Here are some famous people (famous enough to be in the Wikipedia, at least) who have white fathers and black mothers. They are listed in order of birth year:
1700s:
1710s:
1720s:
1730s:
Prince Hall
1740s:
1750s:
1760s:
1770s:
Sally Hemings (Thomas Jefferson’s mistress).
1780s:
1790s:
1800s:
1810s:
Frederick Douglass.
1820s:
1830s:
1840s:
1850s:
1860s:
Adam Clayton Powell, Sr.
1870s:
1880s:
1890s:
1900s:
1910s:
1920s:
Eartha Kitt.
1930s:
1940s:
Ronnie Spector, Bob Marley, August Wilson, Jerry Rawlings (once president of Ghana).
1950s:
1960s:
Malcolm Gladwell (wrote “Blink”), DeBarge, Lenny Kravitz, Gloria Reuben, Marie Daulne (Zap Mama), Slash, Michael Michele, Soledad O’Brien, Karyn Parsons, Mariane Pearl (wife of Daniel Pearl, played in Hollywood by Angelina Jolie), Salli Richardson, Cree Summer, Rebecca Walker (daughter of Alice Walker).
1970s:
Thandie Newton, Tracee Ellis Ross (“Girlfriends”, daughter of Diana Ross), Maya Rudolph (“Saturday Night Live”, daughter of Minnie Riperton), Amel Larrieux (Groove Theory), Faith Evans, Benjamin Jealous (NAACP), Leila Arcieri, Les Nubians (both of them), Zadie Smith, Tamia, Marsha Thomason (“Black Knight”), Tia & Tamera Mowry, Noemie Lenoir, Shakara Ledard.
1980s:
Farrah Franklin (once a part of Destiny’s Child), Lauren London, Jennifer Freeman (“My Wife and Kids”, “You Got Served”), Tahj Mowry.
Here are some things that strike me about this list when compared to my other list, the one with those who have black fathers and white mothers:
- Three-fourths are women.
- Nearly half were born between 1964 and 1974 (from Lenny Kravitz to Les Nubians).
- It goes deeper into the past.
- Only two are British: Newton and Thomason.
- On the whole, they do not seem as famous or outstanding as their counterparts on the other list. Nearly all the star power on this list was born before 1950, like Marley and Douglass.
No doubt there are people I overlooked, but any additions can shift the list by only so much.
The third one – that it goes deeper into the past - is no surprise because white men were allowed to take black women as mistresses or even rape them; black men were often hanged if they tried the same with white women.
The second one – that half were born from 1964 to 1974 – is no accident: those were the years when the future of race in America looked hopeful: racism was dying. But somewhere between 1972 and 1974 that progress stopped. Maybe there will be a wave of mixed-race Obama babies over the next several years.
A study done in 1974 showed that mixed children with black mothers had lower IQs than those with white mothers – although their IQs were still far higher, on average, than blacks in general, both light-skinned and dark-skinned. Their IQs were close to that of white children.
Studies show that light-skinned blacks get more education and make more money on average that dark-skinned blacks. How much, if any, of that difference comes from the white parents that some have?
Who I assumed was white: Ronnie Spector, Malcolm Gladwell, Slash, Maya Rudolph, Soledad O’Brien (white/Hispanic).
Who I thought was mixed before I knew the facts: none.
See also:
I’ll assume the white father of Tracee Eliss Ross is not Michael Jackson?
I wonder if David Bowie and Iman have any progeny? I know that DeNiro and his lovely wife have at least one child.
As to the IQ thing, I wonder whether there is a pattern of (a) WM/BW pairs splitting up when the children are young, and (b) single parenthood affecting IQ?
I also find it curious that there appears to have been a “surge” of WM/BW babies (or, at least, babies that went on to become famous enough to make Wikipedia) between ’64 and ’74, followed by a dearth. Agabond’s explanation of it seems as plausible as any.
When I was dating a BW at University of Michigan in the early 1980′s, we were a rarity around campus and elicited stares and open hostility from both blacks and whites. However, now, in the area where I live, there is a whole generation of golden babies with WM/BW parents who are together as intact families. We see them everywhere. In the instances of which I am personally aware, the parents in these marriages tend to both be highly educated, which generally means that they stress education with their children as well. Assuming this pattern repeats itself across the nation, I’d expect IQ among this demographic to spike in the next decade.
Some corrections:
Dorothy Dandridge’s father isn’t white, to my knowledge.
Bob Marley’s father was mixed race. He was passing. This is documented in a biography about Marley’s early life by Christopher James Farley. Check it out.
Vanity’s mother is a white German woman. Her father’s black.
Also:
These studies often contradict themselves. You have studies about IQ, but there were recent studies that indicate that children from black/white offspring are pretty much similar to black children from monoracial parentage.
Also, how can one really make a valid studies about the correlation between skin shade and life progression? I really want to believe those types of studies but they’re up there with “tall people make more money” and my fave, “attractive people get more jobs”. (All actual studies) Sure, they’re all believable, but how do you accurately measure that? Perceptions of attractiveness and skin shade are all based on individual perception. It’s fluid, not fixed. You get what I mean?
Thanks for the corrections. You are right about Vanity and I will grant you Dorothy Dandridge since I cannot back it up, but I stick by Bob Marley – at least for now
No, prob.
Both of Dandridge’s parents were black. Solidly so, I must add.
Check out the book “Before The Legend: the Rise of Bob Marley”, about Marley’s early life in Jamaica, before the fame. It’s really interesting. It also untagles the webs of untruths and myths about his biological family. One of those myths were the racial origins of his father.
Some notable omissions: Tamia (R&B singer), the Debarge family.
Also, these two lists are interesting but it’s silly to make grand judgements about racial progress based on a collection of noted celebrities. I mean, all these people really are, are just people who were lucky enough to get a shot in their chosed field. With the exception of a few, the average American doesn’t even know most of these people.
The lists are interesting, but, like you say, they are not rigorous enough to prove anything.
I have no idea how they draw the line between light-skinned and dark-skinned in those studies.
Blanc2, you said:
However, now, in the area where I live, there is a whole generation of golden babies with WM/BW parents who are together as intact families. We see them everywhere.
Wow. I have seen nothing like that. Maybe it depend on where you live and what circles you travel in.
Lauren London and Benjamin Jealous (president of the NAACP) are two more omissions from your collection.
In response to Blanc2′s comment: I’ll admit, it’s not rare for me to see a white woman with her visibly black child. But these instances are still far outweighted by white women I observe with their unequivocally white children. Same with blacks: I do some black with “mixed”-looking kids, but again, very much outweighted by blacks with unequivocally black children.
So, products of black/white unions, remain a relatively small yet growing and visible minority. No?
I thought of Lauren London, but could not confirm the race of her parents.
Do you know anything about Dave Justice?
I see white women with mixed children on occasion, but rarely do I see white men with mixed children.
This is in and near New York City.
Don’t forget Babara Becker, the wife of famed tennis star Boris Becker. Her father is an established artist who is African American and her mum is German. Also, Boris Becker has 3 beautiful bi-racial children.
I see lots of white men with mixed children. But not WM/BW – it tends to be White men with Asian women.
I work with two people who are one half of a WM/BW union…but out of the whole company…that is a very small percentage.
I didn’t even know that London was a product of an interracial union until she mentioned a picture of her parents being one of her a valuable possessions in a Complex magazine interview. This link below shows excerpts from said piece:
http://www.whudat.com/newsblurbs/more/lauren_london_reveals_her_eight_most_prized_possessions_1680522081/
I don’t know of Justice being from an interracial parentage.
Wow, you live in NYC, the supposed liberal melting pot of the US and you don’t see lots of black/white unions? That says a lot. As I’ve mentioned numerous times before, I also live up North, not too far from NYC.
I’ll admit, it’s also rare for me to see white men with “mixed” children. Although today I did see a white man with his Eurasian-appearing kids. But it’s not very common at all. Interesting.
