The Expense of Assimilation On the Black Community
Black people who make the choice to pursue an interracial relationship should be aware of the choices they make for themselves and for their future generations. Black people who makes the choice not to pursue the development of a long term relationship with someone of obvious black heritage in order to pursue someone of another race cannot possibly be taken seriously as someone who wishes to keep the black community strong. This is not meant as an insult or a put down or anything negative. It is merely a manifestation of the priorities they have made for themselves.
A black man or woman who chooses a non-black person as their life partner is misguided to believe that the non-black person would be the best candidate for developing strong black children. I am not saying that it would be impossible for non-blacks to raise strong black children. But, the black person who is developing an interracial relationship is actually planning for interracial children with an interracial identity that in all likelihood would be more apt to identify more with the dominate culture that exist between the two parents. With so much of our American culture controlled by white people, the black person who makes the choice to be in a relationship with a white person is making the choice to try and conform to the dominating white culture and to perpetuate the assimilation of the black community.
The black person who makes the choice to integrate into the dominating culture really must be honest with his or her self and admit that all their pronouncements of concern for the welfare of the black community take a backseat to their personal desire to assimilate. These black people are more of a role model to other black people on how to assimilate or integrate into the colorless and racially generic whole of American culture that just so happens to be controlled and dominated from the white community. And since white people are firmly in control, whether they do it consciously or subconsciously, they manipulate social systems to the benefit of white people and the detriment of black people. So in essence, the interracial reality is actually counter to the strong black reality.
Although it may sound wonderful to hear someone say that they don’t notice people’s skin color, reality says that people notice color all the time. Black people who are with white partners aren’t going to go home tonight, slap their forehead, and say something along the lines of, “Oh my gosh! I never noticed you were white.”
When a black person makes the choice to no longer live in the black community with a black spouse and have black children then they are no longer for the perpetuation of black people and the black community. Their primary concern should be for the establishment or perpetuation of assimilated people and the integrated community. If all black people were so moved to follow these people’s example the black community would cease to exist. Our children would more than likely not be black children but mulattoes. Chances are good that the vast majority of these children would work to integrate themselves into the dominating culture and leave their roots in the black community behind.
Now if every black person were to focus on marrying a black spouse and raising black children with a strong connection to the black community then the black community is more likely to thrive and flourish. In such an environment young black people are much more likely to grow up and make the choice to actively defend the black community rather than just claim that they are proud to be black while minimizing their exposure to the black community.
The black community cannot survive and assimilate at the same time. Black people cannot promote love of our black heritage in one breath and the need to do undermine the black community in the next. It is either one or the other. People cannot have it both ways. When black people make the choice to pursue an interracial relationships it actually weakens the black community. With each person who abandons the pursuit of the black experience with a black partner then we have that one less brother or sister to help us in the black community. Black people who make the choice to assimilate and encourage other black people to give up on the black struggle actually weakens the black community. Children of interracial relationships are less likely to work for the empowerment of the black community and more likely to work for the empowerment of the generic whole who happen to be controlled by a white dominating class.
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Just a Quick Note
Pictures don’t lie! But the Trump administration will! Ain’t no way the attendance of the the Trump inauguration comes close to the attendance of the Obama inaugeration!
Peace
brotherpeacemaker 
So, question: if black people who pursue interracial relationships ultimately seek to undermine the strength and solidarity of the black community, what are white people who pursue interracial relatinships doing? Do they as well strive to weaken the foundation of the black community, or are they weakening the foundation of the white community?
Another question: if a white blogger were to state that white people who pursue interracial relationships are posing a threat to the white community, what would be your reaction?
Is it different due to the power position of whites in this country?
I think you may be treading dangerously close to the idea of racial purity and we all know where that can lead.
Finally, you seem to state that mulatto children would be more likely to leave their black roots behind and not actively defend the black community. To that I give you: Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass, WEB DuBois, and I’m sure several others…..
There are plenty of white bloggers who promote the idea of white people sticking to themselves. White people promoting segregationist attitudes is not a new phenomenon. The white community is not being subjugated. Black people do not have an influence over the white community and has little impact on their day to day lives. Unfortunately, the black community has absolutely no influence on the white community. When a group of people are being subjugated the greatest tool they can have to fight that subjugation is solidarity.
