One Box, One Drop, Not in My House

Posted by Guest Blogger ~ Amy Redditt on 10/08/2014

“I have darker skin. I have a nice, interesting grade of hair. I connect with Caucasian. I connect with Asian. I connect with black. I connect with Indian. I connect with each culture.”

“You are a melting pot in one body,” Oprah observed.  “Isn’t that what America’s supposed to be?," so said, Raven-Symoné.  This is what I heard when I listened to a portion of her interview, with Oprah on, Where are They Now?  She preceded this, by saying, that she is tired of being labelled.  She said, that she doesn't want to be labelled as gay, but a human who loves humans.  She stated that she's not an African American. She's an American.  Oprah went on to say that Raven is going to get a lot of flack for saying she's not an African American.

Check One, Check Two, Check Three

Someone sent me the link to this interview and that's where it began.  I told Sheldon, that I totally got what Raven-Symoné was saying.  He countered by saying, that she is wrong because he took it as she was saying, that she's not black.  First, let me say, I think he totally missed the boat there.  I don't believe that is what she meant at all.  He went on to say, that when she listed all the things she connected with, black was not even the first and that you have to mark one on an application when you apply somewhere and that it is just dumb to not see that.  While I get what he is saying about the applications, that's where I begin to see a problem.  People don't fit into one little box anymore, especially not in America.  Even I, honestly don't, although to the naked eye, I do. Of course, I know I am white and to check Caucasian, but I also know that I'm German, Irish, Native American, French and so on.  But, my daughter is all of those things and half black, which is also made up of whatever my husbands' family is made up of, but directly she is half white and half black.  Personally, although I've heard the "one drop rule", I think she has just as much right to check white as she does black.  To discount her Caucasian heritage is ludicrous to me just because of some "rule".  Her Caucasian family is very much a part of her life and not to be discounted ever, on an application, a doctors' check in information sheet or anywhere else.  And for that matter, I see our current President no differently.  I know that's what someone will bring up and although I get that he looks black, I also know there is a reality bigger than that.

Roots Run Deep in Louisiana

Raven-Symoné talked about not knowing which part of Africa her family is from, but that she knows she has roots in Louisiana.  That, I believe was her whole point.  She knows where she comes from and Louisiana is it for her.  She identifies with memories and an upbringing in an American state and therefore only wants to be called an American.  I also get that, American, is a nationality, not a race.  That being said, it brings me back to my original point, one box doesn't define her.  You can look at her and see that she has lighter skin than some blacks, but definitely darker skin than a Caucasian person.  You can look at Ravens' eyes and see a different shape, you can notice her hair and see that, all of that together makes her a melting pot.  If she doesn't want to be defined by one box, who are we to judge her?   It seems to me, that it would be easier if everyone would stop judging and labeling people.  Also, I'd like to point out that many people stated that what Oprah said, was race baiting or promoting racism, I beg to differ.  She was simply stating what she knew was coming, a backlash because a huge part of America can not fathom, not categorizing someone.  She said, she would get a lot of flack for it and she has already.  Sheldon even went on to say that would kill her career.  That,  I think, is crazy.  She's simply embracing her truth, what she knows and what she feels defines her.  There is nothing at all wrong with not wanting to be labelled by someone else, especially someone that doesn't know you, your life or your history.  This is my truth.  What's yours?

Part 2 - Why are whites considered racists when they openly share their opinions and black people are at liberty to speak freely without being labelled a RACIST?

Posted by ~ Sheldon Redditt on 10/04/2014

I got a lot of emails requesting that my first blog become a series.  I don't know how many of these I have in me, but I am so happy to have broken through that age old monologue and started a real dialogue. A lot of people shared the blog on their Facebook pages and I tried to read all of the comments, but for some reason, one comment stood out from the rest.  A woman named Rachel commented, "someone finally writes how I really feel."  That was the general consensus, but again, most won't speak up because they'll be called a racist.  I know most of you guys saw the personal attacks that I took on Facebook and my father-in-law even suggested that I should tone down my blog for the safety of myself and my family.  Multiple black people have messaged me asking me, why I would choose to share certain personal "black secrets".  Black people, at least in my generation, were taught that you had to be twice as good as any white person at anything, in order to even be on the same playing field.  We were taught to speak one way in front of white people and were allowed to speak another way in front of each other.  Black people, let's be honest, the derogatory terms that we use amongst ourselves to describe white people, are no worse than the words, we believe, they are choosing to describe us behind closed doors.  To this day, this is how it is and it is time for it to end.  The whole point is, that I want to bring into the light what goes on behind closed doors, so that there can be change, growth and a coming together, of all people regardless of their backgrounds.

So, in answer to the original question, it seems that it became a war of words on Facebook.  But the gist of the feelings was that black people are going to think and call a white person a racist if they express themselves because they feel that all white people, by birthright, must pay the price for what some white peoples' ancestors did to some black peoples' ancestors.  You have people like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh who do speak their minds and are almost always labelled racists by black people.  I personally don't believe that they're racists and I think that they often have very valid points, although I don't agree with everything that they say.  I believe they're not even given a chance because of the simple fact that they are white, on Fox News and they don't back down, when they feel that they're right.  Ultimately, I believe that everyone could take a page from their books.  I think that people should stand up and vocalize what they believe in.  No longer should the only ones to speak their mind be TV personalities, Al Sharpton's and Jesse Jackson's.  I know that some white people think they are racist or opportunists.  And while I may or may not concur, I commend all five men for speaking their personal truths and not being ashamed or ever backing down.

No more should anyone say that they don't have an opinion on a subject because we all have an opinion.  If everyone would share their opinions, there is no limit to the conversations and learning that could take place.  People always say that they want better for their kids and the next generation, but how can things get better if we don't talk about and understand our differences?  Speak your mind, say your truth. Yes, it may offend some, but it'll start a dialogue.  You never know what you may learn or what someone else might learn from you.  If everyone keeps everything bottled up then nothing will ever change.  It will always be, black people think this way, white people think that way.  And you may never know what someone that you sit next to day in and day out actually thinks.  I was blown away when someone that I worked with for years commented, that in all his life, he had never met a good hearted white person.  This man is almost forty and just imagine that there is a possibility that many other people think and feel the same way about either race but haven't voiced it.  I believe that racism can actually be cured by just simply sitting down and starting a conversation.  Speak to the people in line at a coffee shop or the supermarket, you never know what you may learn. What he stated should not be something that anyone should ever think, feel or believe.  Life is too short to walk around with so much bottled up hate.  One should not go around suggesting, that the only way anything could ever be solved is if whites were to go through the same thing our black ancestors went through.  That is just reverse racism.  How will that ever solve anything?  This is my truth.  What's yours?