I added London. I should have known: I did a post on her last March in which I said her father was white and her mother black. But that link goes to such a cool picture I am glad I forgot.
In New York you do see white men dating black women – but it seems like few marry them and even fewer still have children by them.
I live in NYC and I see BW/WM couples all the time. Abagond I don’t know what part you live in but maybe that factors in. But most of the BW/WM couples I see are young. I’m talking 20 something y/o. So maybe that’s why I don’t see WM with mix children either. I also don’t see BW walking around with mix children.
I’ve seen a couple of time older BW/WM couples and they had children.
Also if you’re talking about Manhattan it will mainly be young BW/WM couples because it’s “in the city” although NYC consist of 5 boroughs. So you may not see a family: BW/WM and children walking down the street.
If you were to see such a thing it would likely be in the suburbs. ie Up state NY, Long Island or even NJ, which is like a suburb for many New Yorkers.
I am thinking mainly of Manhattan (all parts – not just Midtown and Wall Street), Queens and New Jersey. I see plenty of white men with black women, but what I rarely see, what I am talking about in this case, is white men with black children that are their own. This is in contrast to what Blanc2 reports in Minnesota. I do on occasion see white women with their black children.
Mona: I added Barbara Becker – to the other list, right before Halle Berry. Thanks.
http://abagond.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/black-father-white-mother/
Wow – Eartha Kit is beautiful!!! -
Here’s some irony:
Today, I once again saw some haggard-looking white man with his East Asian mate and their two boys. Only to see a black woman with her white mate just a while later. Two interracial couple sighting involving white men in a day! Crazy! LOL. (My tongue’s planted firmly in check, if you couldn’t tell.)
This is great!
That makes me glad I put it up. Some commenters did not see the point in it.
This is a much needed thread. Not all multiracials are black man/white woman.
Thanks – for this and the other times you explained the why of my posts to commenters.
Not all products of interracial products are black/white, either.
How about a post about white/Asian people? There’s more of them in the media eye than black/non-black people. People you’d be surprised by. Unlike people who have a black parent, their race isn’t scruntinized.
Not all products of interracial unions are black/white, either.
How about a post about white/Asian people? There’s more of them in the media eye than black/non-black people. People you’d be surprised by. Unlike people who have a black parent, their race isn’t scruntinized nearly as much.
Some more omissions from the collection above:
Angela Nissel (author, “Mixed”- great book, very funny & insightful)
B5 (singing group)
Jill Jones (singer)
Pat Smear (guitarist, Foo Fighters)
Giancarlo Esposito (actor- yeah, I couldn’t believe it either)
Eartha Kitt (actress/singer)
Evan Ross (actor, son of Diana)
Brooklyn Sudano (actress, daughter of Diana Ross)
Taimak (actor)
Rachel True (actress)
Van Vicker (Ghanaian actor)
Mat Johnson (author)
Brooklym Sudano is the daughter of Donna Summer. Sorry, for the typo.
Thanks.
Good idea: “white father, Asian mother” would be a good post, especially when it can be compared to this one.
T]hese are the facts concerning Obama’s LSAT score while attending Law School at Harvard University. We do not know his actual LSAT score; however, after much research, we found that the average LSAT score for all Harvard students is 171. The percentile rank for an LSAT score of 171 at Harvard is 98.8 %.
MENSA will accept LSAT scores as a means of qualifying for MENSA membership. (MENSA also accepts up to 200 various IQ tests and other tests of cognitive function as well.) The LSAT score required for MENSA membership is equal to a percentile of 95% or higher. Thus, basing Obama’s estimated LSAT score of 171 ranks him in the top 98.8% (percent/percentile) range which is clearly above the lowest acceptable LSAT percentage rank of 95%, which clearly affirms that Obama has a qualifying intelligence quotient that would allow him acceptance into MENSA.
Since MENSA accepts various IQ Tests as well as other cognitive tests to qualify for MENSA membership it is safe to estimate that Obama’s IQ Score could range anywhere from a low IQ score of 130 based on the Stanford Binet IQ Test, Revision 5, to a high IQ score of 148 based on the Cattell IQ Test.
What the IQ guy failed to account for is the fact that Harvard University practices affirmative action. PBS Frontline reports: “The gap in SAT scores persists even at the highest levels of achievement. A study of the 1989 applicants to five highly-selective universities found that white candidates’ average combined SAT score was 186 points higher than the corresponding SAT average for African American applicants.”
Furthermore, the New York Times reports that “At the best schools, by contrast, efforts to diversify the student body translate into a 400-point bonus for minority students on the SAT tests.”
That 98.8 ranking based on the average Harvard LSAT translates to about a 135 IQ and a combined SAT score of 1290. That’s pretty good, if not spectacular. However, due to affirmative action, one must reduce that score by at least 186 points. (Also, I suspect the NYT article is talking about the new SAT, which isn’t valid for the purposes of this comparison.) Thus, giving Obama the benefit of the doubt drops his score to 1104, which is approximately equivalent to an IQ of 116. That’s not bad, but it is significantly less intelligent than Hillary’s 140 IQ, as well as being lower than George W. Bush’s 125 IQ (1206 SAT).
Before one points to the fact that Obama ranked highly in his class, it’s important to keep in mind that Bill Bradley was a Princeton Rhodes Scholar despite his 485 Verbal SAT and mediocre 103 IQ. Academic success, like every other kind of success, is just as much about hard work and determination as it is about intellectual firepower, but Barack Obama’s supporters obviously shouldn’t be attempting to make their case for him on the basis of what is, based on the available information, probably an IQ of 116, only one standard deviation above the norm. Of course, this estimate is based on averages which don’t necessarily apply to a single individual; Obama could lay the matter to rest by simply permitting his scores to be released to the public.
If his intelligence is so incredibly important, as some of his more visibly insane supporters insist, then surely the senator should inform us precisely how intelligent he is. Because he demonstrates his ignorance and a less-than-impressive intelligence nearly every time he opens his mouth despite his handlers attempts to retroactively fix his statements: “The fact that we have reached a point where the Federal Reserve felt it had to take this unprecedented step with the American Insurance Group is the final verdict on the failed economic philosophy of the last eight years.”
First, AIG didn’t fail because of the economic philosophy of the last eight years. The Fed began goosing the markets under Clinton. Second, that “unprecedented step” was taken with the American International Group.
REPLY
FACTS
In 2003, 3 African nations, Ghana, s. Africa, and Botswana participated in TIMSS physics. The average score for the 5,150 students in Botswana who took the test was 443, seven of whom scored over 505, and none of whom scored over 549. The average score for the 8,952 students in South Africa who took the test was 244, thirteen of whom scored over 447, and none of whom scored over 514. So also in Ghana, where the average score for their 5,100 students was 239, seven of whom scored over 427, and none of whom scored over 514.
Conversely, the average score for the 6,018 students in Singapore was 579, eight of whom scored lower than 462, and none of whom scored lower than 423. At best we can say that eight students in Singapore MAY have scored lower than SEVERAL of the thirteen highest scoring students in South Africa and SEVERAL of the seven highest scoring students in Ghana. No student in Singapore scored 4 standard deviations higher than their mean, or 735, much less 5 standard deviations higher, at 774.
So needless to say, no student in Botswana, South Africa, nor Ghana ever scored four standard deviations higher, or 549, 514, or 489, respectively, either, much less five standard deviations higher, or 593, 581, or 551 respectively. Such scores are in the range of the average for Taipei and Korea, whose IQs are in the range of 105 IQ points. It simply boggles the imagination for us to be expected to believe that Obama was the ONE Kenyan in the entire world who scored not just one but TWO standard deviations higher than a place where NO Ghanan, Botswanan, or South African has ever ventured. To claim that his IQ is 132 IQ points, yet another three standard deviations higher than the impossible, is the height of absurdity. It would make Obama more valuable as a Wringly Brothers’ Circus freak than a six legged elephant. Yet that’s exactly the claim that his presidential campaign made and you should be embarrassed to the hilt to see so many of your fellow countrymen fall for this circus act.
