Bliss Broyard

In her remarkable memoir, Bliss Broyard examines her father's choices and the impact of this revelation on her own life. Seeking out unknown relatives in New York, Los Angeles, and New Orleans, she uncovers the 250- year history of her family in America, and chronicles her own evolution from privileged Wasp to a woman of mixed-race ancestry. The result is a beautifully crafted and touching portrait of her father, and a provocative examination of the profound consequences of racial identity.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• African
• American
• Anatole
• art
• authors
• black
• Bliss
• Broyard
• bohemian
• books
• Brooklyn
• critic
• criticism

[lovingit1000]

By the time slavery ended a large portion of the slaves didn't look black anymore. Many stopped being black and moved into the white world. If they had a bit of an ethnic look, they would say they were part Native American or part Italian, etc. So, many white people today are a product of this passing rule without evening knowing it. It was just easier to be white than struggle to be black.

[lovingit1000]

This is all based on the one-drop rule that was created to increase the slave population without having to buy slaves. The slaveholders could create their own slaves with their slave women. Ironically, in South Africa, it was just the opposite. In South Africa they needed more white people, so as long as you looked white, you were considered white.

[chsn09]

Great video!

[lotusflower281]

I think people with mixed raced background look beautiful and unique, because they have the best of both worlds, or three worlds or however many mixes there are lol.

[MultiSmartass1]

@susiesingz Largely due to European colonization and control. Keep in mind, the British used to rule Jamaica and Brazil was Portuguese.

Also the issue of race is less constricted in a country like Brazil where mixed race identity and recognition has existed for years and has long been part of the culture.

The US stands out in that race has largely been a black and white issue.

[susiesingz]

@MultiSmartass1 Dont forget the Caribbean and the South American aspect...I have cousins who are blonde and blue eyed and no one would ever identify them as Black, and we are from Jamaica...Same with Brazilian and Colombian friends that I have.

[MultiSmartass1]

@harry911tk Race and racism are not based on visual representations but on moral, social and political judgements wrapped in melanin.

Its not how the world sees you but how the world treats you.

If you are treated like shit because you are darker than a judge's robe, then you are going to have problems.

We are talking about race and racism here not the modeling industry.

[harry911tk]

@MultiSmartass1 looks are very important, we are very visual animals. Which is why so much emphasis is put on race. I'm not saying all those other factors don't apply, but how the world sees you will definately influence how you see yourself.

[MultiSmartass1]

@harry911tk Looks and treatment are not the same.

Your point is that people choose a social identity based on looks.

I would argue that people creat their social identities based on such factors as family, neighborhood, personal interactions and reactions not based on how they look.

Obama consciously choose to be black because 1) it makes more sense politically and 2) he wants to be seen as black not biracial.

[harry911tk]

@MultiSmartass1 It turns out that to some people one's racial identiy depends more on looks than it does on genetics. The reason why many 1/2 black 1/2 white folks identify only as black is because their experience is that of a black person. If they look black the world will see them as black and thus they identify as black. For example obama looks black, the world sees him as black , he experiences the world as a black man and identifies as such

[MultiSmartass1]

@lovingit1000 I said black is stigmatized largely because of the one drop rule which blacks have adopted either consciously or unconsciously.

Actually, many bi-racial people who choose to be "black" are choosing a social identity not fighting against any stigma.

However, no matter what you choose, if you are bi-racial, you are bi-racial. Bi-raciality is a matter of parentage not just ancestry. It is fixed and clear.

I have never run from that reality and Iam not going to now.

[lovingit1000]

@MultiSmartass1 - It is about both. Race, in itself, can be considered socio-political. That is, one could view no races and then no bi-races.  But, as you said, "black is stigmatized" and this has a meaning in a socio-political frame. With having "recent" African blood, one can choose to embrace it (fight against the stigma) or can choose to accept the stigma. Many biracial people in choosing to be considered black have felt that they are fighting against it.