Are you black enough?

This is something many mulattoes and light skinned blacks often hear usually from ghetto dark skinned blacks. I say ghetto because only a ghetto person would believe there was a certain way to being black, and usually that "way" is being ghetto and an embarrassment to the black race. Not all dark skinned blacks are ghetto as not all dark skinned blacks play into the "colorism issue". But the one's that do play into it are almost always the definition of someone ghetto.

The problems I have with the "are you black enough?" kind of questions, is the irony behind it. People questioned Obama as to being "black enough" yet many of those same people have no problem one-dropping him, or worse, taking credit for his achievements simply for sharing the same race (or half of it anyways). It really irks me when the same people that want to hate on you for either being light skinned or for being mixed at the same time depend on you in a sense. What I mean is, the black race has always depended on its lighter skinned blacks and mulattoes. They need mixed people to keep the race from getting smaller than it is. Most of the prominent blacks up until the 70s were light skinned.

We all know that the "field negro and house negro" argument is a lie, the light skinned blacks were not treated better than the dark skinned blacks, if anything they were treated worse! (part of that reasoning was that the light skinned person was mixed and that was considered horrible, and on top of that there was a fear that they would be confused as a member of the white family by strangers). People use this as an excuse to down on those of lighter complexion, yet at the same time, it just irks me that they "need" biracials yet will not respect at the same time. Most blacks will disregard the fact that a biracial kid has a white parent, in fact, sometimes the black person will try to pretend they are just as mixed as a biracial person (usually those that do it have a problem with being black otherwise why do it?). But while they hate on those like Halle Berry or Barack Obama, they have no problem taking credit for their achievements. Some blacks get "offended" when you dare say you are biracial. While other blacks refuse to say you are black simply because you are not apart of the majority dark skinned black.

But I hate that question, "are you black enough?" because it lives up to the stereotypes. Essentially if you are not any of the stereotypes given to blacks, and I mean any of the stereotypes, then you are not considered black and are considered an uncle tom usually. According to these rules, many dark skinned and light skinned blacks alike from before King's assassination (especially those in the Movement) would not be considered black either. But of course the blacks that make these rules today "excuse" the older generation for being of another time and of different rules. The difference between the blacks from before the 1970s and the blacks after the 1970s is a whole different post, so I will not get into that issue right now.

In the end, I just don't like it when people try to discredit who you are simply for the shade of your skin. I have said it a gazillion times before, we all endure racism from whites. So why infight over an issue that doesn't change the hatred other races have for us all regardless? Why make the situation worse?