"We can accept the fact that we are all blended (that includes you Barack, who at the least is half white and half black), or we can look for fissures in the cracks to divide us further. We all came to this country to assimilate and then congregate - not segregate. There are no clearer terms I can use."
Interesting discussion at lunch today. What race are we? Why is that important? Well, it seems that race is the discussion de jour. Why today? Because many of us are of mixed race. That would be including President Obama. And maybe even President Trump. Maybe every President. In any event - most of us are "Heinz 57".
What is the bottom line on race? Only one race that counts. The human race. Did we muck up the race thing in the 1700's and 1800's? Yep. Did we still muck it up in the 1900's? Unfortunately, yup again. However, we should have it down to a pat in the 2000's. So here is the news flash. Thanks to saliva DNA testing, we are all of us, a mixture of something.
That led me to a story I told at lunch. Of all the trips I took to England, one of my most memorable was when I was seated in the breakfast nook before my team came to meet me. As I was reading the paper and drinking my very expensive coffee, a young lady came up to me. She asked, "Are you an American?" I responded that I was. Then I asked her how she knew. She said, "You look so blended. We can always tell Americans as they look blended."
Bingo!
Over the generations, there has been quite a bit of in-breeding from many different countries. What? Most of us are mutts. Mixed everything. Even many of those who are Hispanic or black. I remember years ago when someone asked Colin Powell about this African-American heritage. He said his family is not from Africa - they are from Jamaica. He said, that is where his parents are from. He was born in American is American.
Then I think of a friend of ours who is married to someone from South Africa. Technically, since she was born and raised in South Africa and now lives in America, she should be African-American. One minor problem - she is white.
So what is all this buzz about race? One thing I heard repeated many times and the Bird has also said - the only race which counts is the human race. From a DNA standpoint, we are all of us much more similar than dis-similar. Why we continue to parse each other solely from race is way beyond me.
We can accept the fact that we are all blended (that includes you Barack, who at the least is half white and half black), or we can look for fissures in the cracks to divide us further. We all came to this country to assimilate and then congregate - not segregate. There are no clearer terms I can use.
It's time for us to face the reality that for many Americans, even if we live and work around "diversity", our best friends and spiritual leaders, the people we invite into our lives and homes, often look like we do, reinforcing a de facto segregation.
ReplyDeleteThis social and cultural segregation isn't restricted to "uneducated" people living in the central city. It is equally prominent in environments where smart, educated people are supposed to "know better".
People who have studied race, spent months abroad in India or Africa, tasted the best fufu and mofongo, read Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin and Pablo Neruda, and who may even have black "friends" or lovers, still too often manage to have a community that doesn't reflect diversity in their broader city or nation.
It's understandable that we don't hear much about this type of divide. It's too personal for many, who often don't want to be seen as racist. It's a hard phenomenon to quantify.
Talking about the numbers of blacks in jails or in a school system is easier than confessing that the last time you confided in your Latino "friends", Britney Spears was at the top of the charts.
If our social worlds were more integrated, perhaps we would see it trickle down to the way we govern and the way we dispense justice.
Having some sort of connection, a shared experience is the only way I believe that we can get politicians, police officers, and everyday citizens to truly understand race.
It may seem silly to connect major state and federal policies to something as simple as a night on the town, but our experiences are shaped not just by legalese and policy, but also by understanding and interacting with each other.
Segregation in the 21st century is not just about being legally and physically separated, but about a cultural separation that still feels like it divides more than it binds.
Don't take this personally, but those of us in the city and you in the exurbs need to take a serious inventory regarding our feelings. Your blog captures genetics, but not the heart.
Respectfully,
David Gjerdingen