National

Choosing Your Own: Definition of Race Becoming Fluid

Published

10 years ago

June 17, 2015

In this image released by NBC News, former NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal appears on the “Today” show set on Tuesday, June 16, 2015, in New York. Dolezal was born to two parents who say they are white, but she chooses instead to self-identify as black. (Anthony Quintano/NBC News via AP)

JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rachel Dolezal, born to white parents, self-identifies as black — a decision that illustrates how fluid identity can be in a diversifying America, as the rigid racial structures that have defined most of this country’s history seem, for some, to be softening.

Dolezal resigned as the leader of the NAACP’s Spokane, Washington, branch after questions surfaced about her racial identity. When asked directly on NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday whether she is “an African-American woman,” Dolezal replied, “I identify as black.”

Her parents identified her as white with a trace of Native American heritage, and her mother, Ruthanne Dolezal, has said Rachel began to “disguise herself” as black after her parents adopted four black children more than a decade ago.

Dolezal isn’t the first person to make this type of change. Millions of Americans changed racial or ethnic identities between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, even though their choices may have contradicted what their skin color appeared to be, or who their parents said they are.

“It forces us to really question whether or not this biological basis for identity is a smart path to continue down in the future,” said Camille Gear Rich, a University of Southern California law and sociology professor who writes about elective race choices.

Americans have become comfortable with people self-identifying their race, Rich said, “but often that invocation of identity based on a biological claim isn’t backed up by anything else after the claim is made.”

In the United States, there is an expectation that people would have a biological connection to a racial or an ethnic identity they are claiming, said Nikki Khanna, a University of Vermont sociology professor. She co-authored a 2010 study that found increasing numbers of biracial adults were choosing to self-identify as multiracial or black instead of white.

“There really is no biological basis to race, but what I’m saying is that in our society the everyday person tends to think race must have some link to ancestry,” Khanna said. “So we expect that when people self-identify with a particular group they must have some ancestral link to that group.”

In the past, race was determined mostly by what other people thought a person was. For example, the Census Bureau’s enumerators would determine on their own what a person’s race was, and classify them as such. By the 1960s and 1970s, census officials were allowing people to self-identify.

Currently, the Census Bureau allows people to choose a racial category, or even multiple categories, to which they think they belong. The census identifies races as white; black or African-American; American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and “some other race” for those claiming more than one race. There is also a Hispanic ethnic category.

People have been using that freedom since the early 2000s to move back and forth. They switched between races, moved from multiple races to a single race or back, or decided to add or drop Hispanic ethnicity from their identifiers on census forms.

Last year, a study showed that 1 in 16 people — or approximately 9.8 million of 162 million — who responded to both the 2000 and 2010 censuses gave different answers when it came to race and ethnicity. In addition, in the 2010 census, more than 21.7 million — at least 1 in 14 — went beyond the standard labels and wrote in such terms as “Arab,” ”Haitian,” ”Mexican” and “multiracial.”

Dolezal, 37, said Tuesday that published accounts described her first as “transracial,” then “biracial,” then as “a black woman.” ”I never corrected that,” she conceded, adding that “it’s more complex than being true or false in that particular instance.”

She and her parents have disagreed about her backstory. Dolezal says she started identifying as black around age 5, when she drew self-portraits with a brown crayon. Her mother told Fox News on Tuesday that’s not true.

Dolezal has gotten support from some in the black community, who say she should be allowed to self-identify as she pleases. However, other African-Americans say she is “passing” — a term mainly used to describe blacks who looked white enough to deny their African ancestry — and should not claim a racial identity that she cannot prove.

She isn’t the only person who has faced that accusation. An opponent of Houston Community College trustee Dave Wilson complained that campaign mailings Wilson sent to voters in the predominantly black district implied Wilson, who is white, was black. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts faced questions about her Native American ancestry during her last election after being listed as such in several law school directories.

Some people have used their ability to self-identify as another race simply to get access to resources aimed at minorities, Rich said, but “race is something that is a social contract and it is not something that you just passively inhabit.”

