How many black men do you see in the above photo? Perhaps I’m being impetuous by presuming that you can even define what a black man is. How do you define a “black man”?
Merriam-Webster defines “black” as of or relating to any of various population groups of especially African ancestry often considered as having dark pigmentation of the skin but in fact having a wide range of skin colors. (For the record, I refuse to play the progressive game of capitalizing racial identifiers.)
Merriam-Webster further defines “man” as an adult male human. Thus, one may surmise that a black man is an adult human male related to various population groups of African ancestry and who may maintain a wide range of skin colors.
When contemplating this matter, I’m reminded of a Mello Music Group song, featuring lyricist RJ Payne and produced by Apollo Brown, from the 2021 album Bushido and entitled “Black Man.” The chorus states:
See, we talk about Heaven, but there’s Hell for a black man
And if you actin’ like my people doin’ well, you need a CAT scan
They sell us to the prison system, then they mail us to the trash can
They shitted on the definition; someone tell me, what’s a black man?
I was born in the United States (U.S.), as my sub-Saharan African ancestors were said to have arrived in Virginia or the Carolinas in the 1700s, per ancestry DNA reports. Nevertheless, I don’t classify myself as an “African American.”
Technically speaking, I’m multiracial. Predominately, I’m biracial. I’m both white (approximately 68% European) and black (approximately 29% African). Also, according to one source, “Mulatto is a racial classification that refers to people of mixed African and European ancestry.”
Apparently, I’m mulatto – although this is considered an offensive and dated term. In any case, I’m white. I’m also black. Therefore, in the above photo featuring my biological dad and me, there are two black men. There’re also two men of mixed racial heritage.
Regarding this matter, I imagine it wouldn’t surprise you to learn that some people don’t consider me to be a black man. Historically speaking, such consideration isn’t anything new within the U.S. According to one source:
The Three-fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention over the inclusion of slaves in a state’s total population. This count would determine: the number of seats in the House of Representatives; the number of electoral votes each state would be allocated; and how much money the states would pay in taxes.
Slave holding states wanted their entire population to be counted to determine the number of Representatives those states could elect and send to Congress. Free states wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, since those slaves had no voting rights. A compromise was struck to resolve this impasse.
The compromise counted three-fifths of each state’s slave population toward that state’s total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives, effectively giving the Southern states more power in the House relative to the Northern states. It also gave slaveholders similarly enlarged powers in Southern legislatures; this was an issue in the secession of West Virginia from Virginia in 1863. Free blacks and indentured servants were not subject to the compromise, and each was counted as one full person for representation.
My black ancestors were likely subject to the Three-fifths Compromise. Additionally, Merriam-Webster defines an octoroon as a person of one-eighth black ancestry, so my 29% admixture surely qualifies me for black status.
Still, I imagine that my ancestors were similarly confused with shifting definitions of what qualified or disqualified their blackness. I suspect that some of my distant relatives were likely considered black under the one-drop rule. According to one source:
The one-drop rule was a legal principle of racial classification that was prominent in the 20th-century United States. It asserted that any person with even one ancestor of black ancestry (“one drop” of “black blood”) is considered black (Negro or colored in historical terms). It is an example of hypodescent, the automatic assignment of children of a mixed union between different socioeconomic or ethnic groups to the group with the lower status, regardless of proportion of ancestry in different groups.
This concept became codified into the law of some U.S. states in the early 20th century. It was associated with the principle of “invisible blackness” that developed after the long history of racial interaction in the South, which had included the hardening of slavery as a racial caste system and later segregation. Before the rule was outlawed by the Supreme Court in the Loving v. Virginia decision of 1967, it was used to prevent interracial marriages and in general to deny rights and equal opportunities and uphold white supremacy.
Which is it; am I 29% black, 3/5 of a person due to my black heritage, black due to one-eighth black ancestry, or is one drop of African blood enough to qualify me as a black man? Again, take a look at the above photo.
If you hadn’t read about my black heritage herein, would you have considered me to be a black man? Given that approximately one-third of my racial composition consists of black ancestry, do you even entertain the notion that I can identify as a black man?
This is precisely the issue now faced by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris who’s reportedly of Jamaican and Indian ancestry. Remarking on this matter, one source states:
The Hollywood pitch goes something like this: Put a racially ambiguous [b]lack person in the public eye — Kamala, Meghan, Barack. Have them declare themselves [b]lack. Count down the minutes before the world erupts into outrage, distress and suspicion. People scream their confusion and doubt, accusing the figure of lying about who they really are. It makes for good TV.
As Harris is apparently running to become the next President of the U.S., I’ve observed people commenting on whether or not she’s actually black. Relatedly, I’m all too familiar with how such commentary has unfolded in my own existence.
Throughout my life, I’ve not been white enough for some whites. I’ve been too white for some blacks. I’ve even been accused of taking on a blaccent—a blend of the words “black” and “accent,” said to mimic stereotypical black pitch in pronunciation.