When people from the subjugated class jump ship to support the people in the dominant class they actually sell the idea that the subjugation may not be as bad as what people think. You may think this is the promotion of racial purity or some other radical racial agenda. But the issue here is not about black purity. It is about the strength of the black community. Do you believe that white people actually have the black community’s best interest at heart?
You mentioned a number of black people who you claim defended the black community. Frederick Douglas was one of them. However, Booker T. Washington promoted the idea of black subjugation. Mr. Washington actually promoted the idea that black people should be happy and proud to be in the subservient position. WEB Dubois actually promoted the concept that black crime was triggered by the emancipation and that the Talented Tenth who sit at the top of the social class of blacks would actually save the black race.
But let’s look at the number of talented tenth black people who distance themselves from the black community. There’s Halle Berry, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Vin Diesel (actually Mark Vincent), Nicole Richie, Shelby Steele, Tiger Woods, among others. And the number of stone cold black people who work to distance themselves from the black community is even larger. Michael Jackson, Morgan “The Organ” Freeman, Condoleezza Rice, Charles Barkley, Bill Cosby, Alan Keyes, Rosie Greer, Lynn Swan, Dennis Rodman, and this list goes on and on and on.
I stated that children of interracial couples are less likely to be involved with the black community. This is not to say that it is impossible. There are many children of interracial couples who are working hard to help the black community and I humbly appreciate their efforts.
Peace
I think it is a problem with those brothers that are more interested in assimilating into this burning house that is the problem. The ones who look for approval from the ethic majority of this country.
I think it will be a day, if the human race lives long enough, that everyone will be a lighter shade of brown.
If you’re the type that desires all groups remain separated then that would be a problem to you. I do understand that we need to stick together as blacks but like I said there will be a day… and when it comes I hope that we will appreciate all the cultures of the world and learn from the mistakes that we are currently making with each other and to ourselves.
I have to say that love is love and if a woman loves a man and that man loves that woman and they work well together and respects each others culture and are not blind to the negatives of each then I don’t see a problem with that. Yet, like I said if you’re one of those brothers or sisters that require assimilation then there isn’t any hope for that person to look out for the black community… yet like you said I guess we’ll appreciate the help. Cuz, we wouldn’t be here nor would we be free here without they’re “help”. If that makes any sense.
Brother When Whites mix with Africans it creates a net loss for White power and a gain for interracial power. Less Whites equals less White power. Brown interracial power is increacing daily around the planet. The one drop rule works to African Americans advantage. I have been married to a White Woman for 16 years and I try to influence the spread of interracial power. If it makes White power racist mad then it might be somthing that helps African power. In the near future most Whites in America will have Africans and other minorites in there family reunions. This is a racist nightmare. Africans will also inherit much White wealth and our culture in the USA will change slowly. 100,000 mixed interracial babies beween Africans and other groups are born each year and 3500 Black children are adopted by non Black families. Family intergration will lead to increaced Black and Brown Power. Political and Economic intergration will also help to contiue to reduce racism.
Interracial Power
The one drop rule was not a policy to promote black or interracial power. The one drop rule was a racist program to suggest that white people could taint the blood of their children if they allowed just one drop of African blood into their family line. If anything, this promoted the idea that people had to reject their African ancestry in order to fit into the mainstream environment further distancing the black community. Imitation of Life was a movie that tried to identify this phenomenon of human nature.
Many black people have relationships with white people and produce mulatto children. These children may grow up with an interracial mindset but it will be far from a black mindset. A prime example of this trend is Tiger Woods who is the product of an interracial relationship. The man refuses to identify himself as a black man. As far as the obviously black Mr. Woods is concerned being black is only a small part of his ethnicity. He now has a white wife and lives completely within white circles. Mr. Woods has successfully shed the stigma of being black for a far more generic racial profile. However, this is not a benefit for the black community but a benefit for the status quo. His children will know nothing of the black experience.
Peace
Brother soon the whole world will be brown like Brazil. Yes the one drop rule worked against us in the past however I wish that we could out all the white people who are part black. With computers and pictures this is going to happen. The next generation of children will be more and more mixed. The chances of totally loosing ones racial heritage will be diminished. All over the world where black people are the mixing is occuring. Soon Black millionares and billionares will gain political power and interracial power will be on the rise.