The average IQ of Kenya is 71 IQ points, the same as for Ghana, and 1 point lower than both Botswana and South Africa, at 72 IQ points. Out of 38 million Kenyans, do you know how many score more than 5 standard deviations higher than that? Only 11 do, at an IQ of only 96 IQ points, four standard deviations higher than their mean, and NONE have an IQ higher than 101 IQ points, five standard deviations higher than the mean. Obama’s not even a Kenyan. He’s a mixed breed and most mixed breeds of most species are of lower quality and intelligence than the pure breeds (otherwise why don’t mules race in horse races)?
California voters consider affirmative action to be CHEATING, which is why we outlawed it with Proposition 209 which actually amended the state constitution for the express purpose of KILLING it. Obama is clearly left over from those days.
Why not simply require him to take the normal IQ test which any dog catcher in the country has to take in order to qualify for his job?
You can bet that this would settle the matter once and for all.
Correction, Tues. Dec. 23, 2008: 7% of the population of Botswana are Whites who score similar to their brethren back in England at 545, meaning that the 93% who’re blacks scored 358. Only seven black students from Botswana scored over 456 and none of them scored over 514. Therefore, none of the lowest scoring eight students in Singapore who scored lower than 462 are likely to have scored lower than the seven top scoring black students from Botswana, meaning there was no overlap of test scores between Singapore and Botswana.
Who Runs it?
Senators: Barack Obama & Dick Durbin
Representative: Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Illinois Governor: Rod Blogojevich (arrested)
Illinois House leader: Mike Madigan
Illinois Attorney General: Lisa Madigan (daughter of Mike)
Chicago Mayor: Richard M. Daley (son of Mayor Richard J. Daley)
The leadership in Illinois:
All Democrats.
The combat zone in Chicago:
Body count in the last six months:
292 killed (murdered) in Chicago
221 killed in Iraq
State pension fund:
$44 Billion in debt, worst in the country.
Cook County ( Chicago ) sales tax:
10.25% highest in country. (Look it up).
Chicago school system:
Rated one of the worst in the country.
Of course, they’re all blaming each other.
They can’t blame Republicans because there aren’t any.
This is the political culture that Obama comes from in Illinois .
And he’s going to ‘”fix” Washington politics for us?
Good luck and may YAHWEH help us.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Troll alert
Thanks, Kat. I was about to delete it for being off-topic, but it does follow a thread from the posts above it.
you thought maya was white? how do you think snl got away with casting her as every black, asian, italian, etc.?
That does not mean much: they have had white men play Obama and Jess Jackson. And even Eddie Murphy has played white men.
Tracee Ellis Ross was born Tracee Joy Silberstein. I wonder what reasons, if other
than to take the last name of her famous mother to be known, why she change her name?
Diana Ross changed the names of all three Silberstein daughters – Rhonda, Tracee and Chudney – from Silberstein to Ross. She has never explained why, but it was after she divorced Silberstein and just before she sent the girls to boarding school in Switzerland.
Just noticed a mistake:
Etta James.
Her daddy wasn’t white. There was an old rumor that a famous mobster was her father, but that untruth has been deflated years ago.
Thanks. I will take her off.
“Perceptions of attractiveness and skin shade are all based on individual perception. It’s fluid, not fixed. You get what I mean?”
It’s very possible to objectively measure attractiveness (but not beauty, which is not the same thing). Simply make a photo of a person, scan it in, and have the computer measure the features for symmetry. The more “average” you look, the more attractive you are.
Check out this site: http://www.faceresearch.org/demos/average
Try it out. You’ll see what I mean. It doesn’t matter how ugly or attractive each face is, the average of three is always more attractive.
The article is also very interesting. Seems that it’s not just the average, but the hyper-average that’s the best-looking. I guess that would be the difference between attractive and beautiful.
And before you say, “So only mixed (black-white) people are attractive?” remember: the mix isn’t reliant on race. A black person who’s genetically diverse would also be considered more attractive than one whose parents came from the same tribe.
My husband comes from a town in Germany that has had the same 15 families in it since the Roman times. No kidding. He and his brother are noticeably better looking than all of the others because their father is from a different town, even though his parents aren’t particularly good-looking. Even such a small genetic difference can make a BIG impact.
What?! Slash is mixed? Lol, I bet that MANY people are not aware of this. Whenever some fool says that black people aren’t rockers, I’ll make sure to bring him up, as well as state that black people founded rock and roll as I always do.
This is really interesting. I have a white dad and a black mom.
Etta James!!! Don’t forget her.
Also, there was some girl on ANTM whose father was German. I think her name was Jaslyn?
There’s also Playmate Ida Ljungqvist and a slew of German or Dutch/African models who I don’t recall at the moment.
Taimak of that lost dragon movie was half Italian, from his father.
Also, people forget that Mick Jagger’s first child was born by a black woman, Marsha Hunt I think.
Actually 3 of them are British. Slash was born in London. He was raised in Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire untill he was 11 when his family moved to LA.
Imani Coppola’s mother is black and her father is italian.
And since we’re adding ANTM models on here, Jael’s mother is black and her father is jewish.
Last but not least, my all-time favorite: Amber Rose (model), who’s mother is black (African, from Cape Verde) and father is italian.
And since I’m Nigerian and love both Nollywood and Ghollywood films, how could I forget about Van Vicker, Majid Michel, Ramsey Nouah, and Juliet Ibrahim.
Are they all white father/black mother or just some kind of mixed?
Van Vicker is a product of a white father/back mother. I’m not sure about the others.
I dont want mixed children they grow up conceited thinking they are better than everyone else because they are light with curly hair dont get me wrong mixed babies are cute but so are all black babies cuter in my opioion. I want to keep my race from being completety diluted. We gotta keep Black on Black love alive you guys. I want nothing but cute black babies.
I’ve always thought that mixed people from Black mothers and Non-Black fathers were a little extra special. They tend to be a little bit more attractive IMO and even more down to earth. They relate more to their Black side being that they were raised by Black mothers/women. There are way more people that you’re forgetting. And I don’t know if you’re also including those who have Asian, Latino NA, Indian fathers etc.
Anyway here are some more:
Dollicia Bryan
Rita G
Shelly Rio
Nicole Lyn
Susie Fogelson
Cassie Ventura
Jhene Chilombo
Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas
Raphael De Niro
Yvette Barlowe
Some I can think of
Thanks.
Just white fathers, black mothers here. I have another post for those who are half-white, half-Asian. I hope to do one on Blasians too.
so all the males born to black mothers, white fathers are technically white, as all there forfathers where white, even tho they look black. where as if there fathers where black and the mothers white, then they are black, but may look paler. the girls carry on the gene of there mother, it depends on what sex the child is that determines, which genes they carry on.
That did not make sense to me. In America at least, race is based on appearance, not which parent was what.
I am a multiracial woman(Black, Irish and Indian) and have 3 kids with my white husband. People used to stare a lot. My girls are fair-skinned, one with blonde hair and green eyes, my youngest with brown curly hair and blue eyes, my son has pecan skin with green eyes. Plenty of times I was asked, “are these your children?, even though I have green eyes and red hair myself. I just think people’s reaction are hilarious.
hey agabond if you want to go even further back into history please check the story of alessandro de medici http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_de%27_Medici
he was born to a black maid and white royal father. alessandro become the duke of florence and was one of the most powerful men in europe. he was assassinated by his cousin. alessandro’s two children giulia de medici and giulio de medici are considered ancestors of many of today’s European royal houses and noble families
“so all the males born to black mothers, white fathers are technically white, as all there forfathers where white, even tho they look black. where as if there fathers where black and the mothers white, then they are black, but may look paler. the girls carry on the gene of there mother, it depends on what sex the child is that determines, which genes they carry on.”
gaz has a point you know. in many old european societies (such as italian and portuguese), were very patriachal. you were what your father was. if your father was black you were a black and if your father was white your were a white. case in point is my alessandro de medici who i mentioned in my earlier comment.
this was the common frame mind hundreds of years ago in europe and it was often extended to mulattos(especially light skinned ones).
this has also happened in more modern times too. my mother is mixed race and was born in what was then known as portuguese west africa(now angola).. her father was white portuguese and her mother was black. society in portugal classified my mother as portuguese i.e. was not questioned by either blacks or whites. this is also in part due to the lusotropicalism view of portugal( very pro-miscegenation)and the fact that my mother is very light skinned with more caucasian features.