It doesn’t matter that my DNA clearly illustrates that I’m at least partially black, because I’m not considered to be a black man as far as some people are concerned. In fact, even my late stepmom – a black woman whom I loved dearly – told me I had “passing privilege.”
According to her, I have the option of choosing when to or not to identify as black. Truth be told, she wasn’t wrong. It’s as hip hop lyricist Murs stated in his song “And This Is For…”:
Any white boy who thinks he knows my struggle
‘Cause he listens to Pac and his adrenaline doubles
Now, I ain’t got problems with you being yourself
But when you front and use the N-word, it just don’t help
I might not trip, and your friends’ll laugh at you
But I know some real niggas that’ll straight up slap you
Now, you could be down, but let’s act growed up
‘Cause we ain’t the same color when police show up
My culture’s not a trend, being black is not in
But for you it’s just a phase you’re gonna have to transcend
While even if I tried, I could never blend in
To society’s mainstream, American dream
Yeah, it’s all one love, but remember one thing
This music is my life, not a cultural fling
It’s an expression of the soul when we dance and sing
And you are blessed to have a chance to even glance the scene
Although I’ve had black people affectionately refer to me as a “real nigga” and white people call me a “nigger,” I’m not dumb enough to believe that the majority of people in my life haven’t identified me as a black man. As an example, if the police show up to a scene, I know I look white to them.
Understandably, many people who are the products of biracial lineage experience conflicted identities of this sort. For instance, biracial (white and black) lyricist Logic states in his song “AfricAryaN”:
Nigga, my advice, fuck the black and white shit
Be who you are, identify as a star
No one tells you you’re that
It’s something that you just know
The world be stealing your glow
Your mama did what she could
Her life was miles from good
Your father fell in the trap
They set for you when you black
They met when they was low
And therefore you a product of that
Am I a black man? Yes. Am I also a white man? Of course. Still, to me, it doesn’t matter how people label me, because I simply am what I am. Likewise, Harris is a black woman. She’s also an Indian woman. Like me, she can be both identities at the same time.
Although I used to disturb myself with irrational beliefs about my racial identity and how people perceived or labeled me, I no longer do so. In fact, I stopped upsetting myself in this regard even before learning about Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT).
Now, I help people with disputation of their own self-disturbing beliefs. For instance, during the 2020 U.S. presidential election cycle there were a few clients who didn’t know I was part-black and took it upon themselves to supposedly educate me about Black Lives Matter (BLM) rhetoric.
Each of these non-black clients expressed surprise when I challenged their tiresome platitudes. Similar to what biracial (white and black) lyricist J. Cole stated in “Rich Niggaz,” expressing that he is “half cracker but a nigga, too,” these individuals were informed of my biracial identity.
I’ve no issue with engaging in healthy dialectical discourse during which I argue against shame-inducing propaganda such as BLM talking points when practicing REBT. At any rate, the 2024 U.S. presidential election season is in full swing, as racial tropes are once again trotted out.
All the while, many of our nation’s citizens somehow just learned that our current president likely hasn’t been in charge of the country for quite some time. Additionally, our former president narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. There are legitimate issues worthy of contemplation.
Still, Harris – who has been largely silent on policy-related matters – appears to be utilizing race-based identity much in the way that Obama did in order to churn up support for his initial presidential campaign. It seems as though civil rights era principals have been tossed to the wayside in favor of bigotry.
No longer are people encouraged to consider the content of an individual’s character. In the current era, people instead focus on the color of one’s skin – as though race infers superiority. Apparently, that’s all some voters care about in order to support a presidential candidate.
Contemplating this matter further, I liken shallowness of the modern sociopolitical landscape to the ignorance permeating the track “Black Man” by rappers (not lyricists) Quavo, Meek Mill, T.I., and RaRa. Seemingly, some people refuse rationality and embrace superficiality.
All the same, I unconditionally accept that race-conscious people reject a racially color blind approach to life—the belief that a person’s race or ethnicity ideally should not influence their legal or social treatment in society. Nevertheless, I’ll continue valuing what one source reports are the four beliefs of racial color blindness:
(1) skin color is superficial and irrelevant to the quality of a person’s character, ability, or worthiness
(2) in a merit-based society, skin color is irrelevant to merit judgments and calculation of fairness
(3) as a corollary, in a merit-based society, merit and fairness are flawed if skin color is taken into the calculation
(4) ignoring skin color when interacting with people is the best way to avoid racial discrimination
You’re welcome to disagree with this perspective. In any case, perhaps I could burden you to take one final look at the photo above. How many black men do you see in the picture?
Perhaps a more meaningful question is: What difference does it make in regard to the racial composition of my dad and me? Our race is as insignificant to who we are, as the fresh ass creases we were both sporting on our clothes may inform an individual about what we represent.
Black man, white man…it doesn’t matter. If people can’t understand that, I’ll continue unconditionally accepting their differing worldview – no matter how misguided, bigoted, and ridiculous it may be.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As the world’s foremost old school hip hop REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
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