In his first press conference as President-Elect, Barack Obama famously referred to himself as a mutt comparing himself to dog of impure breed. Many people thought he was disrespecting his own mixed race heritage, but I thought it was brilliant self-deprecating humor acknowledging his mixed race background and also acknowledging that people of biracial background have previously been seen as impure. The irony of the statement was that the mutt was about to be in the White House. Now when biracial children are teased
and called mutts, zebras or mulattos, they can say, “So is the President.”
Being of mixed race when one parent is black and the other is white can be complicated to categorize. Because of the old “one-drop” rule, most Euro-African biracials have been categorized as Black. I agree with this generalization somewhat but it does not tell the whole story. I believe that being biracial is a category within being black or African-American. Historically, biracials have been given the same legal treatment as blacks.
Biracials have always been part of the struggle for African-American freedom. Through the struggle against slavery, the Civil Rights movement, and the global struggle for African rights.
That said, here’s a list of several Euro-African Americans who have contributed to the struggle for freedom, rights, and acceptance of African-Americans.
It’s expected nearly 75 million Americans will identify with more than one
race by 2050. It’s a powerful new force that cannot be ignored.
