I am White/Caucasian. My wife is Korean/Asian. I have two girls that I generally classify as my daughters. Yet the world has to have some classification for them other than that. My oldest is now 7 and she is finding her identity. This is harder because she is part of two cultures. She has a tan complexion all year round and has dark brown hair. She does not have double lids on her eyes. She is tall and stocky for her age. You have probably seen pictures of her on this site. She has an exotic look. We have tried to share both the American and Korean cultures with her. She loves Korean food and uses the Korean word for dad when speaking to me. She also loves American food and speaks English as her primary language.
I keep waiting for Barack Obama to come out and correct the media about his "classification." I mean, sure, I would love to live in a world where it doesn't matter and people are people, but that isn't the world we live in and I doubt if it will ever be very realistic. Obama is black, but he is also an equal part white. It saddens me that my daughter's example of a mixed person is one that denies 50% of his heritage. I am sure that this is done for completely political reasons and that only makes it worse. He has the opportunity to reach out to all of the mixed children that are confused about who they are and tell them that it is okay to be who they are, part one race and part another. Instead, he shows the example of picking one side and allowing half of himself to be dismissed and ignored. Obama has applied the one drop rule to himself, and when he won the election, by proxy to all mixed Americans.
The world gets confirmation from the ruler of the free world that being mixed is not okay and that children must choose just one side (preferably the side that has any physical characteristics showing) and ignore the other side. My heart breaks for my daughter every time the media calls him the first black president. I always look at my daughter and correct them. I tell her she doesn't have to choose and hope that she can embrace all of the blood running through her veins. I also hope for change in a world that still believes in this one drop rule. Obama should be proud that he is the first black president but he should not cower from the fact that he is also the fourty-fourth white one.
I would be interested to hear how mixed people on here feel about this. I can only glimmer this battle through the eyes of my daughter and can't even start to comprehend what is going on in her head.