I myself have grown up in italy, my father is italian.. and here no-one is questioning my ‘italianess’ if you can call that.
to be honest i am not critcising because everywhere is different and i do not judge.. but i find america’s one drop rule a little strange
and just to clarify i am not saying it is better for mixed race individuals to be viewed as only one thing.
I myself think of being italian but also have pride for my black heritage
The reason you mainly see White women with their Black children as opposed to White men with their Black children is because women are the primary caregivers of their children. How many lightskinned or brown skinned children with their brown or darkskinned mothers have you overlooked? I know several BW/WM married people with children of various skin colors.
I have a dark skinned female friend married to a White guy and they have a light skinned child with curly hair and I have a dark skinned female friend married to a white guy with a brown skinned son that has tight coiled hair. Many people would not assume the child has a white father. And furthermore the children are usually with the mother when out at the park.
^^^
Why do you keep emphasizing skin color? I’m confused, does it have any significance with what you were trying to say? I’m sorry but your post was confusing.
And no, the great majority of black children from black/white parentage have white mothers. We can all debate on why that it is.
lol co-sign mynameismyname. I didn’t see the significance of skin complexion with this post. Abagond posted pictures of BW/WM unions and the famous celebrities whose parents are of the union. We are not talking about skin complexion at all. Totally derailing, but I do understand that their are people of Black/White unions whose childre’s skin complexions deviates from light to dark. That’s why I don’t understand people who depicts what a “bi-racial” person looks like. There is no such thing.
^^
Exactly!
Dani, stop taking the words out of my mouth with your posts! LOL. I’m only kidding.
abagond, do you think of someone differently if you know their father is this, and mother that? if you didnt know marley or Frederick Douglass were biracial or had white dads before, but then found out, would you think of them any differently? I could tell marley was mixed,and Frederick Douglass, i didnt know that, but it didnt change my opinion at all. just curious, did it change yours? {im honestly asking, not trying to be snobbish.}
Not at all. I did not know that most of these people had white fathers. Knowing it now does not change my opinion of them – unless I had thought of them as white, like Maya Rudolph.
Wow, you thought Rudolph was white? Race really is subjective!
I always knew she was black since her days on the short-lived, black medical drama “City of Angels”. She looks very much like her legendary mother Minnie Riperton.
I thought Maya Rudolph was Jewish.
People need to stop passing off that Frederick Douglass’ father is White and same with Bob Marley. Frederick Douglass said in his autobiography that he heard his father is White, but wasn’t sure. Same with Bob Marley it’s not certain his was White too.
Bob Marley father is white or was. Don’t get it twisted.
A study done in 1974 showed that mixed children with black mothers had lower IQs than those with white mothers – although their IQs were still far higher, on average, than blacks in general, both light-skinned and dark-skinned. Their IQs were close to that of white children
—–
Who conducted this study the KKK?
Please add to the list…black mothers and white fathers:
Porschla Coleman (russell simmons’s ex)
Chutney Ross
Kit Shapiro (Eartha Kitt’s daughter)
Sidney Lumet’s two daughters
Blake Amanda , and Brandon Avery (Ron Perlman’s children aka HellBoy)
Grace Gibson (Lynn Whitfield’s daughter)
Ja’Net Dubois has a daughter by a white husband.
Grace Jones and Jean-Paul Goude have a son.
Alexandria Bowie (daughter of Iman and David Bowie)
I’ll have more later.
mynameismyname Says:
^^^
Why do you keep emphasizing skin color? I’m confused, does it have any significance with what you were trying to say? I’m sorry but your post was confusing.
dani Says:
lol co-sign mynameismyname. I didn’t see the significance of skin complexion with this post. Abagond posted pictures of BW/WM unions and the famous celebrities whose parents are of the union. We are not talking about skin complexion at all.
———————————————
mynameismyname and dani, firstly this is my 2nd post on this topic so I don’t keep doing anything. Second, my post wasn’t to point out skin color it was to explain a possible reason why you don’t see a lot of white fathers with their mixed babies. I was responding to Abagond comments to Blanc2. Again, if the brown skinned mother is the primary caregiver and the child is brown skin then no one would notice that the child has a white father.
Now read these excerpts:
Blanc2:
“…..now, in the area where I live, there is a whole generation of golden babies with WM/BW parents who are together as intact families. We see them everywhere.”
abagond Says:
“Wow. I have seen nothing like that. Maybe it depend on where you live and what circles you travel in.”
What? You thought Slash was white???
Sure, not many people saw his face, especially back in the days, but to me, he is clearly mixed. I first saw this man when i was about 12 and I went crazy.
I was never huge GNR fan, but I love Slash’s style. he might not be the greatest guitarist in history, but some things he does
Anyway, I might not be a perfect person to guess someone’s race (I have little to no experience with this), but to me, it’s clear Slash is mixed. Jennifer Beals, on the other hand- no way. I always knew this woman was amazingly beautiful, but I had no idea she was mixed. Yet, you say (at the appriopriate page) you “suspected” she was mixed.
About Bob Marley: He was at least part white. Well, his father was at least part white. I saw a photo of this man, and if he was really Nesta’s father, then that’s it. I don’t know if he had some black ansestors or passing as white. That man looked (to me, at least) like a typical white and guy. More so, he looked like a typical anglo guy.
I believe Bob Marley was mixed. What is wrong about him being mixed? Some white blood in him doesn’t change what he was.
And I failed to finish my sentence about Slash. Well, I was going to write about his playing style and solos, but this blog isn’t about music so perhaps is off topic.
I had no idea (some) people think rock music is “white” and “black people aren’t rockers”. Excuse me?!? Even if we forget how rock music came to be- tell me: who is widely acknowledged as the best guitarist in history?
Nita said:
mynameismyname and dani, firstly this is my 2nd post on this topic so I don’t keep doing anything. Second, my post wasn’t to point out skin color it was to explain a possible reason why you don’t see a lot of white fathers with their mixed babies. I was responding to Abagond comments to Blanc2. Again, if the brown skinned mother is the primary caregiver and the child is brown skin then no one would notice that the child has a white father.
No biggie. I just didn’t see how your post was related to the topic of Black mothers, White fathers. However, I do agree with you on skin complexion being subjective in interracial offsrpings.
@ Mira
I thought Slash was White for some reason lol nothring wrong with Bob Marley having a White father is just that it wasn’t really confirmed of whether his father was white or not and people are taking that is the gospel truth and it’s still quite blurry of the ethnicity of his father. Yeah you are right people eare confused of Rock music’s origin that includes Black people.
@ dani
I didn’t know there was any question about Bob Marley’s father. As far as I know, Norval Marley was his dad. And that man looks white (anglo white) to me. As far as I know, Marley referred to himself as mixed. His wife too (she knew he was mixed).
I didn’t know rock music was considered “white”. I guess I never thought much about it. I love rock music and wherever I look, there are black musicians. Many alternative and mainstream bands have black members, so I really never thought rock is considered “white”.
I believe jazz singer Billie Holiday had an Italian father.
Billie Holiday’s father was Clarence Holiday, a jazz guitarist and African-American.
Keyshia Cole (she talks about her white Italian father in a Tyra show interview)
Rozalla Miller (English singer)
With reference to a couple of really old comments from blanc2 &abagond I just wanted to say that I live in a southern African country (not South Africa though!) where mixed race couples (the majority, over 95% BW/WM) are fairly common. There are plenty of mixed race children here and they come from intact families.
