Racial Labelling (Assignment 11)

The passage "Why Isn't Barack Obama White?" in Newman's Sociology, Chapter 11, really made me look at race in a way that I never have. After all, Obama is half white, but, as the text points out, "He is called the first black or African American president, usually not the first biracial president and certainly not the first half-white president" (Newman 2010).  While I read this passage, I couldn't help but think about my only niece Ava, who was born just two months ago.

 Ava is my sister's daughter. My sister is white and her husband is half black and half Hispanic. We all wonder about what her hair texture and eye color will end up being, but I'd never wondered how she and others will identify her racially. According to the hypodescent rule, which states "racially mixed people are always assigned the status of the subordinate group," Ava will likely be considered black or Hispanic by others (Newman 2010).

 Isn't she just the cutest? I don't care what race she is :)

 I asked my sister her thoughts on how Ava will identify herself, and she believes that the culture she is immersed in will likely be the main factor. My sister and her husband behave predominantly in accordance with white culture, and my bother-in-law hasn't really embraced black or Hispanic culture. If this is true, Ava will identify herself as white.

So society may view Ava as black or Hispanic, while Ava may view herself as white. I truly hope this doesn't create an "identity crisis" of some kind for her. The human mind is constantly working to place people and things into organized categories, but the pressure to label people as a single race is unreasonable.  After all, almost all of us are a mix of some kind.

Newman, David. Sociology. Ed 8. 2010.