That’s why Rich said she isn’t comfortable with people announcing themselves as a member of a community. “There might be some spaces in which Rachel gets to be a black person, but I want to be very careful about any context in which she is taking away resources from people who have come from a more subordinated experience,” she said.

___

Jesse J. Holland covers race, ethnicity and demographics for The Associated Press. Contact him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jessejholland.

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Lawmakers Greenlight Reparations Study for Descendants of Enslaved Marylanders

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Maryland lawmakers have approved Senate Bill 587, authorizing the creation of the Maryland Reparations Commission.

Published

18 hours ago

April 4, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent

Maryland lawmakers have approved Senate Bill 587, authorizing the creation of the Maryland Reparations Commission. The body will study and make recommendations for reparations to descendants of enslaved people and others harmed by centuries of discriminatory policies. The legislation now awaits the governor’s signature and is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2025. The commission will examine Maryland’s long history of slavery, the economic and social systems that benefited from it, and the lingering impacts of those institutions. Its work will include recommendations on financial compensation, housing and business support, tuition waivers, and other forms of restitution. “This commission is not only about acknowledging our past – it’s about using that understanding to pave the way for a more equitable and fair future,” said Del. Jheanelle Wilkins, Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, which made reparations a top priority for the first time this legislative session.

From its founding in 1634 until the abolition of slavery in 1864, Maryland was a society built on slave labor. Tobacco, the colony’s staple crop, fueled economic growth and political dominance for the state’s elite. By the mid-18th century, nearly one-third of Maryland’s population was enslaved. Skilled and unskilled laborers like Frederick Douglass, who caulked ships in Baltimore, contributed to the state’s prosperity under brutal conditions. The legacy of that bondage continued to echo across generations. Del. Aletheia McCaskill, the lead sponsor of the House version of the bill, said the measure lays the groundwork for redress. “I am overjoyed at the passage of this monumental legislation,” McCaskill said. “This commission will gather historical evidence, examine present-day disparities, and provide a data-driven framework to acknowledge past harms. By recommending policies and developing solutions to repair the damage done, we can take meaningful steps toward true equity in our state.”

Sen. C. Anthony Muse, sponsor of the Senate version, called the passage historic. “We took a historic step towards justice and healing for our communities,” Muse remarked. “The passage of Maryland Senate Bill 587 marks a significant commitment to addressing the long-lasting effects of slavery and systemic inequities.” The commission’s membership will include lawmakers, historians, HBCU scholars, civil rights experts, representatives from the NAACP and the Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce, and members of the public. It will examine reparations programs in other states and recommend procedures for verifying eligibility and the feasibility of funding and distributing reparations. Maryland’s history makes it a powerful setting for this initiative. The state witnessed the forced transport of nearly 100,000 Africans during the 18th century. The rise of tobacco plantations led to a devastating regime marked by family separation, disease, forced labor, and systemic brutality. Enslaved individuals in Maryland built canals, smelted iron, and helped fuel the economic engine of the state while living under constant threat of sale or violence. The stories of individuals like Hillery Kane at Sotterley Plantation and Lucy Jackson at Hampton Mansion reveal not only the cruelty of slavery but also the resilience and resistance of the enslaved.

By the 19th century, Maryland became a central player in the domestic slave trade, with an estimated 20,000 people sold to cotton plantations in the Deep South between 1830 and 1860. Even after emancipation in 1864, freed Black Marylanders faced decades of disenfranchisement, segregation, and economic exclusion. “This is about more than history,” Wilkins said. “It’s about how that history has shaped the realities of today.” The commission will submit a preliminary report by January 1, 2027, and a final report by November 1, 2027. It will explore possible sources of funding, such as businesses and institutions that benefited from slavery and discriminatory government practices.

Opposition to the bill has centered mainly on its cost, but the fiscal note details only a modest increase of $54,500 in 2026 to fund contractual staff. No reparations payments are authorized under the current bill. Maryland is joining California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York in forming a reparations commission. The move comes as diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives face increasing national scrutiny and political attacks. Still, supporters of the commission insist the time for reckoning is now. “We’re not just commemorating the past,” McCaskill said. “We are charting a course toward justice, informed by our truth and grounded in our responsibility to future generations.”

