Yesterday I was down in the enforcement unit of family court, and while there I overheard two brothers talking among themselves about Halle Berry and the fact that she was pregnant with a "white boy's" baby. They didn't seem bitter, but they sure were lamenting what a shame it was that one of our claimed finest chose to finally have a baby with a young "Mr. Charlie". (Gabriel Aubrey)
I thought their back and forth banter was kind of funny. They were doing the whole mock outrage thing, so I could tell that deep down they weren't really bothered by it. Honestly, neither am I. I mean didn't Halle hook up with a few brothers before young "Charlie"? Wasn't Wesley Snipes whopping her ass before she had to roll on him? (Don't sue me Wesley, I am just repeating the rumors I heard)
I don't know, maybe if it had been Nia Long, Debbie Morgan, or God forbid, Lark Voorhies, it would have bothered me more. But I have never been a big Halle Berry guy myself.
Besides, I was thinking, did sisters feel bad when Seal hooked up and had a baby with Heidi Klum? I am guessing no. Besides, the baby will be still considered black in A-merry-ca right?
Besides, I was thinking, did sisters feel bad when Seal hooked up and had a baby with Heidi Klum?
ReplyDeleteYa know. I don't think anyone is suffering the "loss" of Seal. In fact when I saw them on Oprah, I was like "that's so niiiice ... good for them ..."
At one time I wondered what would possess Seal to date/marry Heidi when she was pregnant with another man's (if that's what you want to call him) baby. But after seeing Oprah, I realized that he had been in foster care at one point. While some people become their "bad" parents, some become the parents they never had.
Let us not forget that even though Halle Berry is defined as black in A-Merry-Ca, the reality is that she's half of Mr. Charlie. If a brother wasn't going to appreciate her, why not move onto another/other who will? Which has yet to be determined.
ReplyDeleteAs for the child being defined as black in America, I think that it will be depend much upon the phenotype. You know, lately I've noticed a new trend; if you look enough like Charlie, you're good enough to be Charlie i.e, Nicole Richie. When was the last time Nicole Richie was considered black even though she has European and Afro-Latino admixture? Wentworth Miller?
Love has no color, no matter how many people from VDARE and stormfront.com try to refute the reality, race does not exist. Half the sisters who are drooling over the loss of Seal, probably wouldn't have even given him the time of day if he were single.
Halle was in relationships with black males, and according to reports, obviously she wasn't valued the way a woman should be. With 70% of black women single, I'd say why not try "Something New?" At least that is my opinion. And with saying such, it doesn't mean that there aren't good brothers out there, because there are!!!!
Halle Berry was married twice before to black men.
ReplyDeleteOnce to former NY Yankee David Justice and then to musician Eric Benet. So here's Halle Berry, one of the most beautiful and celebrated women in the world and both men cheated on her with little nobodies from fast food restaurants. Talk about shit for brains.
I think she and Gabriel look great together and I wish them well and I hope Halle has found true happiness.
Besides, I was thinking, did sisters feel bad when Seal hooked up and had a baby with Heidi Klum?
ReplyDeleteInitially, yes. But, after reading several interviews, I had come to the conclusion that it was genuine between them.
Let's get real. Seal met Heidi when she was pregnant WITH ANOTHER MAN'S BABY. Didn't deter him, he stepped up to the plate, and chose to raise another man's child. THAT IS LOVE, plain and simple.
As for Halle, folks, she was 41 when she got pregnant. Her biological clock was ticking so loudly that she couldn't hear anything else. She did what a lot of ambitious women do; they concentrate on their careers, thinking that babies would come 'later'. When faced with 'later', she had to do what she had to do. She spent, what, 15 years doing the ' Brotha' thing. Maybe if she hadn't of been so career driven, she would have had a baby earlier, but that's not how it worked out. If she had been 31 and having the model's baby, then maybe The Brothers would have some justification. But, Brothas, she's 41....times whirling by so fast for her, your heads would spin.
"Let's get real. Seal met Heidi when she was pregnant WITH ANOTHER MAN'S BABY."