As i stated in the other forum, I echo the same sentiments here. Lets look at social environment, not skin color.
—–
I don’t buy this… “Skin color” aside (hmmm) or should we look at cultural influences? Education, public education, National trends…
I think we need to look at the poverty level, social influences, and draw some logical conclusions:
In general, families from an uneducated background, poorer area, are going to have issues with nurturing by sheer nature of the environment and cultural issues that affect them daily. (This becomes a “Black cultural issue in America because Blacks are disproportinately at a greater percentage in this category.) I would bet the same observations above could be made with poor whites.
Suze
I wonder if it’s Botswana since you mentioned the president. It’s a great country! Been there on Safari!
Lol, well spotted MerriMay!
wow, some of these avatars are crazy!!
Suze
Botswana is a great country, my family has been on safari in the north, The Chobe, the Okavango Delta, Gaborone, we toured the diamond mines! That deep crater, not sure where, a small mining town Orapa/Jwaneng? The best diamonds are from Botswana. I worked briefly for De Beers in London, had a tough time telling these English folks that your country is the largest producers of diamonds.
And you’re right I saw BW/WM couples, all the time, they are by far the majority or IR couples!!
It’s the norm, LOL
Abagond,
Why are you trying to separate black people by the race of their parents? It’s just silly. Most ,so called, black people in the USA are of mixed ancestry. This is nothing new. I hate to feel that people of colour are continuing to fall into the self/other destructive trap of believing that they are better or worse then others because of their colour or the colour of their parents.
When a racist (black or white) sees my child they are not going to take the time to ask him/her “What race are your parents?” They will just attack him/her.
islandgirl,
Since you are in an IR and will maybe have children someday, do you think that biracials with black mothers are more well adjusted and down to earth? I just do not see too many black mothers tolerating this way of thinking.
To be honest, I know very few biracial people with black mothers, and those I do know, both or one of the parents is not American. But the ones I know (all women) don’t seem to feel they are superior to black. They have close friends that are black women and date black men. But they could have superior feelings that they don’t express.
I’m certainly not going to teach my children, overtly or covertly, that they are superior to monorocial blacks.
I think the main thing is to instill pride in children for who they are, regardless of what other may say or think. Proud to be who you are as a person. I want my children to be proud of their bi-racial, multi-ethnic, Anglo-Afro-American/Brazilian, Irish, Yoruban, Spanish, Indian (Tupinamba most likely), Portuguese, German descended heritage…. LOL
I agree Colorofluv
NatashaW,
You have a good head on your shoulder I think your children will be just fine.
interesting info I have a stunning little boy who is half-half
I still can’t stop loving his mom for showing him to me at 6 months old. I did end up as the custodial parent and he is a natural athelete. What beautiful skin and very well proportioned. At age 2 years 2 months he can run like the wind as both parents ran track. She is 27 and very imature so I’m raising him at 52 and he keeps me young. All the mistakes that I made with my twenty year old I’m correcting this time around. I would sure like to find a nice woman who likes kids and be a family cause my son’s momma does’nt look like the family type. Besides being stunningly good looking she can’t find a groove that suits her. God either will or won’t decide that however. I’m busy loving him. I love him up, fill him up, and listen to him. Our nights are so predictable but I welcome the responsibility and we are doing fine. Oh’ one more thing foxy black girls just smile and smile’ I wish I had a date with one when they see us Have’nt been on a date for 19 months
i think it is beautiful to be mixed and black..i mean no one can clearly changed who they are on the outside! my mom is black nd my dad is irish,indian and black..i get pick on everyday at school about my skin color because i am so bright!!!
Slash:
http://www.chucksconnection.com/bands/slashfamily.jpg
the picture that you have is of lauren london’s parents
that pic up top is of lauren london’s parents
abagond,
“Who I thought was mixed before I knew the facts: none.”
I knew all of these people were mixed, save a few like Lenny Kravitz, Lauren London, Farah Franklin (who I thought was black), and Maya Rudolph. It might have to do with me knowing more about them; some of my favorite people are on this list: Michael Michele, Thandie Newton, Amel Larrieux, Noemie Lenoir.
—————–
I know these are old comments but I’m just now reading through them…
mynameismyname:
“[Maya Rudolph] looks very much like her legendary mother Minnie Riperton.”
abagond:
“I thought Maya Rudolph was Jewish.”
I thought she was Jewish too! She looks so much like my Ashkenazi Jewish former mentor, it’s unreal. But now that I know who her mother is, I can definitely see the resemblance.
Nancy:
“And since I’m Nigerian and love both Nollywood and Ghollywood films, how could I forget about Van Vicker, Majid Michel, Ramsey Nouah, and Juliet Ibrahim.”
abagond:
“Are they all white father/black mother or just some kind of mixed?”
They are all white father/black mother.
You should update the list with some of the suggestions given in the comments.
someone commented on what a racist sees, and that they “only see black”. well as an african american, i feel black is social construct, something put in place to keep us in place, you dig?
so i am considered “black” but i am truly an African, ( of course i know I’m black thats evident) but the just being “black” thing simplifies me when i am so much more. when a racist only sees a biracial child as being “black” and therefore we should call him or her that, isn’t that saying that “white” people define black people? why, why is the one drop rule still in effect here. if i was half of something else, i am therefore not just “black”.
go to africa and say we are all just “black” in senegal, ghana, mali, ethiopia, tanzania, you will get looks. no they are Akan first, Twi, Amhara, Wolof, Fulani, Bambara, etc. because first they have an ethnicity and cultural group, and black has no real significance, its because of a loss of culture that African Americans are “just black” now. Biracial people should embrace both their parents, whatever they are, to not do so is blasphemy one side of who they are. i would be so insulted if i had a biracial child and he or she did not acknowledge me.
why should multicultural peopole simplify themselves because of other’s prejudice? we should not even do that as African Americans.
Tia says,
someone commented on what a racist sees, and that they “only see black”. well as an african american, i feel black is social construct, something put in place to keep us in place, you dig?
so i am considered “black” but i am truly an African, ( of course i know I’m black thats evident) but the just being “black” thing simplifies me when i am so much more. when a racist only sees a biracial child as being “black” and therefore we should call him or her that, isn’t that saying that “white” people define black people? why, why is the one drop rule still in effect here. if i was half of something else, i am therefore not just “black”.
go to africa and say we are all just “black” in senegal, ghana, mali, ethiopia, tanzania, you will get looks. no they are Akan first, Twi, Amhara, Wolof, Fulani, Bambara, etc. because first they have an ethnicity and cultural group, and black has no real significance, its because of a loss of culture that African Americans are “just black” now. Biracial people should embrace both their parents, whatever they are, to not do so is blasphemy one side of who they are. i would be so insulted if i had a biracial child and he or she did not acknowledge me.
why should multicultural peopole simplify themselves because of other’s prejudice? we should not even do that as African Americans.
laromana says,
Tia, thanks for your excellent comment. I have always believed that the simplistic Black/White system of classification that is used in America INTENTIONALLY tries to DISMISS/IGNORE an individuals TRUE identity (ie cultural group/ethnicity) in favor of INACCURATE (usually appearance based) labels that help perpetuate RACISM/IGNORANCE.
I have enjoyed reading this forum and the intelligent comments. ‘Black’/'Caucasian’ relationships are nothing new. And the whole thing about this is that majority of us WORLDWIDE have been MIS-Educated on the original names/places of indigenous peoples.
The terms ‘Black’ ‘White’ ‘Indian’, ‘Latino’ ‘White’,'Caucasian’ are mainly terms that have been created by Anthropologists/Archaeologists to undermine and obscure the true origins and ethnic identites of certain folks. They are FALSE identities.