I despise the Clintons and I pray for Obamma. However if Clinton is elected she will appoint several African Americans to positions of prominace. The Rise of Brown political power will go on. Soon Black family names connected to the rich athleets like tiger woods and movie stars like Eddie murphy will blend with the Black and White elite. Adoption of African children will also create more family intergration. Additionally The crazy White man of America is importing Brown people from all over the world. They will mix and create a new world order- Brown Power!!
Race mixing has an exponential effect to reduce racism. Family intergration equals economic and political intergration over time. A new Brown World
Interracial Power!!!
And just like the brown people today, most of these rich and elite people from athletes like Tiger Woods and movie stars like Eddie Murphy will distance themselves from the common black people. Not too many brothers and sisters rubbing elbows with the upper crust are showing their affiliation to the black community. Tiger Woods is obviously black but calls himself anything but black. Oprah Winfrey is a black billionaire and is proud of the fact that she hires a vast majority of white people in her media empire. Clarence Thomas is obviously black but would rather support policies and institutions that do their best to subjugate obviously black people. Black blood may be prevalent but the white mindset is even more pervasive.
Peace
I have to agree to a certain extent. In law school, an elite environment, many of the black students shy away from black identity and openly projecting elements of African American culture. Students dissociate themselves from other black students, even though we are a major minority in law school. This experience supports the conclusion that when black assimilation ususally equates to the expense of denial of our race in exchange for the adoption of the ideals and customs of the dominant culture. Legitimate assimilation would encapsulate elements, awareness, and acceptance of EVERY culture. In addition, even our population becomes integrated with increased interracial unions, race issues will still be a problem given the “light-skin/dark skin” paradigm.
To Ms Busy and Brotherpeacmaker
The power of interracial families is shown it the rise of Barrack Obamma. As a result of his strattling the White and African worlds he has learned to outfox Hillary Clinton even though she had every advantage at the beginning of the contest. He was born in 1960 in an interracial marriage. In 1960 there were less than 90,000 interracial marriages. Some have called him too white but we can see from his mentor Reverend Write that Mr. Obamma is true to the game. Obamma is the nightmare of the KKK and neo Natzis. I know after hearing Rev Write that you must have gained some respect for Obamma. He has become my new hero. Interracial power has already been advanced by Mr. Obammas run for the presidency. If he wins Look out.
Interracial power will increace rapidly world wide. Black + White= Black & Brown children. Net loss for Whites but a gain for interracial power. This is the near future of the World.
Thanks for the feedback interracial power,
But what does the rise of Barack Obama have to do with the black community at large? As a senator in Illinois, how did he change things for the black community? Has black poverty in Illinois evaporated? Are black people now guaranteed a fair shot at employment opportunities in Illinois? Have the racist in Illinois been rounded up and racial disparity is now a thing of the past in Illinois?
Mr. Obama winning won’t change a thing for the black community. Just like Jeremiah Wright if the black community starts to make demands and observations of racial disparity we will be jettisoned just as quickly as the former pastor. Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court was one of the worst things to happen to the black community. A black person, or an interracial person, being hired for a government office is no guarantee that things will improve for the black community. Just because Mr. Obama becomes president doesn’t mean Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson will be out of a job.
Some people who might mean well really have a disgustingly juvenile understanding of the world we live in. Racial disparity is more rampant now than it has been in long time. We ignore instances of racial discrimination and prosecute companies for reverse discrimination. This is not a positive step for the elimination of racial disparity. It does a lot to reinforce it. Paint the world brown if you want but that doesn’t mean racial inequality will be a thing of the past.
Peace
Forget “black communities” and “white communities!” Have you ever even considered the fact that two people might be IN LOVE?! Of course I notice he’s a black man and of couse he notices I’m a white woman. Our backgrounds and upbringings are so incredibly different but that makes the relationship awesomely interesting. Our daughter is going to have the best of both worlds sice we are both incredibly close with one anothers families. Nobody but hippie RACISTS think about “weakening the black and white communities”. . . come on man it’s the year 2009. I’m not stupid, I know there are racists out there but if someone is racist they aren’t going to be in a relationship with someone of a different race just to “weaken” the other race. hahaha I’m sorry I just have to laugh about this because of how obsurd it is that you think that peoples motive when they participate in an interratial relationship is to weaken it or that they even think about that. Every black mans goal is not to bring up “strong black children.” Some men like my husband want to bring up strong, wonderful, smart human beings that are just that. . . HUMAN BEINGS! Get a grip.