ReplyDeleteHmmmm, I didn't know that. I swear I am behind on my celebrity gossip:)
But didn't they have a child together as well? For some reason I thought they did.
And yes, I had forgotten about Dave Justice and Eric (I can't get enough sex) Benet
Hey weren't both those guys children of mixed marriages as well?
"Let's get real. Seal met Heidi when she was pregnant WITH ANOTHER MAN'S BABY."
ReplyDeleteHmmmm, I didn't know that. I swear I am behind on my celebrity gossip:)
But didn't they have a child together as well? For some reason I thought they did.
FN,
SEAL was the one in the delivery room, cutting the cord. That little girl's father is what we call here at Field Negro - a 'sperm donor'. A rich, Italian 'sperm donor'. SEAL has been the only daddy Heidi's daughter has known. I haven't read anything to make me believe the situation has changed. He planted seed, and now Seal is raising the crop.
Seal and Heidi have two BIG strapping boys. Hair all over the place, both of them. She has 3 kids, and the oldest is MAYBE 4 - they have a busy household.
From a woman's perspective, I should hate Heidi for having THREE babies in, what 4 years, and STILL LOOK LIKE THAT....if that can't be filed under ' life ain't fair', then I don't know what could.
David Justice might be biracial,but I don't think Benet is.
First, Anonymous, the figure is actually said to be 40% of Black women are single. It's 70% of Black children that are born out of wedlock. Although I don't think that's the case amongst the African American middle class.
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of out of wedlock, that is the thing that bothers me about Halle's union or lack there of. (Another ¼ Black child born out of wedlock.) Otherwise why would anyone care who she is with.
I think dating Whites can have negative repercussions still for some African Americans though, ask Harold Ford, Jr.
Wasn't Wesley Snipes whopping her ass before she had to roll on him?
ReplyDelete:lol:
I've been away from here too long.
Congratulations to Halle – I’m certainly not mad at her for dating "Mr. Charlie” considering her previous paramours. If dating white men is what it takes for her to be happy, then so be it. I don’t believe anyone should stay in an abusive relationship under the pretense of racial loyalty.
ReplyDeleteI was a little mad at Halle when she was with David Justice and Wesley Snipes though. Everybody was talking about, “poor Halle, so-and-so beats her.” I was like, Halle is one of the most beautiful and successful black women in America; if she wants to date a trifling Negro, then that’s her prerogative, but I’m not going to feel sorry for her when she gets cheated on or gets her ass beat. I know all about Stockholm syndrome and cyclical abuse, but when you live your life in the public eye, consider those tabloids society’s version of intervention. If you know your man is a ho or a dog and you stay with him, I can’t offer you any sympathy.
~
ReplyDeleteOften, seems to go out her way to show off her mammary glands.
Is there a brain behind those eyes?
`
Halle Berry lacked real love from a man and a child of her own. Time is not on her side and she has always wanted to be a mother…Gabriel just happened to be with her at the right time in her life. The gossip rumors are already saying she is going to be a single mom because the baby daddy is concentrating and pursuing his career.
ReplyDeleteI hope Halle eventually find true love with a man, but if she do not she will give all her love to her child and receive it back ten folds. Looking at pictures of her being pregnant, you can see that she is happier than she has ever been in her life. I wish her the best with or without her baby daddy. She received success pursing her dreams in Hollywood and I have no doubt she will have success as a mother. I am sure there are many men in the world who would love to step up to the plate and be a father to Halle’s child.
Halle's a loon--that's common knowledge. Buttressed by the fact that she lied about how she got pregnant. A little birdie who knows me very well got the 411 from another health care professional specializing in matters of reproduction: she had IVF. Why lie about it? There is no shame in having IVF. Indeed, that's likely the only way intelligent genes are going to continue in this country, as it's only miscreants pumping out litters of kids these days...
ReplyDelete...yet I digress. I'll just stand on my first comment. Halle's always been crazy. This is the latest manifestation. A quiet white boy fashion model's probably the only man who'll endure her mess in silence and with puppy dog like loyality. More power to her.
