When You Really Think About It, Is The Debate Over Who’s ‘Black Enough’ Really A Bad Thing?

December 21st, 2012 - By madamenoire

 

Source: WENN

Source: WENN

From Essence.com

 

It seems like every other week, some news organization or journalist ends up saying or doing or writing something that puts their name in heavy Google rotation and sets their Twitter feed ablaze with 140-character badgering. Thank God it’s not me this time. It’s Rob Parker’s  turn to be in the hot seat for comments he made last week about Redskins’ quarterback and franchise golden child Robert Griffin III (pictured). Today, Parker issued an apology, as is the rote course of action in debacles of this variety, because I’m quite sure between the fallout from higher-ups and the deafening yodel of public outcry, he is genuinely sorry he said what he said, even if he’s not genuinely sorry for thinking it.

His remarks, in case you missed them when he enlightened us on last Thursday’s edition of ESPN2’s “First Take,” went like this: “Is he a brother or a cornball brother?” Parker pontificated about RGIII. He then launched into a monologue about the rookie’s Blackness, called it into question because he has a White fiancée, is a rumored Republican and has made public statements that suggest race isn’t a big deal for him. “I’m just trying to dig deeper as to why he has an issue. Because we did find out…Tiger Woods was like, ‘I’ve got Black skin, but don’t call me Black,’” Parker added. “So people got to wondering about Tiger Woods early on.”

Folks get real uncomfortable talking honestly about race outside the secure perimeters of our living room discussions and whispered coffee room conversations. You and I know that. And I’m sure Rob Parker knows it, too—I doubt this is his first tango with this kind of subject matter—but if he didn’t, he sure as heck knows it now. We can’t get a constructive dialogue going en masse about race in this country because people like to pretend that racial differences don’t exist, like racism is a thing of the far-flung past and like we really are basking in the serenity of a colorless society.

Read the rest of this piece on Essence.com.

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  • Candacey Doris

    Racial differences don’t matter. Ethnicity and culture matters. I’m tired of the who’s black enough argument. My concern is what they believe in, and whether or not someone is a decent person.

  • ANTMilf

    I hate it when black people see another black person, who’s acting proper, speaks proper English, dresses appropriately, don’t listen to rap music, don’t eat soul food and they get accused of “acting white”. I’ve been accused of “acting white” all my life because I didn’t grow up in the hood, I speak proper, don’t listen to rap, dress professionally and have great manners and morals, thanks to my parents raising my brothers and I to be respectful to ourselves and to others. There’s no such thing as “acting black” or “acting white”, people are entitled to be different and have their own personality and choices in life.

    • get real

      Really? What’s up with that ghetto red hair that’s in your head since you wanna talk all that bougie nonsense?

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002932566023 Kristene Crawley

        As stated , we have a right to our own personal choices. That’s only a fashion statement that most women and quite a few men engage in just to switch it up a bit. What’s wrong with that? We all get bored with same o same o. Attitudes as well!

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002932566023 Kristene Crawley

      Why has acting Black become associated with being “ghetto”? What’s wrong with having some class and respect for yourself and others. How is that acting white? I personally don’t give whites much credit for that!

  • Ms_Mara

    Who is to say who’s black enough or not? And what criteria is used? In my opinion, Black is Black. And that means you too, Tiger Woods. We get enough crap from everyone else without doing it to each other.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002932566023 Kristene Crawley

      Considering the closeness Tiger shared with his father, it’s curious that he would deny the Black part of himself but he certainly wouldn’t want to deny his mother,being Asian . So then why should a mixed/raced child be forced in a position to deny either? The question of whose Black enough has become an inappropriate question. What does it mean and how is it useful?

  • Africanpride

    The debate is useless because the definition of blackness has been distorted. Being black, has nothing to do with skin color, hair, the way you speak or your way of life. If a black man speaks well, he’s labeled as “being white”, if a black woman doesn’t have kinky hair, she’s labeled as not black enough. If a black person listens to classical music, and not Hip hop, he/she is labeled as “not black enough”. People seem to forget being black is not one way, it’s many ways to it which is what makes it beautiful. So, at the end of the day, being black is more of internal than external. As long as you are proud, comfortable, secure in your own skin regardless of what the society consider as beautiful or not, you should be good.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jason.f.vorhees Jason Fangz Vorhees

    Racial differences do exist and thats what makes us as a whole such a beautiful entity. Imagine if we all walked around like robots doing the exact same thing. How uninteresting would life be? So what if we dont all come from the hood. So what if we dont all listen to hip hop. So what if we all dont dress “urban”. Who cares that the man has a white girl. As if who he is f*cking has any affect on how we live or lives day to day. This man rob parker just like millions of other black americans i think love to see crabs stuck in a barrel. So a black man doesnt want to be known as a black athlete. I never heard joe montana or peyton manning or tom brady say “i want to be the best white quarterback i can be”. NEVER!. His comment about digging deeper to find RG3s “issue” was one of the most ignorant things ive ever read. Its almost like he saying its a problem from a black person in todays society to say they want to be bigger than just being ” a black man”.

    • Pivyque

      I didn’t see the interview where he said that he didn’t want to be just a black QB, but how exactly did it get brought up? Did the interviewer bring it up, or did RG3 just throw it out there?