re-post: REVIEW: My Father is Black; My Mother is White; What am I?

Review originally posted in 2012:
My Father is Black and My Mother is White. What am I? “John Smith.” Kindle Edition. 2012. 3 pages.

This is interesting. I am not mixed but [redacted], and they are always like “We’re black.” And I always think “You’re only half black.” And I don’t think they look mixed. To me they look Hispanic or something. This conundrum is what caused me to be attracted to this book. I often wonder why they don’t identify as half black and half white or just white. This gentleman addresses the question of why he isn’t considered white when he is equally black and white but is considered black. In this piece (it’s not quite long enough to be a book?) the author does not really answer the question he poses. But his question is definitely something to think about. This work doesn’t have an angry tone to it. I can appreciate that. This work is definitely food for thought.

2019 Update: This is a uniquely American problem. Generally, in other countries, people that are mixed race identify as ‘mixed race’ rather than ‘one’ or ‘the other’. How about this for a solution: Since, typically, a child has the last name of his father, let him be considered the race of his father as well?

This piece doesn’t answer any questions or offer any solutions. It’s just rehashing an issue that’s been going on since the birth of this country. I have quite a few opinions on this subject, but I won’t share them now; perhaps in a future post.