‘White’ is a term that came about in the mid 1600′s American sub-Continent(created by the Elites) to separate the ‘Africans’ ‘Europeans’ and ‘Indians’ who were enslaved all together at one point in The Americas by BOTH ‘White’ and ‘Black’(Moorish) slavemasters. There was NO such thing as ‘White’ before then
We have been so miseducated it is a sin, and we walk around using these LABELS that have been assigned to us by those who ‘rule’ (won’t go into that).
Many so-called ‘Caucasians’ had ‘Black’ ancestry long long before the 1700′s because the Moors(Black Men from North Africa) literally ruled Europe from 711 AD-1492 AD(you do the math on what happened afterwards). The Roman Legions were also heavily comprised of ‘Black’/'African’ fighting forces, and it is well known and suppressed by Archaeologists/Anthropologists that the original inhabitants of early Europe were ‘African’/'Negroid’ in appearance based on the skulls/bone structure. There have even been ‘Black’ Roman Emperors(Septimus Severus) and ‘Black’ Popes.
Plenty of European scholars have written about this and one in particular was David MacRitchie in his 1885 book ‘Ancient and Modern Britons’.
Constantine Rafinesque even went as far to say that ‘Negroes’ were ‘Black’, ‘Tawny’, ‘Brown’, ‘Red’, and even ‘White’ in Complexion. This is all based on bone structure,hair texture, etc
I’m sorry for the History rambling but if we must understand why most of us are as ignorant as we are today, we must look at the real history that has been dramatically suppressed, mainly for the sake of those ‘Europeans’ who have elevated themselves to a very false level of superiority.
Someone above mentioned Alessandro DiMidici having a Black mother who was a maid in the royal DiMedici Court. That is half fact and half fiction because what has been obscured is that The Moors(‘Blacks’) ruled Europe for almost 800 years and originally BEGAN many of ‘European’ royal houses of the last 600 years. Their faces were in their original Aristocratic Coats of Arms of early ‘European’ Royal Houses. I highly doubt that she was a ‘Maid’.
It seems that whenever ‘Blacks’/'Africans’ pop up in places outside of Africa in ancient times or America prior to American Slavery it is so vehemnently pushed that they automatically must have been ‘slaves’, and that is yet another one of the biggest lies ever sold.
Othello was written to send a message.
MAJORITY of us regardless of what color or ethnicity know the full truth of history(especially here in America) and that is why we act as ignorantly as we do. Ill knowledge of history leads to ill behavior.
Anyway here are a few more folks from history that were ‘Black’/'Caucasian’ if we must say that.
Atilla The Hun( Based on some historical discriptions of him)
Leif Ericksson(Viking who sailed to America 1000 yrs b/f Colombus)
Augustine of Hippo
Aleksander Pushkin 18th Century Russian Composer
Ludwig Van Beethoven(Moor) Composer
Queen Charlotte of England(Moor)
Alessandro DiMedici(Moor)
Warren G. Harding
Benjamin Banneker(Created Blueprint of Washington DC) Father was a Moor, mother was ‘Black’/'Caucasian’
J.Edgar Hoover(First Director of F.B.I.)
Milton Berle
Carol Channing(Father was ‘Black’/'Caucasian’)
If you find this hard to believe plese do your own research. There is much much to learn!!!!!!
I meant in the last statement that MAJORITY of us regardless of what color or ethnicity we are are do NOT know the full truth about History and that is why we act as ignorantly as we do. Ill knowledge of history leads to ill behavior.
The accurate definition of the term Caucasian, ie. “peoples from the Caucasus region” comprises about 50 different ethnic groups of which, ironically, nobody looks Nordic, Anglo-Saxon or Celtic. Most people from that region look in fact Middle-eastern, Slavic or Balkan.
The misnomer “Caucasian race” was coined around 1800, based on pseudo-sciences like craniometry, phrenology and similar, long debunked nonsense. It’s baffling how those “classifications” get dug out centuries later, supported by allegedly “new research with modern methods”. Most of that sort of research is sponsored by right-wing organisations and individuals. Anyway, however you twist it, you will always find some ideologic bias and a sociopolitical agenda in that kind of research. Again, it’s dumbed down for the masses and neatly wrapped up in a “PC” term.
To be honest, it smacks of the misuse of the term “Aryan” by the nazis.
The misnomer “Caucasian race” was coined around 1800, based on pseudo-sciences like craniometry, phrenology and similar, long debunked nonsense.
It should also be noted that the skull that came from the Caucassus which gave us the appelation “Caucasian” was probably that of a female sex slave.
(CF Nell Painter, “The History of White People”.
As far as celebrities, let me add Alexandre Dumas to the list…
Alexander Pushkin was also part black.
It is interesting because it definitely does make a difference in regards to which circles you socialize. You can find great numbers of mixed kids in europe and within caribbean countries such as Jamaica and the Bahamas. In the case of the Bahamas it has been estimated that about 10% of the country’s population is mixed and in France mixed raced kids are set apart in a special category from black and white. The prevalence of biracial kids (B/W) far supersedes what is evident in the entertainment world. If we were to use the entertainment world as a subset to estimate racial changes in the world or even in the USA, it would be highly misinterpreted.
@ Thaddeus, NELL PAINTER is in a sexual relationship with a white man as well.. Look for her interview on http://blogtalkradio.com/victim-of-racism
^…So?
I know this is going way back but there were several congressmen that were of white fathers/black mothers back during the recession period( right after the Civil War).
1. John Mercer Langston
2. PBS Pinchback
3. Robert Small
4. John R Lynch
Among others.
I know you guys mentioned Maya Rudolph but did you guys know she is the daughter of Minnie Riperton.
@Mira
Yeah, I just saw a picture of Norval Marley, Bob Marley’s father. Some people have tried to say he was mixed, but he looks like a pure white man to me.
I made a mistake. I just realized I said recession period. No that is wrong. There were alot of black congressmen during the RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD that had black mothers and white fathers. The list is up above. Sorry for that. I know many of you guys were like “what is she talking about!”
Being a product of a Black female and White father I have noticed that some Black females are unable to differentiate between a straight White male and a Gay White male. Some of us have Gay White male fathers who eventually lose interest in the relationship and not only abandon the mixed child but also the Black female. I used to wish I had a White mother instead of a Black mother because Most of the White mothers had something my mother lacked which was compassion for her mixed race child . (she also had color and hair complexes)
It was almost like if the kid came out looking too White some Black females would find the kid unlovable or hard to relate too. I highly doubt that Black females would adopt White kids if given the opportunity, where as you see a lot of White females more than willing to adopt kids from out of their race. Sorry Black mothers but you need to do a better job raising not only mixed race kids but also raising Black men. You need to give them fathers who won’t abandon them and just maybe they won’t abandon you for other women. Also teach them to respect women by being an example to them. Stop always blaming everything on slavery and take responsibility no one is perfect but be accountable for your actions in the role you play. The world is not against you for you are against yourself! Otherwise you will always have the brainwashing of a slave woman. My mother fucked up my life in some ways but I don’t hate her I feel sorry for her because she was racist against her own blood. That is a cancer in itself when you blood turns against you. Like Tupac said if you don’t change you can easily end up with a race of babies that will hate the ladies, that make the babies.
Keep you head up!
^Er…what planet are you on?
kim says,
Being a product of a Black female and White father I have noticed that some Black females are unable to differentiate between a straight White male and a Gay White male. Some of us have Gay White male fathers who eventually lose interest in the relationship and not only abandon the mixed child but also the Black female. I used to wish I had a White mother instead of a Black mother because Most of the White mothers had something my mother lacked which was compassion for her mixed race child . (she also had color and hair complexes)
It was almost like if the kid came out looking too White some Black females would find the kid unlovable or hard to relate too. I highly doubt that Black females would adopt White kids if given the opportunity, where as you see a lot of White females more than willing to adopt kids from out of their race. Sorry Black mothers but you need to do a better job raising not only mixed race kids but also raising Black men. You need to give them fathers who won’t abandon them and just maybe they won’t abandon you for other women. Also teach them to respect women by being an example to them. Stop always blaming everything on slavery and take responsibility no one is perfect but be accountable for your actions in the role you play. The world is not against you for you are against yourself! Otherwise you will always have the brainwashing of a slave woman. My mother fucked up my life in some ways but I don’t hate her I feel sorry for her because she was racist against her own blood. That is a cancer in itself when you blood turns against you. Like Tupac said if you don’t change you can easily end up with a race of babies that will hate the ladies, that make the babies.
