tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post462770579191072937..comments2024-03-24T23:57:28.687-07:00Comments on Undercover Black Man: Improvising While BlackUndercover Black Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08704721024820668555noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-43806860385605590982008-01-30T03:57:00.000-08:002008-01-30T03:57:00.000-08:00As a person with a multi race background, I think ...As a person with a multi race background, I think you are kidding yourself by even asking if this man is black. Its the same as asking if Barack Obama is black enough. It is actually mildly offensive.<BR/><BR/>It is only natural for him to ask himself about how black he is, yet it is an entirely different thing for you to question it. He is not just black, but he is black. I idenitfy as multiracial myself.<BR/><BR/>But if I had to fill out a form for the government I would identify as black, for political reasons. That is my personal choice.<BR/><BR/>If I had to fill out a form for anyone else I would check both black and white, and if that screwed up their labeling system so be it. That's my right and anyway I deem to identify is my business.<BR/><BR/><BR/>I do think it is healthy to bring up this subject but tread carefully because race is a volatile subject.<BR/><BR/>All those things that Keegan mentioned that he questioned about if it made him sterotypically black are just silly, and really have nothing to do with identifying a black person in America. But it is normal for him to think about these things and how the world uses them to judge him, and how he uses them to judge himself. I just don't think you should use his confusion against him.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for submitting to the Soup to Nuts Progressive Dinner. This entry certainly did get me thinking.writerwomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07645753712657412094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-78398627819189867992007-11-27T11:57:00.000-08:002007-11-27T11:57:00.000-08:00While we are at it, since clapping involves a hand...<I>While we are at it, since clapping involves a hand hitting something else i.e. another hand or some other surface, one hand clapping sounds just about the same as two:)</I><BR/><BR/>I thought Bart Simpson already gave the definitive answer on this :-DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-13170275498097567582007-11-19T23:28:00.000-08:002007-11-19T23:28:00.000-08:00(sorry, butting in)If he said that he was not Blac...(sorry, butting in)<BR/>If he said that he was not Black, then he would be whatever label he decided...he would just have a lot of 'splaining to do. <BR/><BR/>Heck, if I had to describe him to someone I would say that he is a bald Black dude. I seriously doubt that anyone would overlook him.<BR/><BR/>Funny thing is he cannot define himself as White, even though culturally he is pretty much a mid western white dude. He can define himself as Black, African American, Mulatto, multicultural (which when you think about his upbringing he really isn't), mixed (ah yes that's more like it), but the man cannot define himself as White. A chocolate-toned Arab or Indian man is White according to US policy, but Keegan cannot claim it. I often wonder what would happen if "mixed" children could check the White box...hmmm.<BR/>**<BR/>While we are at it, since clapping involves a hand hitting something else i.e. another hand or some other surface, one hand clapping sounds just about the same as two:)Nopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13304477797063489586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-89918298592083957322007-11-18T12:56:00.000-08:002007-11-18T12:56:00.000-08:00Hey Lola. Here's a thoroughly modern thought puzzl...Hey Lola. Here's a thoroughly modern thought puzzle:<BR/><BR/>If Keegan-Michael Key were to say "I'm not black"... would he still be black?<BR/><BR/>Wow... that's some sound-of-one-hand-clapping shit right there...Undercover Black Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08704721024820668555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-14926089047307318142007-11-18T12:30:00.000-08:002007-11-18T12:30:00.000-08:00I love that coach character too, always talkin sma...I love that coach character too, always talkin smack and not doin nuffin, lol. I think that Keegans biggest problem with identity rises from his socialization. He wasnt socialized Black, as he was raised by a white mother in a rural area (Im assuming there werent a lot of Blacks there). That doesnt mean he isnt Black. Ive known folks of other ethnicities who were socialized differently, especially those who were socialized Black (think "whiggers"). It only affects how they, and sometimes others, see themselves, not what they actually are.<BR/><BR/>LLola Getshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07058543308191117858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-82892706539593501412007-11-17T20:42:00.000-08:002007-11-17T20:42:00.000-08:00^It's going to take it to a whole. 'nother. Level!...^It's going to take it to a whole. 'nother. Level!<BR/><BR/>Sorry, I couldn't resist :-DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-59160412546258854202007-11-17T14:14:00.000-08:002007-11-17T14:14:00.000-08:00^ "Coach Hines" is about the only character he doe...^ "Coach Hines" is about the only character he does that I can half-way tolerate.<BR/><BR/>Let me make clear: Mr. Key can define himself as he chooses. His racial identity is his own business. But 50 years ago -- single white mama and all -- he would've had an unambigiously <EM>black</EM> consciousness. Because American social norms would've imposed that on him.<BR/><BR/>Today, different norms. And my guess is that a "biracial" or "multicultural" identity -- as distinct from a <STRONG>black</STRONG> identity -- will be more and more commonplace.