Race/Ethnicity
Questions 201-210
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THE
QUESTION:
R210: It seems that there are a great deal of blacks who are
"reverends." Is this a title that is easily attainable? How does one
become a "reverend"? Are the qualifications the same for whites as
for blacks?
POSTED APRIL 24, 1998
Stan <stan192@aol.com>
New York, N.Y.
ANSWER 1:
"Reverend" is synonymous with minister, pastor and
preacher. As far as I know, most reverends in the African-American
community earn the title through divinity school.
POSTED SEPT. 1, 1998
Diane, Durham , NC
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THE QUESTION:
R209: I've noticed that many Chaldeans do not keep the outside
of their homes and yards in good shape. Is this something not felt to
be important to them?
POSTED APRIL 23, 1998
B.H., 30, male, Sterling Heights, MI
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THE QUESTION:
R208: I would like to hear what the women of the Mideast/Arab
part of the world have to say about the state of the world as they
see it.
POSTED APRIL 23, 1998
Ricardo, Detroit
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THE QUESTION:
R207: It seems African-Americans have taken larger roles in
sports such as basketball and football, but don't participate as much
in other areas of athletics (ice hockey, tennis, etc.) Why aren't
African-Americans interested in these sports as much?
POSTED APRIL 23, 1998
Matthew B.
<0023471@gps.gp.k12.mi.us>,
Grosse Pointe City, MI
ANSWER 1:
This is pretty much a situation where access and money
determine involvement. All that's required to play basketball and
football are a ball, which almost everyone can afford, and a field or
court, which are free and easy to find in most neighborhoods. For
hockey, tennis and golf, you need expensive equipment and entry to a
golf course, tennis courts or ice rink, which are facilities not
commonly found in poor neighborhoods.
POSTED APRIL 24, 1998
Sara, Oakland, CA
FURTHER NOTICE:
Blacks are making inroads in some of the sports you
mentioned. A lot of what you consider a lack of participation is
economics. To play basketball, all you need is a ball or to just show
up at a court and play. Football is more or less the same. I was
signing my son up for roller hockey, which can later lead to ice
hockey, and it was going to cost me about $400 plus the sign-up fee.
And he may not even like it. My kids swim on a swim team, costing
about $300 a quarter. With tennis, you have to usually join a club.
Blacks do most of the same sports as whites when given a chance, but
sometimes it's a matter of having access to the facilities. To run,
all you need are your feet and shoes. To bowl, you need shoes, balls
and to pay the lane fees. A lot of blacks cannot afford to give their
kids ice-skating lessons or gymnastic lessons. The few who do usually
do well. With Venus Williams and Tiger Woods, (tennis and golf
players, respectively) shown more in the media, black kids are
starting to want to play those sports. We'll see what the future
holds.
POSTED APRIL 26, 1998
Jas, black
<themoas@aol.com>,
Pensacola, FL
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
There have been numerous African Americans in figure
skating in the past (Bobby Beauchamp and Atoy Williams to name two);
however, when Debi Thomas made the national and Olympic spotlight, a
lot of African-American kids saw her and wanted to skate like her. I
know a few people who turned the beat around and taught themselves
how to figure skate either because of economics or because of subtle
discrimination at a rink. My fiancee and I, who are black, have been
skating for 20 years and have seen the gradual increase in black
skaters, adults included. Sometimes it's a matter of priorities and
not necessarily economics - if it's important for some of us to wear
a long weave or fake nails over our child's interest in skating, then
that's where the money goes. Sometimes it's a matter of sacrifices -
take that weave money and buy a good pair of skates so that child
could emulate Debi Thomas and possibly become a better, disciplined
and focused person.
POSTED SEPT. 29, 1998
Cee Gee, African American, West Orange, NJ
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THE QUESTION:
R206: My younger brother is having a problem with his race.
Our mother is black and his father is Greek. My brother's skin color
is very light, and he has thin hair as if he were white. He is 13,
lives in an African-American community and attends a public school
that is majority black. The problem is he has been picked on because
of the way he looks. He has been in fights and has been kicked out of
school. Sometimes he feels the teachers pick him out from the rest of
the class for no reason when they are having a problem controlling
their class. He now wonders if all his problems are caused by the way
he looks. My brother doesn't know what he is anymore or where he fits
in. He doesn't know if he should be black or Greek. What should or
could he do?
POSTED APRIL 21, 1998
Denise C., 20, black
Detroit, MI
(Director's Note: A reply from someone with a background in
mixed-heritage services or programs, potentially with knowledge of
resources this person could access, would be preferred.)