Peace
Thanks for the feedback whitewomanmarriedtoblackman,
You may not be stupid. Although I have begun to develop an impression of you, I really don’t know if you are stupid or not. But one thing I do know for sure is that you are incredibly naive to think that the black community is not weakened by black people who abandon it so quickly and easily. I know nothing about your relationship with your black husband and I won’t pretend to know by trying to pigeonhole the two of you into the stereotypical black/white relationship. I would like to believe that the two of you share equally in a healthy relationship that respects each other’s culture and history. But all too often, black people who enter into interracial relationships are quick to kick their black community to the curb.
I don’t know for sure if you’re stupid or not, but I will have to question your intellect if you think my supposition is that racist are getting with black people for the sole purpose of weakening the black community. That doesn’t even make sense to me and I wonder if you’re even bothering to read anything I write or to think about what is written with an unprejudiced perspective.
But one thing I will say is that many, and please note that does not mean all, white people who date people in the black community are enablers who are quick to encourage black people to transcend their race and join the racially generic dominant community that is predominantly white and abandon or minimize any connection or affiliation to the black community. There was a time where black people who dated white people remained proud of their black heritage. Now, black people who date exclusively outside the black community could not care any less about the black community. Any association with the black community is at best superficial.
A lot of children who come from an interracial relationship where one of the parents is obviously black and another parent is obviously white don’t want to be affiliated with the black community. Being black is perceived as some kind of anathema. I can only guess that in this obviously mixed relationship, the parents fail to give the child any positive connection to the black community. The child’s perspective of the black community will be shaped by a society that obviously thinks black people are of lesser value.
I remember not too long ago my woman was having this same type of exchange with a man from the black community and a woman from the white community who swore on their children’s heads that they were a loving interracial couple without a single hang up and were respectful of each other’s racial identity. They referred to the black man as being brown skinned while the white woman was free to be white. The man scoffed at the idea of being black because if you looked at him his skin was not black, it was brown. When asked was the woman’s skin actually white and why they didn’t use a more accurate description for her pigmentation, the couple hemmed and hawed about how it didn’t really matter how they referred to each other. This was a perfect example of the double racial standard that they were more than happy to live with. Their alleged mutual respect was nothing more than the black man acquiescing to the dominant community way of life and his black community affiliation was rejected in favor of a more racially generic lifestyle that tends to point the finger at black people for saying anything about the continuing racial animosity in this country.
All too often black people looking for interracial relationships or a relationship with someone other than black are black people who have hang ups about their own blackness. People who fall in love with people who just so happen to be on opposing sides of the racial divide are not the subject here. Who am I to stand in the way of true love?
But brothers and sisters whose love for non blacks is inspired by a hatred of self or a hatred of the black community should not be given a pass simply because they find a willing collaborator as an excuse to leave the black community behind. And you are absolutely correct. There are a lot of black people who have absolutely zero interest in raising children with a strong black affiliation. That happens to be the exact phenomenon which leads to a weaker black community and a strong racially generic community that heavily favors white privilege. I believe most people express the obviousness of something like this as, “DUH!”
Lastly, you find my position absurd. I’m not surprised and the feeling is mutual. I find many people from the racially generic dominant community like you absurd as well. But while you are free to laugh because you believe the impact to you and yours is rather limited, the black community is in trouble. By every social measure the black community suffers the shitty end of comparison. Whether it is health care, employment, education, wealth, justice, representation or whatever you wish to use as a measure, the black community always comes up short. Some of us don’t have the luxury of simply forgetting who comes from the black community and who comes from the white community.
Peace
Hello brotherpeacemaker, I think I understand what you are saying. Many in the white community including myself believe that racism is dying until recently. As silly as it sounds, I had to take a race and ethinicity class and have learned a great deal about the real undying part of racism in America that has the black community in paralysis.
