Barack Obama And The One Drop Rule

Barack Obama has been on my mind.

Two days ago, someone called to ask me if I'd like to donate to his campaign. They were really friendly and understanding when I told them that I don't contribute to political campaigns. "Oh that's alright," the canvasser replied. "The most important thing is that you go out there and vote on election day." That nice comment, made without harassing me further about donating, put a smile on my face. Aww, Barack hired nice people to call and ask for money.

Next, I came across the most recent Newsweek. Guess who's on the cover? Yes, it's Barack. I'm not a fan of that picture, but I suppose that's totally irrelevant to the topic at hand.

In any case, when I see the words "Black & White" in huge type next to his face, I'm immediately thinking that Newsweek is going to go where most news publications refuse to. Where might that be? Well, into a discussion on how it is that we as a country have historically decided that someone who's half black AND also half white is black.

Barack's daddy was black and his mom's white and from Kansas. We all know that fact about him (or you should by now) but we don't ever get into just why it is that despite being half white, Barack and tons of other folks "come to terms" with our racial system and check the black box. I figured this article was finally going to be a beginning of the discussion about America's one drop rule and the fascinating math that takes place because of it. If you aren't familiar with this math, it works this way:

"black" parent + "white" parent = black child
1/2 black and 1/2 white parent + white parent = black child
1/4 black and 3/4 white parent + white parent = black child

And on and on and on.

This journalistic bravery seemed much more likely once I viewed the article's inside title and subtitle: "Across the Divide - How Barack Obama is shaking up old assumptions about what it means to be black and white in America."

You see how I set myself up for disappointment, right? I guess I took all the words on the cover and in the titles much too literally. Or else I did some selective interpretation. Instead of discussing the one drop rule, this article was about...well, I'll sum it up for you:

1) Black people aren't feelin' Barack. Despite his deciding that he's black, other black people aren't convinced Barack is black enough. And you know, if his own don't like him, there's trouble in paradise, right?

What's the problem with his blackness? Well, some black folks think Barack acts like a sellout Uncle Tom, even if they understand that he has to do it so that the Massa and the Missus don't get scared off. After all, black folks nationally are just gonna lay low till he gets elected and then the revolution is on and poppin'!

Oh yeah, he's uppity because he went to some Ivy League schools. And he refused to wear a "Stop Snitchin'" t-shirt and some grillz.

Ok, just kidding about the shirt and grillz, but come on, that's such a boring line of questioning.

What else did Newsweek tell us about Barack?

2) He's black but some white people like him. Isn't that just magnanimous of them?

Why do they like him?

Well, 'cause he did stuff for them, like get them jobs. And we're talking white people in mostly racist towns in southern Illinois. And if those former racists are ready to elect a black man, then by golly, what's holding the rest of the country back?

Could these white folks that Newsweek interviewed possibly be more comfortable with Barack since he is half white, and thus, lighter skinned? I mean, if Barack looked like Chamillionaire, would 59% of Americans say they're ready to elect a black president?

We'll never know the answer to that question. At least not if we stick to reading this article. Oh, and by the way, in case the reader didn't get it with the first few examples, before the article ended, the authors decided to share yet another example of how black folks aren't so sure Barack is black enough.

I'm infinitely disappointed in this Newsweek article.

How about someone ask Barack how much his racial identity's been influenced by the one drop rule? Maybe someone can ask Barack where he thinks the one drop rule intersects with that national conversation on race we're supposed to be having with each other. Maybe that would open the door to the discussion on why it was that a one drop rule got instituted in the first place and what role it plays in keeping our racial sicknesses going.

At least make the story more interesting and ask black people if it makes a difference to them that he's married to a black woman, and not to a white woman. In my informal polling, that does make a difference, and it's an interesting discussion as to why it makes a difference.

But, Newsweek didn't want to talk about that either.

What a missed opportunity.