ANSWER 1:
In school, if you're a late bloomer, overweight, short,
wear glasses, look different from the norm (i.e. mixed heritage),
answer too many of the teacher's questions or set yourself apart in
any way (by choice or not by choice), there is a good chance you will
be harassed. I have many stories of being harrassed because of my
mixed cultural background, and one of my best friends who went
through school with me was constantly in fights and picked on because
of his weight. There are some sad people out there who only feel good
about themselves when they try to put others down. As far as what
"heritage" he should follow - that is a very personal choice. I
choose to consider myself a plain old American, but there are times
when I take note of certain cultural holidays because of my
black/Mexican backround. However, I am not choosing one heritage over
another by doing so.
POSTED APRIL 23, 1998
Dan, Detroit, MI
FURTHER NOTICE:
My sons have similar problems (their mom is black, I'm
white), and they often get bothered, too. The thing that helps them
be strong is to talk to them, let them know they are unique and
special (and they are) and let them know where each of their
characteristics comes from. My older son's hair is more like his
mothers, my younger son's hair is more like mine. We talk about it.
Talking with him, letting him know that who and what he is is OK, is
the best thing you can do. Let him know that being different is OK
and that he doesn't have to go out of his way to hide his difference
or promote it.
POSTED APRIL 23, 1998
Alex, 39
<aleavens@mindspring.com>
Lawrenceville, GA
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
As the single parent of a culturally mixed child
(white/African American) I have been asked many times over the years
questions regarding society's acceptance of her. We lived in the
North her first seven years and here in the South the last 11. I have
made every effort to allow my child to realize the benefits of her
mixed heritage and be proud of it. However, color was never an issue
here in the home and I believe that is a major reason she never had a
problem. I was careful to live in mixed areas, have her attend
racially mixed schools and continuously stressed her individuality
and the fact her uniqueness allowed her to be the best of both
worlds. As a social worker, I can safely say that her attitude is
probably even healthier than mine on the issue of race. She sees
neither black or white in her mirror. She sees herself. May I suggest
that your brother be allowed to socialize and mix with all cultures
so that he can find his owns likes and dislikes based not on color
but on value? While my daughter's father was not involved in her life
in any way, she has taken great interest in her Afro-American
culture, having found the rich heritage of this culture most
interesting and exciting.
POSTED MAY 4, 1998
K. Taylor
<kdm05@bellsouth.net>,
Jacksonville, FL
FURTHER NOTICE 3:
I am Arabic, black, white, East Indian, native South
American Indian, Spanish and Portuguese. Though I am fairly
dark-skinned I have been told I don't "look" black. There is a myth
that the black community (as a whole) is totally accepting of their
mixed children. Some blacks are, some aren't. I too have been beaten,
ostracized and ridiculed by blacks for not being "pure" or "really"
black. The decision your brother is facing is the difficult decision
that all mixed children struggle with. That decision is whether to
mono-racially or multi-racially identify. I faced it at 16 and was
very confused. Please let your brother know that the racial choice he
makes will not change how people treat him. He must understand this
is a personal choice, and he should not let social or political
powers influence it. Even after his choice is made it will take time
for him to become fully comfortable with it. For more information on
mixed peoples and their lives go to http://www.webcom.com/intvoice.
Also, there is http://www.myshoes.com, a site for children who are
racially mixed and are light or look white. I gain strength in
knowing I am not alone. My decision was to multiracially identify,
though it has not changed how people of all races deal with me. It is
the choice I am happy with. Please support his choice, whatever it
is. Best wishes!
POSTED AUG. 28, 1998
Sylena, 20, multiracial, Boston, MA
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THE QUESTION:
R205: Through the periods of America's development, black folk
have always been there, militarily and in the construction and
feeding of the country, serving with honor and loyalty. With the
influx of new immigrants who were former enemies, such as Japanese,
Koreans and Vietnamese, what does this still-existing loyalty from
Black America mean to whites today?
Mike, black,
<CAROLMIKE@EROLS.COM>
Wheaton, MD
ANSWER 1:
That loyalty means the same to me as my father's,
grandfather's and great-grandfather's. They served in World War I,
World War II and Vietnam - they happen to be white, but that should
not make a difference to one's loyalty to one's country.
POSTED APRIL 23,1998
Dan, Royal Oak, MI
FURTHER NOTICE:
I spent 10 years in the active duty military and am now in
the state Guard primarily because of the sense of duty I feel I owe
this country. I know that the first man killed in the Boston Massacre
was black (one of our first patriots) and recognize the contributions
made by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil
War, the 9th Cavalry in the Indian Campaigns, the 10th Cavalry being
next to Teddy Roosevelt's '"Rough Riders" in the Battle of San
Juan/Kettle Hill, the Tuskegee Airmen, etc. Knowing this, it sickens
and shocks me when I see blacks put this country down when they have
been here for generations and contributed much more than I. However,
what the Nisei Regiment did in WWII is commendable, as well as the
contributions made by the Navaho code breakers. I see many children
of the Vietnamese boat people graduating from our service academies
also. So my answer is no, it doesn't bother me when I see those of
other races enjoying the freedoms of this country. The only thing
that bothers me is their lack of historical perspective. Most kids in
this country of any race haven't got a clue about Pearl Harbor, but
they know all about Jefferson owning slaves. I find the whole thing
very sad
POSTED JUNE 16, 1998
David Y., European-American
<LttlGTO@aol.com>,
Oakland, CA
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THE QUESTION:
R204: Is it true that in the black community, black
woman-white man relationships are frowned upon more - or receive more
opposition - than black man-white woman relationships?
