I want to dive into something new, and maybe even a tad controversial. I am an American black woman and I have been raised to believe that if someone has a black parent, more specifically a black father, then they are black. I grew with this and found no fault in the logic. You are your father’s child.
But the World is changing. In 1980, 7% of all newlyweds were in an intermarriage, and by 2015, that share had more than doubled to 17%, according to a recently released Pew Research Center report (Livingston). This is huge! I’m sure majority have noticed the influx of mixed race children but I’ve also noticed where they are welcomed.
On job applications for identifying by race you have an option for biracial yet non hispanic. It is its own category and I believe it is time the black community acknowledges and sets a separation. Majority of mixed-race children with a white and black parent can feel the distinction between them and their non-mixed white family members. They are accepted and loved BUT they are not white. There is nothing wrong with setting a boundary for your image so it does not get written over.
This is in no way to discredit children of one black parent, they are free to explore and embrace this part of gene; however, they are also free to explore the other half. The half that is not black, or African-American, and as a unambiguous black woman I am demanding my own representation.
The media has embraced, along with our encouragement, that biracial can count as that minority spot. The biracial actor can be cast and then the studio can check off that diverse checkpoint. But who is that representation for? The average black woman does not fit the average multiracial phenotype, it is only corrective to have her image reflected back unto her.
I am interested in interracial dating and the general ‘melting pot’ that is America, but I am more passionate about the black woman and her image. The image of darker skinned, or the average phenotype for an unambiguous black woman is being presented more without stipulation. Marsai Martin’s “Little” movie is one of the first to show black women in a multi-faceted fashion; this needs to be our norm. We must look to the media and the World and see ourselves. It is not for insecurity or domination but just for equal representation.
Corrective promotion is defined by the FTC as “to rectify the misleading impression that has been created by a false advertisement” which is what is happening for our image. We are being seen and heard without needing to shout or be this stereotypical low status woman. It’s time for our mainstream spaces to reflect that.