Perhaps the white population sees the historical events, such as Obamma getting elected and many other black people being chosen for prominent roles in government as a sign of dying racism. Perhaps it is slightly. From what you are saying is that many of these blacks have abandoned true black culture and joined the dominant white culture. I think you’re right.
I see racism in its most simplistic view now. It is as simple as how black a person is. The only empirical evidence I have is when Irish immigrants or jews entered the US it did not take them long to become part of the dominant white culture because of their skin color. The other differences easily vanished over time. My point is that black people, especially those who have darker pigmant may never be accepted into the dominant culture due to color.
Being color blind is the key.
I say to each his or her own. The Bible says like to like…meaning, find someone you have something in common with other than a chunk of dead protein over top your skeleton a/k/a skin.
There’s tons of race mixing in the Bible. Read the Song of Solomon, one of the most romantic books in the Bible. And then Moses married a black woman, his sister didn’t like it, so God turned her into a some sort of leper and she was cast out of the camp. When she agreed to the marriage, then she was allowed to come back in.
People need to just mind their own business and stop acting so silly.
Thanks for the feedback Vegas,
But one thing I do know about people who like to refer to Christian bible verses is that they are often hypocritical and quick to do the same thing that they accuse others of doing. For example, somebody will say that people should stay out of other people’s business as they stick their nose in other people’s business. It really is silly to try and act so pious while at the same doing the same behavior that they are quick to judge others for.
Peace
Look at the statistics and you will see that American and the world are quickly and irreversibly becoming mixed. We can recognize and celebrate our heritages and, at the same time, evolve and develop new identities that don’t include the man-made illusion of race and thus, prejudice. “Interracial” relationships and families are here to stay and fighting that is not only bigoted but detrimental to the effot toward peace in human society. Racism can be eradicated but in order for it to go, we must recognize it in all forms and fight it with its antitheses; acceptance, knowledge, compassion, forgiveness and faith in humankind.
Thanks for the feedback Joshua Berg,
So if I understand you correctly we should let the black community continue to rot so that it can be replaced with a more interracial community. That’s funny because people would be willing to spend a fortune to save the habitat of the red billed hook nosed pollywonk bird of Indonesia. But the idea of the black community going away causes people to rejoice and talk about a future of peace when we are all just one big homogenous pool of indistinguishable humanity.
Peace
Interracial power is still dominating the KKK and the other segregationist in America. The U.S. was founded on principals to promote White power and now with increasing immigration, interracial adoptions, interracial marriage, and interracial religious bodies who can argue that it is harder due to white racism for Black children today to have economic and social equality. Every day in Europe and around the world Africans are mixing. In the past folks forgot their African heritage, with computers and pictures this forgetting will occur less often. A Browner Europe and Americas is emerging. Genocide is the only travesty that could stop Brown from becoming dominant. Everyone is quite mixed anyways and who cares about promoting racial distinctiveness the most not most Christians. Besides in the West this mixing is mostly voluntary and interracial power Is What white power and KKK folks fear greatly as their nightmares. Racist nightmares are my dreams. Obamma thank you for increasing interracial power!
Now with cameras this revolution is televised
The Assimilation of African Americans is imminent. I am white. The African-American population comprises rouighly %10 percent of the American population and unlike people of Hispanic heritage they do not have a replenishing source in the form of continued immigration. It’s 2011 and if you’ll notice, some people who identify as being African American’s have all shades of brown skin. This is assimilation at work. These aren’t the same Africans(genetically) that Whites brought here. With our open society and liberal views on relationships there will be no black “African Amercans” in 500 years or so….
Greetings……
I so agree with this posting… What we (blacks) must first come to realize is that we are the only race of people who did not come to the Americas on our own free will…..everyone else here are Immigrants….with the freedom to continue in their own culture and traditions….not Africans…we has to abort our own culture, tradtions, spirituality, history and name and adopt theirs by force…….its sort of like we are the adopted children of white people that they won’ and don’t claim…..lol….but why should we want them to claim us???? We have our own culture to claim. But how can we ever see this when we don’t see the richness and beauty in our own culture of people??? ……Before we can love and embrace another culture/ethnic group, we have to embrace our own. If black people really new the TRUTH about their culture and the history……of our African/kemetic/Egyptian people you would hesitant to engaged in any interracial relationship. Am I saying to hate or dislike other ethnic groups..NO…..there is nothing wrong w forming friendships and working among them but what I’m referring to is the heritage…..the root….the heart of OUR race. When blacks start procreating with whites or other races, we began to deplete our race…i e..if I have a baby by a white man and my child has a child by another race and their child has a child by a different race, where do our race end?? By the third generation, there will be no traces of African descent anywhere….and our heritage, culture, history and experiences will not be carried on…..they (the generations) would have assimilated into a culture and a belief that lighter is better, prettier, richer, more successful and black is………something other than white/light.