"...Besides, the baby will be still considered black in A-merry-ca right?"
ReplyDeleteYes, especially when the cops go for their guns
All types of brothers from Wesley Snipes to Eric Benet had a crack at Halle Berry. If ole girl is happy with the young white guy so be it. I am a black woman who did not lose one iota of sleep over the Seal and Heidi union. Don't get me wrong, I like his music and he probably a nice man, but not very sexually appealing in my opinion. By the way, Halle's baby will be 3/4 white. Imagine if that baby grows up and marries white. Halle's grand child will be white or so close to it no one will be the wiser, except when grandma comes to visit. Sort of like a "Guess Whose Coming To Dinner" in reverse.
ReplyDeleteI felt a mite slighted when Seal married Klum: Ive always thought he was hot. But I sincerely doubt I ever would have met him, so my hurt feelings didnt last for long, lol.
ReplyDeleteYes Halle is crazy we all know that. But it should be interesting to see what the baby winds up looking like.
L
Sort of like a "Guess Whose Coming To Dinner" in reverse.
ReplyDeleteROFL! I never thought of that.
Why are all these people having kids to find love. That's how we got Brittany!
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine once gave me the best piece of advice I've ever had: You want unconditional love? Get a dog!
It's great - a few weeks of housebreaking and I get all the attention my little dog can offer. And I don't have to pay for a babysitter or clean up shitty diapers.
Field, I have been thinking about who would be on my list of 10 Sexiest Women in the World. I think that Halle Berry would be on the list. However, the fact that she is hooking up with a young white boy makes her less sexy in my view. Gonna have to think on it some more...
ReplyDeletepeace, Villager
Funny you should mention this today...on Mon., I posted, "Why I'll date White." In this posting, I noted that, not only would I take a cue from Ms. Berry, but the real story is that race has become an ambiguous concept. Specifically, the Census Bureau offered respondents the “first-ever” option in 2000 to identify themselves as belonging to more than one race. Ultimately, race is a social construct based on a historical power paradigm.
ReplyDelete"However, the fact that she is hooking up with a young white boy makes her less sexy in my view."
ReplyDeleteYou are kidding, right?
Gabriel isn't the first "Mr. Charlie" that Halle has dated, so please stop with the "Well, she dated brothers and they didn't do her right" excuse. The first "Mr. Charlie" sued her once she became famous. The other "Mr. Charlie" was Danny Woods from New Kids On The Block aka The White New Edition. Soooooo, if we're gonna go with the "Halle tried X, so she should try Y" logic, perhaps she should holla at "Mr. Woo"? :p
ReplyDeleteAnother thing: Halle's looking for a sperm donor. She wanted to have a baby with Michael Ealy but he wasn't down with having a kid out of wedlock.
Standards.....Imagine that. :)
About Seal. I wonder if he would have stuck around if a sista was pregnant with another man's baby?
I am thinking that there are Brothers and Sisters of all shapes sizes and Colors. In fact there is a book called Brothers and Sisters that sort of deals with the subject. Halle being with a White man is sort of par for the course, a lot of Brothers do it too. I am of the opinion that dating out of you're race is a form of self-hatred. The media is sure on her pregnancy, but she did do a movie that told all the sisters it was ok to date less desirable white boys. isn't it funny how they give press to a black woman with a white man? Hey if there were only black women we wouldnt have racism, now would we. I just dont buy into it and I will not watch anything she is in. The same for Damon wayans, and biasden. I was done with her after monster ball, Julia Roberts or any so white leading Lady wouldn't have accepted a role like that. Denzel let his self get shot in the behind ,but they got Oscars .
ReplyDeleteYeah, I gotta say as a white guy Halle's on my list of 10 Sexiest Women in the World as well. That she's hooking up with a young white boy doesn't make her any more or less sexy in my view.
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be a lot of strength in that craziness.
Who gives a damn! Folks can have babies by any means they choose and with anyone they choose. Get a life folks!!!!
