The ink is black, the page is white ....

Guest · **Posted:** Sat Dec 28, 2002 5:07 pm

NEW YORK (AP) â€” Margaret Taylor Hancock, whose upbringing in a multiracial home was chronicled in a book by her daughter, died Tuesday in Branford, Conn. She was 90.<
Hancock, who was born in Washington, grew up black while her siblings, from whom she was separated at age 4, grew up white.*** What the hell ...?? You are what you are, racially speaking, for time and all eternity. How does one exactly "grow up white" or "grow up black"? Do they have the option of choosing their race when they turn 18 through the Selective Service System?

SusanV · **Posted:** Sat Dec 28, 2002 5:43 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Jim Thomsen:
NEW YORK (AP) — Margaret Taylor Hancock, whose upbringing in a multiracial home was chronicled in a book by her daughter, died Tuesday in Branford, Conn. She was 90.<
Hancock, who was born in Washington, grew up black while her siblings, from whom she was separated at age 4, grew up white.*** What the hell ...?? You are what you are, racially speaking, for time and all eternity. How does one exactly "grow up white" or "grow up black"? Do they have the option of choosing their race when they turn 18 through the Selective Service System?<hr></blockquote>Not exactly, but in the segregated South--and many other places as well--there were many light-skinned blacks who could and did pass for white. Growing up white meant a life of privileges and opportunities that was denied blacks.[ December 28, 2002: Message edited by: SusanV ]

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Sat Dec 28, 2002 7:24 pm

A friend in the business had a black father and a white mother. She has typical black features -- most people are amazed that she has a white parent. She grew up in the hood and thinks of herself as black -- a choice of sorts.Her father was a professor who taught and wrote about Shakespeare; her mother specialized in teaching foreign college students the finer points of English. They encouraged my friend to speak in a way that amazes others of all races who meet her after having spoken with her on the phone -- she's told she talks "white."According to my friend, if you look black in this country, you are forced to make a choice on how to perceive yourself -- because if you don't, others continually will for you.Of course, if your complexion is lighter (or for whites, darker) than typical, you might be able to "pass" for something else -- which is another choice.Whether we like it or not, racism exists in many ways. Parents in "mixed-race" families have a responsibility to make their children aware of the dangers; all parents have the responsibility to discourage racism.Which might not have much to do with the original point of this thread.End of sermon.

Guest · **Posted:** Sat Dec 28, 2002 10:11 pm

Actually, Wayne, that's exactly what I was pointing at. Nicely articulated, and thanks. The writer not only oversimplified but grossly distorted this person's life's circumstances for the sake of glibness.

SusanV · **Posted:** Sun Dec 29, 2002 12:33 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Jim Thomsen:
The writer not only oversimplified but grossly distorted this person's life's circumstances for the sake of glibness.<hr></blockquote>You don't know that. The book may have used that language, which could have come from the woman herself (or her daughter). I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that she'd talked about herself in that manner.Even if it isn't actually in the book, I fail to see how it qualifies as a gross distortion.[ December 29, 2002: Message edited by: SusanV ]

Pam · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2002 11:29 am

>>You are what you are, racially speaking, for time and all eternity.>> In the early days of census, a families' race was recorded as viewed through the eyes of the census-taker. It was not unusual for multiracial familes to be recorded as black one year, white another, and mullato yet another. (The family in question did indeed go through changes, as explained quite poignantly in the book -- "The Sweeter the Juice.")Now families self-designate. And with the advent of the expanded multiracial categories on the last census, many people did change their designation.How people view themselves and how society views them aren't always the same thing.But more than anything, this thread reflects how very white most newsrooms are. And we wonder why readership is low in our minority communities.

Rio · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2002 11:37 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Pam:
But more than anything, this thread reflects how very white most newsrooms are.<hr></blockquote>How?

Pam · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2002 11:41 am

>>How does one exactly "grow up white" or "grow up black"?<<This is the kind of question only a white person would ask and actually need answered.

Bumfketeer · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2002 12:22 pm

I spent the early years of my life in the segregated South. I lived with a grandmother who, while still mentally sharp and pushing 100, remains a dedicated segregationist. Sad.Believe me, I do not need the "growing up black/white" concept explained to me. I am just assuming that it is outside of the original poster's experience and thus not understood. For this we should be happy.

ADKbrown · **Posted:** Tue Dec 31, 2002 1:52 pm

It's interesting that our society considers mixed-race children black--unless they are so light-skinned that they can "pass" for white. Such children are, genealogically, as much "white" as black, perhaps more white than black in many cases. It makes you realize how arbitrary the distinction between races is. For more information, I refer you to "Puddin' Head Wilson" by Mark Twain.

Emily Salmon · **Joined:** Sat Nov 16, 2002 1:01 am **Posts:** 86

There was recently an article on this in The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38089-2002Dec25.html

ADKbrown · **Posted:** Tue Dec 31, 2002 7:50 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Emily Salmon:
There was recently an article on this in The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38089-2002Dec25.html<hr></blockquote>Thanks for the link. I meant to point out earlier the media's insistence on identifying Tiger Woods as black even though his mother is Asian and his father is of mixed ancestory.[ December 31, 2002: Message edited by: ADKbrown ]

JonScribe · **Posted:** Mon Jan 06, 2003 1:55 am

Would it have helped to write that the child had been "raised black" rather than "grew up black?"

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