Passing for Black

You want to read this essay by artist Adrian Piper, Passing for White, Passing for Black.

Here's an excerpt:

"My eminent professor was one of only two whites I have ever met who questioned my designated racial identity to my face. The other was a white woman junior professor, relatively new to the department, who, when I went on the job market at the end of graduate school, summoned me to her office and grilled me as to why I identified myself as black and exactly what fraction of African ancestry I had. The implicit ac-cusation behind both my professors' remarks was, of course, that I had fraud-ulently posed as black in order to take advantage of the department's commit-ment to affirmative action. It's an extraordinary idea, when you think about it: as though someone would willingly shoulder the stigma of being black in a racist society for the sake of a little extra professional consideration that guaran-tees nothing but suspicions of foul play and accusations of cheating. But it demonstrates just how irrationally far the suspicion of fraudulence can extend."

Comments

[Who's That Girl]

Hi Heidi and Fanshen. How about passing for members of other races? That could be another topic of discussion. Check out this episode of MTVs True Life which features a mixed chick (half black and half white) who attempts to pass for Costa Rican. http://www.mtv.com/videos/true-life-im-passing-as-someone-im-not/1662288/playlist.jhtml#series=2211&seriesId=5232&channelId=1. I wonder if there are other instances of this, or mixed chicks who try to or opt to "pass" for other races as well as their reasons behind it. And are there members of other racial groups that try to pass as "mixed"? Oh well, so many topics, so little time. Thanks for the great podcasts ladies! Keep them coming.

[Kahlil Crawford]

MOST African-Americans are PASSING for Black & NEED to quit FRONTIN'!!! Adrian Piper got sick of the WHOLE thing - she's GERMAN now!

[Benjamin Jancewicz]

That article was incredible.
I had a rough time growing up, being beat up and picked on for being white, even though I spoke, dressed, acted, thought and even DREAMED in the Native American culture.

It got even tougher when I came down to the States and was surrounded with people that looked like me but were worlds different.