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Those Asking if Barack Obama Is 'Black Enough' Are Asking the Wrong Question
By Marjorie Valbrun
Friday, February 16, 2007; Page A23
What does it mean to be black, and who is the arbiter of authentic blackness? As Sen. Barack Obama's "blackness" has increasingly been discussed on black-oriented radio shows, at political conferences and on Sunday morning news shows, I've grown more dismayed by the day.
The discourse, occurring mostly among black people, has been dominated by questions about Obama's being biracial, his immigrant father and his suitability as a presidential candidate, given that his life story doesn't parallel that of most blacks born in the United States. Some have implied that only a black candidate whose ancestors were slaves here or who have themselves experienced the trauma of this country's racial history can truly understand what it means to be black in America and represent the political interests of black Americans.
This is a narrow-minded and divisive notion. At a time when blacks living in this country, whether by birth or by choice, should be harnessing their collective political clout to empower all black people, we're wasting time debating which of us are truly black.
As a black immigrant and a Haitian-American who has lived in the country for 37 years, I know how it feels to have my blackness challenged by native-born blacks.
It makes me angry. I'm angry for Obama, too. People are asking whether he's black enough to represent them. I ask, black enough by whose standards? Why must Obama's life follow the same track of "authentic" black folk to pass this litmus test?
Many of my black immigrant friends have also had their blackness questioned by native-born blacks who see us as "not really black." My ancestors probably weren't enslaved on American soil, but they were enslaved on Haitian soil. So how am I less black or less worthy of kinship with black Americans? How ridiculous that someone would think me unable to understand the pain of racism and the long-term costs of white supremacy and slavery.
Last Saturday, Obama's name was raised at the State of the Black Union, a gathering of some 10,000 black people in Hampton, Va., in a forum on the social and economic challenges facing black America. Top black scholars, intellectuals, civil rights leaders and opinion makers were present. Princeton professor Cornel West took Obama to task for not attending. West also criticized Obama's decision to announce his candidacy that day and to do so in front of the Illinois statehouse where Abraham Lincoln began his political career.
A thread of doubt about Obama's commitment to black America ran through some speakers' comments. Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree, who has known Obama since his time at law school, came to his defense. Ogletree noted Obama's record on civil rights and suggested his scheduling conflict was a transgression worthy of forgiveness.
So this is what things have come to: If you don't walk to the beat of the black establishment, you might get kicked out of the club. What's next? A scarlet insignia for IBMs (Inauthentic Black Men)?
We don't all have to like or vote for Obama, but we shouldn't allow this debate to undermine him or discredit his stated commitment to the black community.
When did the social and political cause of American blacks start trumping the larger cause of all blacks living in this country? American blacks don't have a monopoly on blackness or suffering. We black immigrants and children of immigrants are also often stopped by police for driving while black. Ever heard of Abner Louima or Amadou Diallo? Many immigrants feel just as powerless and as excluded from the promise of America.
Yet the hopes, dreams and successes of immigrant and American blacks are also interconnected.
Black immigrants such as myself would probably not be here if not for the sacrifices of those who were on the front lines of the civil rights movement. And that's why I identify myself as
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