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Halle Berry and the Resurgence of the Tragic Mulatto
Henry Louis Gates' "The Root" ^ | 22 Feb | Clay Cane

Posted on 02/24/2011 6:14:06 AM PST by flowerplough

Halle Berry's recent comments in Ebony magazine have brought up the complex subject of racial identity, which still seems to confuse many Americans. Asked if her daughter, Nahla, is African American, the Oscar-winning actress answered, "I feel like she's black. I'm black and I'm her mother, and I believe in the one-drop theory."

Blogs raged, and suddenly everyone was an expert on dissecting the social construction of race. Even many black websites roared that Nahla wasn't black. It was as if a chapter from an Alex Haley book had come to life on the Web.

Berry has never used the words "mixed" or "biracial" to describe her racial identity. She identifies as a black woman. Similarly, President Barack Obama, Faith Evans, Jasmine Guy and even the late, great Bob Marley all embraced having a white parent -- but didn't identify by degree of blackness. Apparently, they subscribe to the belief that either you are black -- or you are not.

In 2011, black is no longer praised as beautiful; everyone wants to be "multi." People proudly run through their race, ethnicity and nationality as if it's a résumé. "Mixed," "multiethnic," even the deeply offensive word "mulatto," are resurging as the hottest labels around. Here's another new term I recently heard: "double-raced."

(Excerpt) Read more at theroot.com ...


TOPICS: Society; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: mrskippy
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To: flowerplough
The true color blind society that Martin Luther King envisioned in his speech, just sees Halle Berry as an attractive actress. Black, white, or in between, what does it matter? It only matters to the true racist who are saying, “she's not one of us”
21 posted on 02/24/2011 6:30:04 AM PST by NavyCanDo
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To: Hodar

You have a good point. In the past, I have had black coworkers and friends spout of some well in grained talking point, “if you are black, you have to work twice as hard to prove yourself”. I never can help chuckling and saying, you are joking, right?

That statement was probably correct before 1970, but not now. Just look at dumbo in the White house. If he had taken the job seriously and buckled down for 4 years, he could have done so much for race relations, instead, he is coasting. He is partying it up, golfing nearly every weekend, coming into work several hours after Bush would have been there. Putting his dirty shoes on the oval office desk as he kicks back.

Also, what is up with that AFL-CIO guy showing up for private meetings 2 or 3 times a week? If he was a women, the media would be all a twitter about some type of an affair.


22 posted on 02/24/2011 6:30:32 AM PST by FreeAtlanta (Obama and the left are making a mockery of our country.)
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To: flowerplough

One drop rule? I feel like I’m way back in history. Where’s a pic of Nahla, is she passing?


23 posted on 02/24/2011 6:31:31 AM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: allmendream

faithlessness = FATHERlessness


24 posted on 02/24/2011 6:31:54 AM PST by allmendream (Tea Party did not send the GOP to D.C. to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism.)
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To: flowerplough

If you believe anthropologists who study this and you go by the “one drop” theory, then we are ALL black....


25 posted on 02/24/2011 6:32:57 AM PST by matginzac
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To: shadeaud

lol, yeah, that accentuates the ignorance of those who still promote the “one drop” garbage.


26 posted on 02/24/2011 6:33:39 AM PST by FreeAtlanta (Obama and the left are making a mockery of our country.)
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To: shadeaud

How far we’ve come. Years ago they used to keep the black and white blood supplies separate. That was when whites cared about the one-drop rule. Now it’s the blacks who seem to care.


27 posted on 02/24/2011 6:35:00 AM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: Hodar
If you are white, you are held to a higher standard.

If you are Black, the standard of behavior you are held to; is much much lower. So, by claiming to be black - they can appear as ‘Superman’, while if claiming to be white, they are merely ‘successful mortals’.

Sounds racist; but it’s fact - like it or not.

I've tried pointing out to libtards that blacks in Africa are as culpable as whites in the slave trade. I usually get as a response that "the white guys should have known better"; as if the poor Africans were too primitive to know that selling each other into slavery was wrong.

28 posted on 02/24/2011 6:37:49 AM PST by Sans-Culotte ( Pray for Obama- Psalm 109:8)
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To: flowerplough

When Halle Berry won her Oscar and stated that it made her proud to be the first black woman to win an Oscar it showed her ignorance and her disrespect for Hattie McDaniel.


29 posted on 02/24/2011 6:38:19 AM PST by Anitius Severinus Boethius
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To: Huck

As an Oriole fan his career hasn’t gone by fast enough.

: (


30 posted on 02/24/2011 6:38:44 AM PST by stevecmd
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To: allmendream
Another ARCHER fan on FR! At last I've found you. That whole episode ("Diversity Hire") was hillarious.

"Oh, put it back in the deck."

31 posted on 02/24/2011 6:40:43 AM PST by safeasthebanks ("The most rewarding part, was when he gave me my money!" - Dr. Nick)
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To: Freddd

The MSM is very powerful. Kinda makes all that silliness here at FR about the MSM being on a deathwatch very ridiculous.


32 posted on 02/24/2011 6:41:19 AM PST by stevecmd
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To: pepperdog

That attitude, or misguided belief, belongs to the past when people thought races were pure.

I’m pure - pure American with a blend of Irish, French and German;)I’m too darn white to have any black blood in me but, who cares, if I do, I do.


33 posted on 02/24/2011 6:42:49 AM PST by Bitsy ( i)
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To: flowerplough
"I feel like she's black. I'm black and I'm her mother, and I believe in the one-drop theory."

Does she feel like her daughter's ugly, too? Because I'm willing to bet that Halle's baby has at least one drop of ugly in her.
Halle Berry says she thinks she's 'ugly'

34 posted on 02/24/2011 6:43:36 AM PST by Alex Murphy ("Posting news feeds, making eyes bleed, he's hated on seven continents")
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To: stevecmd

:-P

35 posted on 02/24/2011 6:43:41 AM PST by Huck (one per-center)
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To: Huck

I didn’t know he was “mulatto”. I thought he was of Cuban or other hispanic/latino heritage. My husband always speaks well of him.


36 posted on 02/24/2011 6:47:17 AM PST by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: OB1kNOb

Yes, when did “mestizo” OR “mulatto” become a “deeply offensive word”? Both terms are descriptive, neither is derogatory in and of itself.


37 posted on 02/24/2011 6:50:13 AM PST by allmendream (Tea Party did not send the GOP to D.C. to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism.)
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To: trisham
...to all...I guess this is why the 0bambi regime stuck a 10% tax on tanning booths....

And I thought this was just a dig at Alaskans (no pun intended)

38 posted on 02/24/2011 6:50:58 AM PST by spokeshave (WTF....the only thing 0bambi's investments will get us is a bullet train to bankruptcy.)
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To: flowerplough
I'm black and I'm her mother, and I believe in the one-drop theory.

It's people like Halle and Barry that push ME towards adopting the one-drop theory.

39 posted on 02/24/2011 6:51:06 AM PST by Pearls Before Swine (/s, in case you need to ask)
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To: Hodar

Interesting point


40 posted on 02/24/2011 6:52:07 AM PST by PGR88
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