Alot of women these days arent suitable to my tastes and im not suitable to theirs. I have a white girlfriend and i dont expect her to raise my kids (there more to this story than u think). Too many women just wanna be catered to and not reciprocate. It theit way or no way. I cant sit around and work myserlf to death for nothing……
The Black population should have been racially assimilated into the white majority as it was in New France. The larger native Indian population was mostly absorbed and assimilated into the French culture, the negroes were absorbed within 2 generations.
Had Americans Yankee north or Confederate had done likewise, there would be no racial problems amongst American people. If the Black culture waseant to survive then a relocation to your colonies of Librria & Sierra Leone would have been sought after.
[…] for the welfare of the black community take a backseat to their personal desire to assimilate” (The Expense of Assimilation on the Black Community, 2007). I could not have said it better. For years, the black community fought for racial equality […]
First, Ben’s comments should be deleted. He must be a member or supporter of one of the “hate” groups trying to join this conversation.
Secondly, Assimilation is NOT dating, marrying or having a relationship with someone outside of your/our race. Assimilation is behaving or trying to copy the behaviors of who you perceive as the dominant race or ethnicity. Part of the Black agenda in the area of assimilation began a long time ago and I understand it from a historical perspective (Yes, I’m Black and chances are Blacker than a whole lot of people think). Historically our pedagogy was to learn of success through those that held success at that time. They were the white slave owners and persons in control who were obviously white. So, our learning and definition of “success” in the Western world, to which we were bought and brought shaped our learning of success in the new land to which we were taken.
However, that was yesterday. The question we should be asking ourselves is, “Who are we now”? Why, we have NO authentic identity in this world. Less than 3% of us would even consider going to Africa yet we tout the connection. In many cases we do nothing to associate with people we know that are from Africa. So, who are we anyway?
There are many of us, I’m not one of them, that trying hard to speak like white folks, for many years we have used relaxers to straighten our hair, at one time there was this product called Autra Skin Tone Cream for Black that needed to be lighter in skin tone. So, who are we anyway?
Yes, many of us are trying to behave as though we are white and it is troubling. In business we need to mix and mingle or we will be left out of yet another informal conversation where decisions are made in preparation for the Boardroom or committee discussion. Yes, in business we must mingle to open the doors for folks that look like us in the immediate future. Yes, we must mingle to properly prepare our people the survive and succeed in careers and other quality of life tracks.
This Assimilation conversation needs to get back on track and call it what Assimilation really is. Assimilation, by definition, is trying to be something you are not. It is not being married or dating someone of another race as a sell out. That part of the conversation is juvenile and needs to be squashed. Assimilation is a HUGE problem for my Black people when we have a number of Black people trying to be White. I am not talking about Tiger Woods, Barack Obama nor anyone else that is mentioned in these weak comments. I’m talking about the brother and sister that changed the inflection in their voice; make certain their daughters have straight hair; push their children to date ONLY white (yes, I know some of our folks that are doing that as we speak); date and marry white with the thought that it would upgrade their profile. This list could go on and on but we all know that upgrading one’s profile comes from gaining extreme knowledge and knowing how to use it to your personal advantage and the advantage of Black people in general.
Thank you all for letting me get this out because I am writing a book on this topic titled ‘Assimilation: The Black Conundrum’. You have all helped me stay on track in my thinking and my writing.
Thank you all!
Ghetto Greg
I guess racism knows no color.
Thanks for the feed back Chris,
But you guessed wrong. Racism is when you use your racial bigotry and prejudice to impact the lives of the people you hate. You on the other hand may just be a bigot.
Peace
Reblogged this on Always Fed Up and commented:
This is unfortunately true