Racial identity merely a label
October 2, 2007 by The Red and Black Archives
Filed under Opinions
Four years later, and it’s d�j�-vu all over again – I’m filling out college applications (this time for graduate school.) As I mull through the usual questions, I begin to feel the nearly forgotten yet all too familiar sensation of dread for the awaiting inquiry: “Please indicate your race.” My first instinct is to say “White.” After all, I look white, right?
However, when I scroll down to that option, I am dismayed to find out that by white, they mean, “Not of Hispanic descent.”
And here we go again. I have to confront the issue that’s plagued me my entire multi-ethnic life. I’ve never even made a definitive decision on how to pronounce my last name, for fear of offending someone.
Am I lying if I call myself white? Aren’t I also lying if I call myself Hispanic? Will people think I’m just trying to cheat for the sake of affirmative action? Should I just say, “Other?” What does that even mean?
Then I realize that I’m getting myself all worked up over something that doesn’t even exist.
Anyone who’s taken Sociology 1101 can tell you race is a socially constructed reality. There is no singular biological determinant for racial distinctions. In fact, there is just as much genetic diversity within races as there is between them. It seems race is something we just made up.
That is not to say that race doesn’t matter. Racial issues pack a serious historical punch, and we still are living with the ramifications of race-based exploits today.
The truth of the matter is that, as long as people of differing backgrounds are treated differently, racial labels still will apply.
When we label someone as “black,” we are not only indexing the color of that person’s skin, but also the hardships and discrimination that person mostly likely has dealt with.
Members of marginalized ethnic groups often turn to one another for solidarity. They share a culture and an understanding.
We have entire months dedicated to the celebration of this reality. But where does that leave people of multiple ethnicities? Without a clear racial identity, we are like birds without a flock, struggling to belong anywhere.
Just look at what Sen. Barack Obama has to deal with. If elected, he would be the first American president of color, yet black activists such as the Rev. Al Sharpton are hesitant to support him and say he’s not black enough.
While people of multiple ethnicities have a hard time fitting in, we have an easy time understanding most everyone. I know what it’s like to assume the privileges of white society, yet I’m enough of an outsider to know that such privileges exist.
At the end of the day, I’m neither white nor Hispanic. I’m Chelsea Toledo, and I’ll pronounce my last name however I feel like it.
Multiple ethnicities are not indicators of multiple identity disorders any more than skin color is an indicator of intelligence or athletic ability. When more than 99 percent of our DNA is exactly the same, the race with which we should feel the most solidarity is the human one.
- Chelsea Toledo is a senior from Atlanta majoring in linguistics.