ReplyDeleteI've heard that about Michael Ealy as well (Go Terrapins!!!). He's a solid brother and Halle's just got good PR. She's a screwed up b**ch. Plain and simple. She just has good PR flacks and friends like Oprah who cover for her crazy ass.
ReplyDeleteWow drawing conclusions that she is screwed up based on what you read in the papers.
ReplyDelete"However, the fact that she is hooking up with a young white boy makes her less sexy in my view."
unbelievable!!
About Seal. I wonder if he would have stuck around if a sista was pregnant with another man's baby?
My sentiment exactly!! Cutting the chord of another man's baby. I don't know what to think about that but then again I don't know the whole story.
Folks, Dave Justice played for the Oakland A's before he retired. Us A's fans got to know Dave pretty well for the couple of years he was in the Bay Area.
ReplyDeleteAs a nosy sista, during one of those Fan Fests at the Oakland Coliseum, I was lucky enough to get close enough to drop that question about him and Halle.
I also prefaced my remarks by commenting on how EBONY magazine dramatized how Halle felt like killing herself when her marriage to Justice ended - and he wrote a letter to Ebony asking why didn't they contact him and ask for his side of the marriage breakup story.
He looked me in the eye and asked "How long can you tell someone you love them and how beautiful they are, before they either believe it about themselves, before you go crazy? Are you supposed to love them or worship them?
"I didn't cheat on her - I went to the strip clubs to get some peace and quiet - in other words, to get away from the drama I knew was waiting for me when I walked in the door.
"She's a beautiful woman, but if she always needing reassurance, well, there wasn't much I could do about that."
I was surprised that he shared that with me, but since I wasn't trying to crush on him (though he is way fine, LOL) I guess he figured I was really wanting to know what happened (since Ebony is nothing more than the Black Version of the National Enquirer, anyway).
I have had mad respect for Justice ever since. He's a class act.
Have any of you noticed that since Justice and Eric Benet broke up with Halle, you haven't heard anything more about them cheating on their women? Benet's even back in the studio, recording again. So, just maybe, even though she's beautiful and all that, Justice and Benet weren't all of the problem Halle had with them? I mean, Benet didn't become a sex addict until after Halle degraded herself in "Monster's Ball". Think about that for a minute.
Wesley whooping that ass was an open secret on the Left Coast, Field. Not a rumor...
And if she's happy with the White Guy, more power to her. He is Fine, though, and I just hope she has it togther to raise that baby she's bringing into the world, since she dumped her responsibility as adoptive mother to Benet's child fast enough.
I'm not mad at Halle. I say make it do what it do sista girlfriend.
ReplyDeleteI do, however, wonder about how long she and "Mr. Charlie" will be together. Ya'll know Halle can't keep a man....
Mes Deux Cents said...
ReplyDelete"First, Anonymous, the figure is actually said to be 40% of Black women are single."
That figure is actually higher, unfortunately.
Field said: "They didn't seem bitter, but they sure were lamenting what a shame it was that one of our claimed finest chose to finally have a baby with a young "Mr. Charlie"
Yet, these same brothers might get annoyed and pretend like they don't understand why some black women might talk about "the finest" or the average black male jumping over to Becky.
Field, it's ironic seeing this post, because I was just thinking about them earlier. First, I don't consider Halle as a prototype of the average black woman. Therefore, I personally never viewed her as the representation, unlike many black males. I might prefer Nia, Gabriel, Angela, Indie Arie or Jill Scott as beautiful and average looking black women.
As for the baby, I don't really care who knocks her up. But you know, something about this guy doesn't seem sincere to me (poor Halle). He looks like an opportunist. I won't be surprise if he doesn't even like black people to begin with - just like many of those white women who are also with prominent black men. Yes I went there. Love sees no color, my big green pocket-book foot.
Rikiyah said: "Let's get real. Seal met Heidi when she was pregnant WITH ANOTHER MAN'S BABY. Didn't deter him, he stepped up to the plate, and chose to raise another man's child. THAT IS LOVE, plain and simple."