POSTED APRIL 21, 1998
J. Joseph, Detroit, MI
ANSWER 1:
See the interesting answer by a mom to R97. My experience
and observations are that it is just the opposite: Black man/white
woman is still the most emotionally charged combination, and the
objections seem to come most from white men and black women. I think
it has to do with a) the white male power structure finding it
threatening and b) the black sisterhood feeling there are not enough
black men due to drugs, poverty, a horrible imbalance in the criminal
justice system and gang violence, so if a black man dates a white
woman, it can be seen as a rejection of the black woman and a
narrowing of romantic choices for them. When a black woman dates a
white man, however (and this is happening much more often here in the
Bay Area), many people see it as a way for her to move up the
socioeconomic ladder.
POSTED APRIL 26, 1998
Joan, San Francisco
FURTHER NOTICE:
We must have lived in a different Bay Area than you do -
my wife and I lived there for 10 years, and I can count on the
fingers of one hand the number of times I saw a black female/white
male couple, but quite often saw white female/black male couples. For
years, we were the only interracial couple we knew, and we knew a lot
of folks. (I'm white, my wife's black). I also disagree with your
analysis about the couplings - I think a permanent union (i.e.
marriage) between a black female and white male is sort of the least
socially accepted. Most white guys think it's great if a white guy is
dating a black girl, but terrible if he's going to marry her. ("What
happened? Did she get pregnant? Are you sure you're the father? Blah,
blah, blah...") Nobody ever stops to think that you might be together
because you feel like you belong to each other, because you feel as
though this person understands you better than anyone else ever has
or could. (I fell in love with my wife the first time I ever saw her
in Spanish class - one look and I knew my heart belonged to her and
always would. It's belonged to her 20 years now.)
POSTED MAY 2, 1998
Alex, 39, white
<aleavens@mindspring.com>
Lawrenceville, GA
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THE QUESTION:
R203: Director's Paraphrase: Z. of Bellingham, Wash., feels
the Nation of Islam is a black supremacist organization. He wonders
why white supremacist organizations such as neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux
Klan have been violently suppressed by white people, but that African
Americans embrace the Nation of Islam. Y? would prefer either a
member of the Nation of Islam or someone who has studied the
organization to describe its purpose and history, and to then address
the question.
POSTED APRIL 21, 1998
ANSWER 1:
The Nation Of Islam espouses black separatism, not
supremacy. White supremacist groups contend the present U.S.
government is illegitimate and that acts of violent resistance are
justified. The Nation of Islam's "Muslim Program" states: We
recognize and respect American citizens as independent peoples, and
we respect their laws which govern this nation." The violent
suppression of white supremacists is not because the government
simply finds white supremacy an odious ideology that needs to be
stamped out, but because white supremacists have committed acts of
violence against the United States and its residents, ranging from
bank robbings and murders to the terrorist bombings in Oklahoma City
and at the Atlanta Olympics. While the Nation of Islam has said many
inflammatory and infuriating things about whites in general, and Jews
in particular, it has yet to be proved they've blown anyone up.
POSTED APRIL 23, 1998
Jay B., black
<jayboyd@ameritech.net>
Detroit, MI
FURTHER NOTICE:
To Jay B.: How do you know white supremacists were
involved in the Atlanta Olympic bombing? I am not a white supremacist
but am offended you would think only a white person would do this.
Why couldn't a black or Asian or Indian have done it?
POSTED APRIL 30, 1998
Kate, 18, Troy, NY
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
To Kate: 1) The voice of the caller who called Atlanta
Police prior to the explosion was described as that of a white man,
probably an American. 2) The Atlanta bomb contained parts that link
it to a bombing of a clinic in Birmingham, Ala. This incident
occurred in January of this year. The FBI traced these parts to a
machine shop in North Carolina, where a friend of their prime suspect
happens to work. 3) The presumption of innocence is not a privilege,
it's a right. But it isn't the only right. We, you, me, everybody,
has the right to think or believe whatever we want. We are only bound
to presume someone is innocent when called for jury duty. So unless
by some unforeseen turn of events, the FBI charges some non-whites
for the Atlanta bombing, and by some even stranger circumstance, the
venue of the trial is changed to Detroit and I'm chosen to sit on the
jury, I'm totally within my rights to believe,based on what I've seen
and heard, whatever I want.
