BLACK AND WHITE

I have never understood why a racially mixed person is always referred to as "black." What's with that?

Is it a reflection of strong (and long-held) beliefs on the part of white people that they are tainted if they have the least bit of color in them? Is it a way of suggesting, in other words, the possibility of diluting a bloodline?

If so, then I am truly amazed that blacks haven't caught on to it and raised holy hell over it. After all, to many white people, it appears as if the blacks are always on the lookout for something to be pissed off about. Seems like a perfect opportunity.

Instead, blacks seem quite proud to hear that Halle Berry is the first black actress to win an Academy Award, and Vanessa Williams the first black woman to be crowned Miss America.

Somehow, this feels insulting to both of these beautiful women. It is of course never openly stated, but it still feels as if we're telling them that they are not good enough to be called white because they have black blood in them.

I guess the term "half-white" wouldn't work either. Probably because it's so easily associated with "half-breed" the much-used, and highly derogatory, term applied to people (for centuries) who were a mixture of white and Indian.

I've heard "racially mixed" being bandied about occasionally. But it doesn't seem to be catching on, most likely because it's too much of a mouthful.

I'm not sure what the solution is. It's a tough call.

Actually, I do have a suggestion, but it would never fly, for whites or blacks. The simplest thing to do would be to stop making the designation altogether. Stop pointing out that somebody is the first black person to do such and such.

As I said, the blacks would never go for this either. They seem delighted when a member of their race achieves some sort of honor or distinction. We would be denying them a certain vicarious pleasure if we were to stop making reference to it.

I have a friend who works in a pre-school center with four-year-olds. She shared something with me recently that I thought very interesting, and related to the topic of this essay. She told me that the white kids never bring up race. It's always the black children who do it. I found this highly interesting. Being only four years old, it's difficult to imagine that they would be bringing up a color isue all on their own. A four-year-old is pretty much a direct reflection of their family. They haven't had enough time to become socialized about race. If they're mentioning it, you know where it's coming from: home.

As I said, the blacks wouldn't want to begin totally ignoring the race factor either. When you think about it, it's easy to get the impression that they want to hold on to their racial distinction, and racial distinction, if I'm not mistaken, is the very foundation of segregation.