as to why this is so complicated.

Because the inclusive cultures which accept you as their own no matter how much foriegn DNA contributors there are see it as the multiracial person slapping them in their face when the multiracial person claims go to therefore I'm better. Thus the Negro please reactions when the emerging star Tiger Woods made his ethnicity claims. Sure he could be all that, but he is still as black as Barack Obama would identify himself 

[janie jones]

15 hours ago, Raja said:

That is if you think there is something wrong with being black. Inclusive communities don't look at the alien DNA contributor first but the contributor that makes you part of their group. Thus Black Americans tend to count those with any known black heritage as fully black as the newest African immigrant from a nation with zero colonization.

Other groups like Filipinos are the same, a metizo is as fully Pinoy as a Filipino from an isolated province with no Spanish, American  or Japanese fathers in their history.

Based on my own experiences, I will say this:  I have one white parent and one Filipino parent, and I do not find the final quoted sentence to be true as a general rule here in the U.S.  I'm always "half/half," "fil-am," etc.  What's more I'd say, based on my own experiences and what I've observed of others, that the first paragraph is only true (when it's true) if the group in question is non-white.  I mean, maybe that's indicative of white people thinking there's something wrong with being black/Filipino/whatever, but if you pass as white and have no connection to the "other" culture and someone learns you're 1/4 Japanese?  People will start calling you Asian.

(Edit:  I want to clarify the above paragraph to say that I was recalling a specific event in which a friend was trying to locate another friend and asked a store employee if they'd seen an "Asian" guy matching his clothing description.  The point I was trying to make was that although that description would absolutely not be helpful in finding this individual, his Asianness remained a salient feature to the friend who knew he was part Asian.  Although I think there is a question of the point at which a certain part of your ethnicity stops "counting" because it's so far back.  Are his 1/8 Japanese children Asian?  Their 1/16 children?)

I think there's a fine line between perpetuating the one-drop rule and acknowledging that that's simply how people are still regarded.  People want people's races to be this OR that, not this AND that, and people are treated accordingly.

Edited October 12, 2019 by janie jones

[Guest]

1 hour ago, janie jones said:

I mean, maybe that's indicative of white people thinking there's something wrong with being black/Filipino/whatever, but if you pass as white and have no connection to the "other" culture and someone learns you're 1/4 Japanese?  People will start calling you Asian.

(Edit:  I want to clarify the above paragraph to say that I was recalling a specific event in which a friend was trying to locate another friend and asked a store employee if they'd seen an "Asian" guy matching his clothing description.  The point I was trying to make was that although that description would absolutely not be helpful in finding this individual, his Asianness remained a salient feature to the friend who knew he was part Asian.  Although I think there is a question of the point at which a certain part of your ethnicity stops "counting" because it's so far back.  Are his 1/8 Japanese children Asian?  Their 1/16 children?)

That’s interesting because I find the opposite to be true. My brother and I are half Japanese and he looks more white and I look more Asian. I’ve never heard anyone refer to him as Asian unless it’s a friend joking. The same is true for his 1/4 Japanese kids. They look white so they are viewed as white even when people know they are part Japanese. 

I don’t comfortably fit into people’s expectations for any particular race so I get a lot of people trying to figure out which label to give me. I can’t even guess how many times I have had someone ask me “What are you?”  

Edited October 12, 2019 by Guest

[In2You]

3 hours ago, PepSinger said:

The one drop rule had one purpose: to keep biracial people, who were increasing due to rape (and Creoles once the Louisiana Purchase took place) from having full rights as white people. In other words, in perpetuated white supremacy. Slave owners could rape with reckless abandon because they didn’t have to worry about their children actually having rights. The one drop rule needs to back to the hellhole it came from, and we need to stop perpetuating it in 2019. Someone who has a black and white parent is biracial; therefore, they are both black and white. I’m at a loss as to why this is so complicated.

Exactly. I've also seen too many people also use it to put biracial people on a pedestal in the black community above actual black people when white folks would definitely never do the same and I'm glad many black people are no longer holding onto it and being complacent in their own erasure.

[SimoneS]

On 10/7/2019 at 5:26 PM, possibilities said:

I wanted to believe The CW had a clue; Black Lightning gave me reason. But I guess not??

Never give the CW or CBS the benefit of the doubt when it comes to diversity. Black Lightning was originally developed for FOX. The CW only picked it up after FOX decided not to. Other than Black Lightning, Iris on The Flash is really the only Black actor in a major comic role on a DCTV show and that is because Geoff Johns and DC insisted.  Look at the new Arrow spin off, not one Black woman among the three women leads. RME.