Keep you head up!
laromana says,
kim,
I’m sorry about YOUR negative experiences as a mixed child of a BW/WM IRR, but you’re WRONG to GENERALIZE your negative experiences to ALL BW/WM IRR’s.
The FACT is that when it comes to IRR’s between BW/WM vs. BM/WW the LATTER have LONGER LASTING/MORE SOLID relationships.
Also, it’s a FACT that MOST BAM DON’T help to raise their children, REGARDLESS of the race of the mother (eg. Halle Berry, Alicia Keys, etc.), and it is NOT/has NEVER been BW’S fault that these BAM have this habit.
BW are also NOT RESPONSIBLE for HISTORICAL ANTI-BW RACISM in American culture/media.
MANY BW are doing/have done the BEST they can to OVERCOME the effects of the CONSTANT TRASHING of their HUMANITY, DIGNITY, and FEMININITY from MANY BAM and from a culture/media that has ALWAYS HATED them, for no other reason, than THEY ARE BW.
@kim
you cant say all black mothers. for i am a black mother and i am very compassionate when it comes to my son. nobody comes before him and he is my true love. you contradict yourself when you say black women should move on from all the slavery stuff and yet your mother is the perfect example of the slave mind. and by your writing looks like you inherit her dirty ways. why should we move pass what exist today. i have seen plenty of white women that is not good mothers. sounds to me that your from a dsfunctional family and maybe your mother resent your father for being a gay white man and took it out on you. please don’t take it out on black women because black people in general is very compassionate. most mix kids,asians,blacks etc, that raised in a prodominately white environment always seems to want to be white. don’t blame black women blame your parents and history.
I don’t mean to get off point here, but I ocassionally see white fathers with black children (not biracial). However, the child is usually adopted. So far, I have never seen a white male with a black “stepson”. Meaning, he married a black woman who was a single/divorced/widowed parent.
I think this explains how far we’ve come with interracial marriage and combined families.
Speaking of Malcolm Gladwell…interesting article on CNN today – and I only happened on this specific post today!
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/01/24/gladwell.explain/index.html?iref=NS1
I notice that the female off spring of white fathers identify less with black men than they do with white men, especially if they grew up as daddy’s girls.
leila arcieri should be added to the list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leila_Arcieri
also elizabeth atkins
dollicia bryan too, but she doesn’t have a wikipedia that i’m aware of
“The third one – that it goes deeper into the past – is no surprise because white men were allowed to take black women as mistresses or even rape them; black men were not accorded the same privileges with white women.”
WOW….I just noticed this…u really should consider ur wordchoice when u say “privileges” abagond…i really don’t think you could call being able to rape someone ‘a privilege’ that’s more like exploitation
also jurnee smollet can be added to the list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurnee_Smollett
i follow her on twitter
also angela nissel can be added: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Nissel
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5306614
also don’t forget essie mae washington: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essie_Mae_Washington-Williams
strom thurmond’s daughter…
jospehine baker: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine_Baker
thats weird i thought you had put etta james on there…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etta_James
although its not confirmed who her white father is
okay i’m done
I’ll like to add Amber Stevens: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_Stevens
Born in ’86, daughter of Shadoe Stevens.
She probably become famous after your list was made.
My friend A. Marley is a relative of Bob, and A. Marley’s father is for lack of a better word “pure” white. In a nutshell… A. Marley’s dad said Bob’s dad is white and i pretty much believe him. I mean he has no reason to lie right?!
“so all the males born to black mothers, white fathers are technically white, as all there forfathers where white, even tho they look black. where as if there fathers where black and the mothers white, then they are black, but may look paler. the girls carry on the gene of there mother, it depends on what sex the child is that determines, which genes they carry on.”
gaz has a point you know. in many old european societies (such as italian and portuguese), were very patriachal. you were what your father was. if your father was black you were a black and if your father was white your were a white. I myself have grown up in italy, my father is italian.. and here no-one is questioning my ‘italianess’ if you can call that.
I understand and appreciate that tradition has its place but…I am baffled that this is the case. I know lots of mixed race children, primarily those that are the product of BM/WW and some the product of BW/WM but those that I know come in various hues and even if they wanted to ‘class’ or ‘pass’ themselves off as white would face huge obstacles, namely people questioning their mental state!! What is important is to always be open, honest and inform your children of their background which in this instance is always going to be rich and culturally diverse.
Talk about your own experiences as they get older and any questions they have (and they will ;-0 ) give as balanced and honest a response as you can though I dont prophes myself to know all the answers and at times even I am left mystified at the human psyche. Invariably into adult hood, people find/adopt their own cultural identity anyway but, I think it is extremely misleading and detrimental to almost deny one part of your heritage.
I see the ‘adult’ results of denial in terms of racial heritage in a lot of people of mixed parentage that I grew up with. I have said it before but unfortunately when I was growing up mixed race often meant mixed up! One in particular used to go round telling people that ther mother was raped by a black man and that as that was the case, this made her more white!!! It was painful to watch as they tried desperately hard to be accepted by people who heavily associate race with colour.
to be honest i am not critcising because everywhere is different and i do not judge.. but i find america’s one drop rule a little strange
I agree with that part of your statement though
I’m a few years late, but this blog has been very interesting to read, as well as the comments. Being a black woman (Caribbean-American) pregnant with a child from a white man (Irish-American), so this gives me alot to think about. Perceptions of what some believe are mind blowing to me. Believe me, I will be walking around proud with my biracial child no matter what the skin color. Maybe she will even make this list 20 or so years from now if there is still a Wikipedia
Hey SMB
Congratulations to you and your partner:-) . I definately agree with what you are saying about her walking around proud. I think much of the confusing/odd statments on forums like this obviously stem from ill educated upbringings – not just parents but any adult influences which is in part where children start to develop their ideas from. Hopefully in your case the example in the home will stand your child in good stead in the future – I certainly hope the same for my children too.
Can I ask (just being nosey really) what part of the Caribbean do your family hail from?
SLASH BLACK WHATTTTTTTTTTT! lol
It goes white and black and dutch and german and native american and european…..multi more than two and not bi. Holy Ghost the definition “bi” may be racist and nasty. Andwe are not “black only” God blessed you nasty racist pennsylvanian, maryland north eastern MEN….HOLY SPIRIT WILL tell me the truth. It shows up top we are not all blacks! How dare we go against The plan of God, and “we are” more on the white side via Holy Ghost. “we’re white”.
jurnee smollett and amber rose should be added to this list: http://ethnicelebs.com/jurnee-smollett
Zadie Smith would be a thrid British person on this list.
third*
you know what abagond, I’ve complained to you about this before. you are very biased when it comes to the mixed race posts, you only focus on the black men/white women interracials, and only do slave posts when it comes to black women/white men and then you don’t focus AT ALL on the dark skinned Black children, you don’t do posts about their struggles really, even though they’re the majority of the Black population, hardly any posts about the struggles that dark skinned Black children face.
“The third one – that it goes deeper into the past – is no surprise because white men were allowed to take black women as mistresses or even rape them; black men were not accorded the same privileges with white women.”
I mentioned this before “privileges…” being raped/mistress is a privilege?.. and then the IQ bit..so Black women are stupid basically?… maybe it has something to do with the stress of racism and how even controlling for socio-economics black women are more likely to have botched pregnancies from the stress of racism alone, that could be affecting the outcome of the pregnancy.
