Take a look at my friend Katie Burrell:
Is Katie Black? Is Katie White?
Katie’s ethnic make up will be discussed at a later date, but please check out her face and remember her features and skin tone because she is my poster child for this series. More pictures will be shown later as well.
-Oooh, her daddy must be White or High Yellow! -Your daughter is beautiful! She looks nothing like you. (Yes, in the same breath.) -She must look just like her daddy.-Is that your daughter? -Is your daughter Mexican?
Over the past eight years the above things have all been said or asked of me because of my daughter. I am a Black woman and I have a child by a White man. These comments used to bother me when my daughter was a baby, but I am used to it now and I respond accordingly with the right amount of venom in my tone.
When I found out I was carrying a baby by a White man I wasn’t happy. There is a long story behind this that will be shared with you in my memoirs one day, but one of the reasons is the fact that I knew I was going to have to deal with all these dumb ass questions and statements. And, the staring…oh gawd people could win staring contests when they see a Black women with a White looking child.
I also worried that I would not know how to or be able to deal with raising a biracial child. May seem ridiculous to you, but I really thought about what type of things I would have to teach her about her background and how to deal with people liking or disliking her because of things like her skin tone and hair. I worried she would be different than me and she would catch hell because of it.
I was right and I was wrong. I’m her mother. She has my DNA. I am raising her and I deal with any issues quite well. If she had come out half of whatever the hell Yoda is from Star Wars I would still love her lil’ brownish-green ass to death.
Ethnicity and color are not issues for me. Never have been. I love everyone and I hate everyone. My feelings are equal opportunity. I won’t love you just because you’re Black and I won’t hate you just because you’re White. Like someone once said – “Just because you’re my color it doesn’t mean you’re my kind.” Truer words have never been spoken.
For some odd and stupid ass reason many of us continue to be color struck. I really think most of us are dumb or at the very least forgetful. Black people who look White is not a new phenomenon. Back in the day Black folks who appeared more White than Black “passed” all the time. Hell, some people are still passing today. There are some people that could pass but don’t like my man, actor Wentworth Miller.
Look at him:
Wentworth Miller
Would you have guessed that he has a Black parent? Well, he does. I first saw Wentworth in the film The Human Stain. It’s about a man who passes for White, but is really Black. If you haven’t seen it check it out. Good flick! Anthony Hopkins plays Wentworth’s role as an older man. We all know Anthony is not Black in any way shape or form, but I’m sure he was cast in the role to make a point.
Back to Wentworth; I fell in love as soon as I saw him on the screen. He is a beautiful man. I saw The Human Stain around the same time Prison Break started on FOX, so I immediately started watching it every week thereafter.
Some of you who know me are laughing and probably saying,”Yea, she likes ‘em light, bright, and damn near White.” True, I do tend to go gaga more for light skinned dudes or mixed dudes. Hey, I like the best of both worlds. Sue me! When Black and White come together it creates something beautiful. That’s not to say that when anyone else comes together that it’s ugly, so don’t go there. I like what I like! There are no self hating reasons for it and I love chocolate brothas too. I like men! Period.
I can’t find one I want to call my boyfriend, but that’s another story.
Again, back to Wentworth. I was sprung after seeing him in The Human Stain, but when I read an interview where he explained that he is Black and just plays a White man for TV, I fell in love. Why? Because he had the nerve to be who he is, when he does not appear to be.
My true inspiration for starting this series are Michael Jackson’s children:
Prince, Paris, and "Blanket"
-Those are not his biological children. -They look nothing like him or any of the other Jackson kids. -Those are White kids. -White never trumps Black. Never!-Why is he trying to pass these White kids off as his children?
These are just a few of the things I have heard aimed at Michael’s children. These comments piss me off and I take them personally because as you have already read I get some of the same ignorant reactions because of my daughter.
In the next part of the series I will get deeper into Mike’s babies and the issues many people have when Black and White DNA come together to create a child that appears White.
In the meantime, let’s get back to Katie. Answer this poll:
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