<BR/><BR/>I suspect this will have sociopolitical repercussions.Undercover Black Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08704721024820668555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-82588874095078003372007-11-17T14:05:00.000-08:002007-11-17T14:05:00.000-08:00Keegan-Michael Key is one of my fave MADtv cast me...Keegan-Michael Key is one of my fave MADtv cast members (I love his character, "Coach Hines"). If he identifies as white, black, or half-and-half, I say more power to him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-26264949356142672672007-11-16T23:46:00.000-08:002007-11-16T23:46:00.000-08:00This explains a little bit of my POV. The African ...This explains a little bit of my POV. The African American experience in the US spans across so many lines we do not operate under one consciousness. Keegan's early life with his white mama is just another Black experience as I see it. I must state that Keegan has the right to define himself as he pleases...I just see it differently. Poll: Education, Income Segregates Blacks<BR/>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16281886Nopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13304477797063489586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-82533384180903000062007-11-16T17:32:00.000-08:002007-11-16T17:32:00.000-08:00Thanks for the book rec. I'll have to check that o...Thanks for the book rec. I'll have to check that out. 2nd City has produced so many big timers over the years, it's almost our (America's) RADA. ; )<BR/><BR/>KM Key certainly didn't grow up in black American culture. In cultural terms, he's like a half French, half German kid who grows up in Germany. Speaking German, eating German food, going to school with Germans, etc. If he speaks French at all, it's only haltingly, and only when relatives come over.<BR/><BR/>So he isn't necessarily a black American, anymore than West Indian or African immigrants are black Americans. Different history, different language, different culture. (Good luck getting white Americans to see that, though.)<BR/><BR/>I don't know where he grew up in Chicago, Evanston would be my guess. There are many parts of Chicago where his identity wouldn't be that much of an issue.<BR/><BR/>He'd be exclusively black because his white neighbors would remind him of that fact every day. Passively, by shunning him and his mom, or actively, by calling him out of his name, and beating his behind whenever he crossed one of the many invisible lines that demarcate black and white in Chi town.<BR/><BR/>I also suspect that we don't get the whole story in this blurb. Just how happy were his mom's parents to see either his dad or him? Just how happy is his wife's family to see him?odocoileushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15162147214174195198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-61407000044589424382007-11-16T10:34:00.000-08:002007-11-16T10:34:00.000-08:00Thanks for the comment, Nunaoni.The essence of bla...Thanks for the comment, Nunaoni.<BR/><BR/>The essence of black consciousness is the declaration, "I am black."<BR/><BR/>Keegan-Michael Key says, "I'm half black and half white."<BR/><BR/>That says it right there. His <EM>identity</EM> is something other than black.<BR/><BR/>I'm not knocking it. I'm just pointing it out because the multiracial identity I think will complicate American racial politics in a lot ways.<BR/><BR/>Key has more Africa in his DNA than I do. But both my parents were (light-skinned) black people (i.e., "colored," "Negro")... and when you get to cousins and uncles and in-laws, all different shades in my family. So there's no confusion as to cultural identity.<BR/><BR/>But raised by a single white woman?Undercover Black Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08704721024820668555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-14015645115397681462007-11-15T20:57:00.000-08:002007-11-15T20:57:00.000-08:00“[A] “multiracial” consciousness is different than...“[A] “multiracial” consciousness is different than a “black” consciousness.” Howso? Keegan’s thought process would be the same as a Black person’s process. His questions are the same as any Black actor “What do I think people’s expectations of me are? What makes me angry about being a person of color? What about stereotypes do I believe are true? Are there generalizations about my race that I think are true?” The race he is speaking of is the Black race, not the multicultural race, whatever that is. <BR/><BR/>His guilt about not spending more time with Blacks may be in his psyche, but a Black person could have written the majority of this article. I see no difference. In the social dynamic that exists in the US he is Black even if there is something in his psyche that ties being Black to a bunch of silly social constructs which in and of themselves do not necessarily identify one as Black...<BR/><BR/>"I don’t listen to Erykah Badu or Ja Rule every day (me neither). I don’t play dominoes (I do, but not a lot). I don’t wear baggy jeans (me neither nor does my brother). I married a white woman! (He’s kidding right!? This has to be the last thing that disqualifies your Black card lol!)"<BR/><BR/>Your ticket to any culture extends beyond a meager list of qualifications. If I listed everything that my life encompasses, I would be disqualified too. The only thing that separates my brown skin curly-haired self from the so-called multicultural people is that when someone asks me what I am I state that I am Black. It would be nice if people didn’t judge books by their colorful covers, but we live in the US. The reason multicultural has been disregarded as an identity is because almost everyone can claim it and how could the US operate without the racial divide.<BR/><BR/>Yes there are some differences between Blacks and the so-called multicultural people, but differences exist between Black people and Black people. As long as one has a bit of melanin and slight curl in their hair, they will be identified as Black (or at the very least not White) and therefore develop a similar, if not same consciousness as Blacks.Nopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13304477797063489586noreply@blogger.com