I always say any child that comes out of the Black woman’s womb is seen as the bottom of the barrel, doesn’t matter what race the father is, that is how it’s always been. why no posts on the struggles of Black children, it’s always the biracial-black kids and their struggles.
@ Peanut
1. I do not see myself having that bias but I will take your word for it – especially if other commenters agree – since almost by definition one is blind to one’s own biases.
2. The thing about rape “privileges” was meant to be an ironic reference to lynching. I changed the language to make it more straightforward.
3. The IQ thing is a Strange Fact whose cause is unknown. I never read it as “black women are stupid” but that IQ has little to do with the race of one’s parents since the IQ scores do not come out the way you would expect from a white racist point of view.
I find it interesting that Abagond never assumed or even suspected that any of these persons were “mixed” before knowing the facts. In other words, each of these people were assigned to a racial category in the mind before any of the facts were known.
Maybe we could see a blog entry about the tendency to assign multi-racial people to a single race and the effect that this has on people and society.
@Jefe
Maybe we could see a blog entry about the tendency to assign multi-racial people to a single race and the effect that this has on people and society.
Yes, looking at ‘perception’ ,the ‘assigning’ of race and the application of that to individuals would be an interesting topic methinks.
leave abagond alone!
My motheer is black and my father is white, so I experience these weird scenarios where white people think I’m black and black people think I’m white. Jefe has an interesting point about assigning a mixed-race as a single race, but people always ask me what colour am I, and I always respond that I am purple.
It always gets a laugh.
I don’t think mixed-race people should have to choose an identity, as we are all human beings, no matter what we look like on the outside. To classify ourselves as different from each other is primitive, and hopefully one day we will forget our racist past and judge ourselves based on our character rather than our gender or race.
@Peanut
You are on point about stress.
http://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/lifechanges_indepth.html
Stress can possibly complicate pregnancy leading to more low-birth rate, preemie babies, high infant mortality rate and developmental issue for the growing child.
Interesting….. When are we going to be honest about the socialization and historical aspects of race in this country, as well as the reality of White supremacy? To play the let’s forget about race motto isn’t coming any time soon and why would Whites give up the status that comes with it, by and large? Hence, the reason all people of substantial Black African descent are viewed as or identify as Black under this social construct. A lot of slaves were products of WM/BW too. Think about that…..
I worked with Minnie Ripperton for a quick minute, it was a tumultuous tour for me with a conflict with the music director.
But , before we went out on the “Perfect Angle ” tour, we would rehearse at her house. And there was little Maya running around in her diapers.
My son is no bs when it comes to defending his identity, dont mess with him on any side, because he will be right in someone’s face if they implicate him in any way because of his bi racial background
There are a number of blogs and websites out there which discuss problems and issues that multiracial people deal with, including being assigned to racial categories by others. Abagond does not have to feel obligated to include blog posts about it unless he wants to.
However, I just found it interesting, as a blogger whose content has trended to focus on race issues in America over the past few years, he does some of the very things which, in another context, he would rail against (eg, some of the delusions that white protestant people believe about white people or black people or Asians or muslims or jews, etc.). On the one hand, he admits that not until after doing some research on multiracial people, he did not know that they were multiracial (meaning that he assigned them to a racial category). On the other hand, he has labelled some persons delusional if they do not accept or identify with the category that has been assigned to them.
A thousand people assign me to a thousand different categories. I suppose they all think I am delusional.
The fact that people are now allowed to officially identify themselves as multiracial if they want (eg, at least since the 2000 census), together with the growth of multiracial organizations on college campuses and in other areas of society, it is NOT DELUSIONAL if multiracial people do not fully accept at least some of the single categories they are assigned to by different people. It is not delusional if they want to come up with a new vocabulary to describe themselves.
Zadie Smith is also Jamaican/British. . . she identifies with black. Most of her novels tend to deal with such unions (black woman/ white man).
Oddly enough, mixed black British women all but marry black men.
@phoebeprunelle
Zadie Smith reminds me of Tracee Ellis Ross.
Oddly enough, mixed black British women all but marry black men.
I would say its about 50/50 and is most probably influenced by cultural upbrining.
@Demerera,
If you say so.
My eperience with mixed black chicks from Britain is a “mixed” one. The ones I have befriended get along great with black women; yet they dump on black men. In their eyes they are either lazy, non monogamous, not good providers etc. If you notice, Smith’s novels never really feature black men as marriagable. There have been mixed black sons in her books that try to identify strongly with their black side, but in the end they wind up making very bad decisions thus reinforcing Smith’s belief about black men.
Although she doesn’t apply here in this post–because she has a white mum/black dad–Corinne Bailey Rae is another example. She had nothing positive to say about black men and women when she attended the Grammy’s. In fact, she tried to justify why she thought Britain was oh so better and more refined with its treatment of blacks. Interestingly enough, Smith talks openly about how bad racism is towards blacks in Britain, even though she seemingly prefers white men.
Also, I seriously doubt that children born to black women/white men are “less” intelligent than black men/white women offspring.
Of course the study was done in the 1970′s still a time when the dismantling of Jim Crow was very very new and it was nothing more than racist propaganda.
Race does not determine a child’s ability to learn; what does is enviroment. The whole thing is quite silly!
If you notice; white man/black woman unions are usually the most threatening to whites. White people did that study.
@phoebeprunelle
She had nothing positive to say about black men and women when she attended the Grammy’s. In fact, she tried to justify why she thought Britain was oh so better and more refined with its treatment of blacks.
Is her negativity down to personal experience or merely nurturing? Too many mixed race children I grew up with grew up without their black father playing a primary role in their life. This coupled with the white mother cussing their ‘Black B@stard’ father leads to a lot of identity issues and shame and an attempt to disassociate themselves with this negativity.
As adults we have choices as to whether we continue with this way of thinking or challenge it – some do, many dont which is terrible.
There is a singer called Pauline Black (Selecter) – a mixed race woman who was brought up by her adoptive white parents. She struggled (and from what I can see still struggles) to embrace her ‘black’ heritage though she does seem to try. She said that her mother said to her once that when she is courting she had better not bring no ‘darkies’ home!!!
This, IMO is one of the other aspects of being mixed race. Some WP can cope with you cos, after all, you are half like them, particularly if you dont ‘act’ black. This type of thinking is quite common in the UK in that there is much more acceptance if you are like this. In the U.S, I suspect that Corrine Bailey Rae was probably acutely aware that despite her racial mix, she would be considered as nothing but black. I certainly dont think this makes the UK better than the U.S, on the contrary, the same underlying racism is still there though manifesting itself in different forms
@Demerera
<pIs her negativity down to personal experience or merely nurturing? Too many mixed race children I grew up with grew up without their black father playing a primary role in their life. This coupled with the white mother cussing their ‘Black B@stard’ father leads to a lot of identity issues and shame and an attempt to disassociate themselves with this negativity.
I can’t say for sure, I just know that her parents divorced when she was a pre-teen and then she was raised by her mom. She has made some subtle comments about her blackness that seem “shaky”. She married a white man and he was the one who introduced her to African American blues and soul musicians. Sadly, he died from a heroine overdose back in 09. She hasn’t remarried but I am sure if and when she does it won’t be to a man that resembles her father.
Zadie Smith–as I said before-is way more progressive minded. She identifies solely with being black. Her mom a Jamaican immigrant and her dad an Englishman divorced when she was a pre-teen also. She will speak agaisnt the injustices done to blacks, but I just do not see her being able to love black men romantically. If her mom preferred white men, then you could argue that was nuturing.
Deandre Brackensick, Evan Ross, Josh Koscheck, Norval Marley. Don’t know many female ones though.
Josh Koscheck, Andre Ward, DeAndre Brackensick, Jonah Alderman, Imani Coppola, Omar Wasow, Georgio Allentini, Pat Smear, Roy Campenella, Van Vicker, Evan Ross, Trajan Langdon, Eliot DeNiro, Brooklyn Sudano, Rebecca Walker, Taimak, Giancarlo Esposito, etc.