I know a young Black woman. I capitalize “Black” as the woman is young and spirited in her Black identity. She is making her way in the world and understands herself as a Black woman. I mentioned to someone last month that the young woman had three grandparents who were Jewish. As a genetic matter, the young woman is 25% black and appears ambiguous. She would fail the reverse paper bag test. Who Gets To Decide Who Is Black Appearances can be deceiving as Blackness is highly important to her sense of self, unlike me.
A friend replied that the young woman could not be Black if she were 75% Jewish. I let it go.
In a world of dogma and slogan words where we center Blackness, there will be a natural drift over time in favor of those who appear visibly Black. The Blacker the features, the sweeter the future. The following are a few examples of evidence to support my suggestion. The future is bearish for those Black Americans who do not present as dark-skinned caricatures and stereotypes:
Top Military Brass
Colin Powell (1937 - 2021) served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993.
Lloyd Austin (1953 - ) has served as Secretary of Defense since 2021.
Black Doctors
Charles Drew (1904 - 1950) may be the most famous and acclaimed black American doctor in history.
Today, 77% of black doctors are Nigerian immigrants.
77% of Black doctors are Nigerians.
UN Ambassador
Andrew Young (1932 - ) served as the first black UN Ambassador.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield (1952 - ) is the current UN Ambassador.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
California State Supreme Court Justice Leondra Reid Kruger (1976 - ) was considered for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Kruger is the daughter of a Jewish Dad and a Jamaican Mom.
Justice Kruger was passed over in favor of Ketanji Brown Jackson (1970 - ) for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall (1908 - 1993) was the first black American Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Clarence Thomas (1948 - ) was the second black American Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Conclusion: Do we want to live in a world where black Americans with non-conforming features are marginalized? A young woman should be accepted as Black if she self-identifies as Black. She should not fear dark-skinned supremacy in life. I have retired from the world of dogma and slogan words, however, those who play the game of Black Identity should not be oppressed due to physical features. Isn’t oppression due to physical features the ultimate irony?
I leave you with this haunting passage from Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative by Professor Glenn Loury:
A critical moment came when the leaders interrupted their speechmaking to solicit ideas from the crowd. Woody had an idea and enthusiastically raised his voice above the murmur. But before he could finish his first sentence, he was cut short by one of the dashiki-clad brothers in charge, who demanded to know how a “white boy” got the authority to have an opinion about what we black people should be doing. That was one of our problems, the man said. We were always letting white people “peep our hole card,” but we were never privy to their deliberations in return….The indignant brother asked if anyone could “vouch for this white boy.” p. 73
Woody looked white but he was black. No one spoke up for Woody.
Thanks for sharing some excerpts from Prof. Loury’s book. Interesting, frustrating, and sad. But, I’m hoping there are positive moments as well.