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Harris, Obama, and Booker Step Up as Resistance Against Trump Takes Shape

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Obama, meanwhile, broke his silence during an appearance at Hamilton College in New York, offering one of his sharpest public critiques yet of Trump’s second administration.

Published

19 hours ago

April 4, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent

Is the resistance finally taking form?

As Kendrick Lamar asked during his powerful Super Bowl performance, “Are we really about to do it?” That question now echoes in the political arena as former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris have entered the public fray, joining voices like New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett in confronting President Donald Trump and his administration’s sweeping changes head-on. After months of relative silence following her defeat to Trump last November, Harris returned to the spotlight Thursday during a rare appearance at the Leading Women Defined conference at a seaside resort in Dana Point, California. According to The Los Angeles Times, she didn’t mention Trump by name but spoke forcefully about the anxiety many Americans are experiencing under his new administration.

“There is a sense of fear that is taking hold in our country, and I understand it,” Harris said. “These are the things that we are witnessing each day in these last few months in our country, and it understandably creates a great sense of fear. Because, you know, there were many things that we knew would happen, many things.” “I’m not here to say, ‘I told you so,’” she continued. “I swore I wasn’t going to say that.” The appearance marked a shift in tone for Harris, who has been weighing a potential run for governor of California in 2026 or waiting until 2028 for another shot at the presidency. Still, she clarified that her political silence hasn’t equated to surrender. “We can’t go out there and do battle if we don’t take care of ourselves and each other,” Harris told the crowd. “I’ll see you out there. I’m not going anywhere.”

Obama, meanwhile, broke his silence during an appearance at Hamilton College in New York, offering one of his sharpest public critiques yet of Trump’s second administration. He condemned Trump’s attempts to reshape the federal government, stifle dissent, and punish those who oppose his policies. “So, this is the first time I’ve been speaking publicly for a while,” Obama said. “I’ve been watching for a little bit.” “Imagine if I had done any of this,” Obama added. “It’s unimaginable that the same parties that are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me or a whole bunch of my predecessors.” While calling Trump’s proposed tariffs bad for America, Obama said his larger concern lies with what he described as the White House’s alarming overreach.

“I’m more deeply concerned with a federal government that threatens universities if they don’t give up students who are exercising their right to free speech,” he said. “The idea that a White House can say to law firms, if you represent parties that we don’t like, we’re going to pull all our business or bar you from representing people effectively. That kind of behavior is contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans.” Obama, who campaigned for Harris during the final stretch of the 2024 election, had warned that a second Trump term would endanger the nation’s democratic norms. “Just because [Trump] acts goofy,” Obama said at the time, “doesn’t mean his presidency wouldn’t be dangerous.” With Trump’s second term underway, the voices of resistance are growing louder.

Sen. Cory Booker added fuel to the movement by making history on the Senate floor. He delivered a 25-hour, 5-minute filibuster that broke the record previously held by segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond. Thurmond’s 1957 filibuster—lasting 24 hours and 18 minutes—was aimed at blocking the Civil Rights Act. Booker used his record-breaking speech to denounce what he called a deliberate dismantling of government at the hands of Trump, Elon Musk, and Congressional Republicans. “It always seemed wrong,” Booker said, referring to the Senate room still named after Thurmond. “It seemed wrong to me when I got here in 2013. It still seems wrong today.”

The New Jersey senator, a descendant of both enslaved people and slave owners, framed his marathon speech as a moral plea, reading letters from Americans affected by deep cuts and policy threats to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and SNAP. “This is a moral moment,” Booker declared. “It’s not left or right; it’s right or wrong.” With Booker’s record-setting stand, Harris’s reemergence, and Obama’s warning shots, what once felt like fragmented frustration among Democrats may now be coalescing into something more deliberate: a resistance that is finally, visibly, on the move. “I’ll see you out there,” Harris said. “I’m not going anywhere.”