Why do people who are 1/2 white 1/2 black claim the black part?

Question

Whenever someone is mixed 50/50 they will always say theyre "African American" even though they are just as much white as they are black (Barrack Obama for example)

Answer 1

Cause a majority of the time you look more black than white (Obama is an example).

Answer 2

cause we have that choice, i mean do you really think im gonna go around clamin that im white?? look at me do i look white to you?? im proud to be part white and part black but im definitaly not stupid, i know my place in this world and I know that first thing people see when they see me is a black american.. or a "minority" ..  

Answer 3

I think it's because in the past people didn't care how black you were. Even if you were 1/8 black you weren't white enough to be a part of white society or legally claim you were white, though often you could get away with it because of your complexion. So I think now people try to be proud of being part black instead of denouncing it, cursing it, or being ashamed of it. This is just my opinion though.

Answer 4

mixed females are beautiful

Answer 5

I can think of a couple of reasons of why a 1/2 white 1/2 black will gravitate only towards being "black" or "white'

1. if they were raised by one parent, and that parent's color will greatly influence which color the child identifies with.

2. Geographic location where the child grows up. If the child grows up in a predominantly black neighborhood, he/she may identify with being "black" rather than "white". Similarly if the child grows up in a predominantly "white" neighborhood.

3. "Black" features seem to be dominant in mixed heritage, so a 1/2 black, 1/2 white person "looks" more black than "white", and so incorporates that into his/her identity.

Answer 6

Because people haven't really gotten over discrimination in this country. Barack obama can say he's white (that's the side that raised him) or that he's black, better yet to just say he's american.  For other people we say oh she's mexican, or he's french, or jamaican, or russian...So why do we have to sit there and dissect ourselves.  Does someone with a mixed background have to sit and explain "oh i'm 1/4 native american, 1/4 black (black from which country?), 1/4 white (again, from which country?), and 1/4 pacific islander....give me a break.  We have to get over these 'technicalities' and just consider ourselves people.  Especially if we are so-called 'minorities'. Once we stop labeling ourselves, other people will too. What's left of discrimination will dissolve faster.

Answer 7

i'm mexican and japanese but i claim to be  greek

Answer 8

No not all of them, pretty much most, though. It goes back with slavery and the one drop rule. White's felt that any whites mixed with black had tainted blood, so they did not include them in their race. And this tradition has carried on throughout the years...because of Whites.

Even now, with interracial dating/marriages Black families are more accepting than most White families.

I will say that this is not always the case, some people choose whichever race they identify with.

Think of it this way, if you drop a splash of Black paint in White paint...it will never be White again (that was the mentality certain Whites had/have).

Answer 9

Because if they ignore the white part and claim the black part, they can get more government aid, aid from organizations only for black people, get black scholarships, get accepted to more colleges so the college can fill their "racial diversity" quota, etc, etc, etc.

If you're white, no one "needs" you for "racial diversity" and you're not "underpriveledged" or a "minority". If you're black, you are.

But Barack Obama doesn't fall in that category, you know...he -is- African-American, not "black American." His father is from Kenya. He was born in Hawaii, but his father's Kenyan culture surely played a large part in his up-bringing. He was raised with the influence of both Kenyan and American culture. He is African-American.

Answer 10

One drop rule.

Answer 11

I hate when people ask this question because i feel like people are trying to say that being black is the cop-out. i was told by my biracial guy friends that are white and black that they chose to be called white because that is what they look like more than being black.but they will also tell you that they are not fully accepted by either race once they find out that the other race is there.

Answer 12

Barack Obama says he is African-American because:

African father + American mother = African-American.

Most other bi-racial people that I've met call themselves bi-racial or mixed. And I've met a lot.

Answer 13

....because they 9 times out of 10 they look black.

It saves them from an identity crisis.  

Answer 14

A lot of people who are 1/2 white and 1/2 black look more black so it's easier I guess. I have some middle eastern in me but I don't look it so I just say I'm white for the most part.