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National Commentary
ALONG THE COLOR LINE By Dr. Manning Marable
What’s in 2 name?
African American or multi-racial
he most important thing any
oppressed people can do for
themselvesistodefine who they
are. Identity begins with nam
ing yourself — in finding your
own voice. This is the reason that
“names” have always been significant to
African Americans.
Inslavery, the white oppressors sought
to destroy our culture, to deny us our
memories and traditions as an African
people. In Jim Crow segregation, white
racists hurled epithets like “nigger” at
us, to destroy and to belittle us. In
successive generations, black people have
asserted themselves and our unique iden
tities by what we have called ourselves.
And through that evolution of names --
from colored, Negro, Black and African
American -- we have endeavored to speak
to our own history and culture.
Today, there are some people in the
federal government who favor the cre
ation of a new name to redefine many
Americans of African descent, as well as
other racialized minorities: “multira
cial.” '
At the present time, the federal gov
ernment uses only four classifications to
define “race” inthe United States: Black,
white, Asian or Pacific islander and
American Indian. There are also two
“ethnic” categories, Hispanic and non-
Hispanic, who may be either black or
white. There are many problems with
this arbitrary system of classification.
People who have very different histories,
incomes, educational and social opportu
nities are lumped together in an undif
ferentiated category. Does it make any
sense to classify Japanese Americans,
whose median household income is higher
than that of Euro-Americans, as being in
the same category as native Hawaiians,
Filipinos or Cambodians, whose average
income is well below that of African
Americans? Do well-to-do whites from
Argentina, Uruguay and Chile have any
thing in common with black Dominicans
and Puerto Ricans, besides speaking
Spanish?
As bad as the present system of race/
ethnicclassification is, some government
bureaucrats want to go from “bad to
worse.” In 1996, the Census Bureau
conducted a four-month survey of 18,000
households which asked respondents to
identify themselves by race and ethnic
background. Inthe list of choices was the
category “multiracial.” The study found
that only one percent of all people ques
tioned identify themselves as “multira
cial.” However, there is a significant
decrease in the number of people who
identify themselves as either Asian or
African American. Asians and Pacific
islanders, for example, represented four
percent of all respondents. When given
the option of classifying themselves as
“multiracial,” the group that identified
itselfas Asian or Pacificislander declined
to only 2.7 percent of all respondents. A
small but significant percentage of blacks
and Hispanics also identified themselves
as “multiracial.”
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What’s in a name?
Technically, approxi
mately 80 percent of all
black Americans have
some mixed ethnic and/
or interracial heritage.
Perhaps one half of us
have some Native
American ancestry.
Maybe all African Ameri
cans need to check the
“multiracial” box next
time they are asked to
identify themselves.
Why do some people of color want to
switch their racial categorization? Dr.
Robert H. Hill, director of the Institute
for Urban Research at Morgan State Uni
versity and chairman of the Census
Bureau’s Advisory Committee on the
African-American population, explained
to the New York Times: “People who
have been pushing this want somehow to
de-emphasize the racial component, the
black component. They say they are
multiracial, which means I’'m less black
or somehow I can have a way of not
having to check myself as black.”
The larger political implications of the
“multiracial” designation are profound.
How do you determine compliance with
affirmative action and equal opportunity
programs with goals and timetables, when
the size of specific racial groups is uncer
tain? How do you design a legislative
district to reflect “multiracial” interests
and representation? Should
“multiracials” benefit from minority
scholarship programs? Will the
“multiracials” ultimately form their own
Congressional caucus and advocate their
own policy agenda distinct from that of
blacks, Latinos and other racialized mi
norities?
What’s in a name? Technically, ap
proximately 80 percent of all black Ameri
cans have some mixed ethnic and/or in
terracial heritage. Perhaps one halfofus
have some Native American ancestry.
Maybe all African Americans need to
check the “multiracial” box next time
they are asked to identify themselves. If
we cannot eliminate this dangerous cat
egory, at least we can make it absurd and
meaningless by all claiming it. Some
how, the Census Bureau needs to be
taught that blackness is not a biological
or genetic category. Black identity is a
culture, aheritage, a tradition of struggle,
not a racial designation.
Dr. Manning Marable is professor of
history and the director of the Institute
for Research in African-American Stud
ies, Columbia University, New York City.
“Along the Color Line” appears in over
300 publications throughoutthe U.S.and
internationally.
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BY BATEMAN
CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL By Bernice Powell Jackson
Supporting Alexis Herman:
I am a native Washingtonian, so I guess
Ishould noteverbe surprised at the politics
of that city. As an African-American
woman, [ know thatitisnever easy for any
of us. But the delays surrounding the
nomination of Alexis Herman as Secretary
of Labor have surprised and saddened even
me.
Alexis Herman isa woman whohas spent
much of her professional life working on
behalf of working men and women. She
began her career in her native Alabama as
asocial worker for Catholic Charities, work
ingtodevelopskilled trainingopportunities
for unemployed youth and unskilled work
ers.
I first heard her name twenty years ago
when she was director of a special training
program at the Recruitment Training Pro
gram to get minority women into high
paying non-traditional jobs. Working with
Earnest Green at RTP, Ms. Herman was
responsible for changing the life options of
thousands of African-American men and
women and their families.
In recognition of this significant accom
plishment and her extraordinary talents,
only a few years later, during the Carter
administration, Ms. Herman became the
youngest person ever named to head the
Women’s Bureau of the Department of La
bor. Both ofthese experiences required Ms.
Herman towork closely with both laborand
management, with men and women, witha
variety of community groups and captains
ofindustry. She mounted new programs
to help low-income and younger women
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Alexis Herman i A
with employment-related problems and
was elevated todeputy undersecretary.
Continuingtohone her political skillsand
acumen, she went on tocoordinate the 1992
Democratic Convention in New York City
and to work as Director of Office of Public
Liaisonin the White House. Thus, it seems
that Alexis Herman has spent her profes
sional life preparing herselfto be Secretary
of Labor of the United States.
Yet hernomination remains miredin the
muck and mire of the 105th Congress and
was only scheduled to reach the Senate
Labor Committee floor on March 18, some
two months after her nomination. In the
words of Boston Globe columnist Thomas
Oliphant, “The fact is that white men from/
both parties with Alexis Herman'’s back-*
ground and record in government, business’
and politics have been confirmed by the"
'dozens for senior positionsin defense, intel-"
ligence, energy, housing, transportation and+
scientific work; and Jeffords (the Labor>
Committee Chair) has routinely voted for!
them.” L
And while a lot of unproven innuendos+
have been heard in cloakroom conversa--
tions about President Clinton’s fundraising -
activities and her ties to them, there have
been no formal face-to-face accusations’
against Ms. Herman. Indeed, she has met !
individually with a number of senators and
answered their questions. In the words of!!
Dr. Dorothy Height, president of the Na-'
tional Council of Negro Women, “Is it fair>
that the professional career andstellar repu
tation of Alexis Herman is being buried ino
the ashes of deceptive and damaging delay,
spins of repetitive misinformation and in-"
nuendo alltothe point of the possible abuse v
ofthe hearing process?” g
But is seems that once again, when it
comes to the nomination of an African-
American woman to high office, that the
United States Senate is not seeking the >
truth. Rather, it prefers tolet the nomina- :
tions wallow, to let support for the candi-:
dates wane and to kill the nominees’ repu
tations without ever letting them answer »
their anonymous accusers. It sounds alot?
like McCarthyism. It feels alot like racism
and sexism in our nation’s corridors of |
power. And we all lose from it. M
Call 724-7855