POSTED APRIL 30, 1998
Jay B., black male
<jayboyd@ameritech.net>
Detroit, MI
FURTHER NOTICE 3:
For the sake of argument, let us suppose that the Nation
of Islam is now merely a black separatist sect. There are a few
marginal groups that claim to be white separatists, rather than
supremacists, and they are marginal because the vast majority of
whites don't buy into that spurious distinction. The only reason for
racial separatism is a core premise that other races are
inferior.
POSTED MAY 14, 1998
Z., Bellingham, WA
FURTHER NOTICE 4:
You have a point, Z.; however, the fact remains that as of
yet, there is no evidence Louis Farrakhan or the NOI has done
anything illegal. Be you black or white, preaching racial
supremacy/separation is protected under the First Amendment. Robbing
banks and committing murder, which some white supremacists have done,
to further one's racist agenda is not protected.
POSTED MAY 26, 1998
Jay B.
<jayboyd@ameritech.net>,
Detroit, MI
FURTHER NOTICE 5:
My point is that racism should be unpopular, not illegal.
Overt white racists - even law-abiding ones - have not been
significantly popular in this country for 30 years, and their
popularity has been declining since 1865. Overt black racists, by
contrast, are more popular than ever. Is white racism the only kind
of racism that is wrong?
POSTED JUNE 12, 1998
Z.,Bellingham, WA
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THE QUESTION:
R202: Why are white males fixated on the female breast?
POSTED APRIL 21, 1998
Martin, Dallas, Texas
ANSWER 1:
It's not just white males. Count me in, too!
POSTED APRIL 23, 1998
Jay B., black male
<jayboyd@ameritech.net>
Detroit, MI
FURTHER NOTICE:
Working in the fashion industry has taught me the ones who
are concerned with women's breasts are women. Women are always
commenting on what is wrong or right about their bodies. If men
really felt the way women claim they do about the female anatomy,
there would be a whole lot of single women in the world. Overall, the
men I have this with admit they comment on breasts and hips/butt a
lot because women do the same (shoulders, chest, butt, thighs).
POSTED APRIL 24, 1998
Karmen, 22
<ricki615@aol.com>,
Detroit, MI
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
Why not be? The female body, with some obvious exceptions,
is one of God's most beautiful creations.
POSTED JUNE 5, 1998
Blake, 34, red-blooded white male, San Diego County, CA
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THE QUESTION:
R201: Growing up in Queens, N.Y., it was a "requirement" that
you knew how to play chess. I wonder : Do white people believe blacks
don't play chess, since the media only shows blacks in physical
activities?
POSTED APRIL 21, 1998
Jas, black
<themoas@aol.com>,
Pensacola, FL
ANSWER 1:
I would have to say I'd never thought about it. In fact, I
never really think about chess at all - but if someone had asked me
to close my eyes and picture a chess player, my automatic mental
image probably wouldn't have been a black. Thanks for raising my
consciousness a little.
POSTED MAY 2, 1998
A. Morgan, 33, white, Houston
FURTHER NOTICE:
When I walk by the park, almost all the people playing
chess are black. So I have not held the notion that all chess players
are from the former Soviet Union for a long time. By the way, the
chess board is a great metaphor: Black and white facing off against
each other. But without the differences in color and pieces, there
would be no game.
POSTED JUNE 8, 1998
thsmith, 28, white, Los Angeles, CA
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
FYI, in the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer,
Lawrence Fishburne, who is black, plays the part of a champion park
chess player.
POSTED JUNE 25, 1998
Jeffrey D., KY
FURTHER NOTICE 3:
One of my fond childhood memories is my 12th year, when
every day after school I had a standing Chess game with the only
Chinese boy in the neighborhood. He always won (I wasn't a great
Chess player) but I liked that, because it was a challenge. We played
on the front steps of his house, and I was never invited inside;
being the only "ethnic" family in the neighborhood, I think they felt
isolated and rejected by the whites. My very first friends in this
world were the two sons of the black couple next door (a different,
but also all-white and racist neighborhood), who were my heroes - one
was a born scientist and taught me cool science stuff, and the other
was an incredible athlete. They were the ones who taught me all the
childhood games ("Hands Down" was a favorite), and I remember
watching them play Chess, but I was too young to learn it then. To
me, they wore an air of wisdom and strategic mystery as they played,
which of course both frustrated me with the desire to join in and
inspired in me a love for the game. Ever since, I think of playing
Chess as something very mature, sophisticated and mysterious. I'm
still bad at Chess, as I don't possess much of those three
qualities!
POSTED OCT. 22, 1998
The Well, 37, Caucasian (British mix)
<the_well@pacbell.net>,
San Diego, CA
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