ReplyDeleteI don't see how that would constitute "love". Especially from a black male who's said to have serious issues with his heritage and his blackness growing up. You would be surprise what some black men like him would put up with to keep a white woman who give him the time of day. If it was Halle, he might have thought twice, she's too dark. Oh, and Nicole Richie was adopted by Lionel. Her real father does not have African heritage. See what I mean by putting up.
The father of Heidi's first kid is the ex boyfriend of Naomi Campbell. During the 90's Tyra dated Seal and guess what. He cheated on her with a German model. Had a kid with that model too, her name is Tatiana Peitz(sp).
ReplyDeleteOT:
ReplyDeleteMost important news to come out of the Black and Brown Forum in Iowa and something that should be of concern to the AfroSphere:
Hillary Clinton comes out AGAINST retroactivity in drug sentencing.
Just spreading the word, because this is major.
Halle may be crazy but sometimes it takes crazy to attain certain goals in our A-merry-ca.
ReplyDeleteI'm not mad at her for doing what she had to do on her check list of goals...just hope it does not cause any delusional women to think they can do the same and it will be easy.
This is not my original post. I chickened out on that one because I thought it might be too hot for some to handle.
ReplyDeleteLike Halle or not, what we're doing here is creating a hydra of a sort. Reading the posts have me envisioning Halle with at least two heads--one black and one white.
And now the question becomes, do we acknowledge the whole Halle or just half of her, or should we do what Hercules did and slay her by removing both heads, and hope they don't grow back?
Back in the days these things were rarely discussed. Blacks ranged in color from very black to very white. We recognized the difference in color by calling those that were very light "bright," or derisively as "yellow" or "shit color."
Rarely did we see even the lightest of those among us as anything other than black (during that time we were first called colored and then Negro).
Now, don't get me wrong, all of this took place within a horrible pathology: bright girls and women were highly prized, as well as bright boys and men, because it meant that a black and bright union might create brighter children (color not smarts).
If you didn't want black (color here) children, you married someone brighter than you.
Sometime I wonder if this color pathology is what we're seeing in today's interracial relationships. (I'm just asking the question mind you (giving you something to muse over), not stating a fact.)
Did all of this emphasis on color lead to conflict and clashes, you can bet your sweet life on it, but I never saw much of that. Spike Lee's controversial movie, School Daze, examined the pathology of color, and how strident it could become.
This post wouldn't be complete without my attempting to rationalize causation for our obsession with color.
We're obsessed with it because whites are obsessed with. It's that simple. Color in this country, as in apartheid South Africa, carries, and has carried, with it certain assets and deficits.
A few examples: remember when we were "black and proud," light-skin black models were suddenly in disfavor and black-skin black models (both male and female) were in demand.
During slavery a light-skin slave (everything being equal) could fetch more money than a black-skin slave, unless the black-skin slave had certain desirable skills.
Without checking my facts, let me hazard a guess here: I would imagine that light-skin slaves were kept closer to the big house, as well as their offspring, and the ones with darker skin relegated to the fields.
What I find amazing is that, despite the pathology around color and the obvious advantage that someone with light skin has had over those with darker skin, we, in black society, managed to downplay it, and not allow it to poison black interactions, and relationships.
I'd like to see that trend continue throughout the remainder of this century.
By the way, I like Halle's movie performances, but I have never been able to watch, "Monster's Ball," and I probably never will.
Yes first domino, "lookism" is real among us black folks. But you are right it's a touchy subject. In a way, we are slaves to our own socialization. But these things MUST be discussed. I have to wonder why, for instance, I like Lark Voorhies so much, and not say Nia Long. Both beautiful women. So way Lark? Why not Vennesa Ccalloway, or India Ari
ReplyDeleteSee, I have do to some soul searching my damn self.
"Halle may be crazy but sometimes it takes crazy to attain certain goals in our A-merry-ca."
This is true!
chic noir, now I know where to go for all the latest dish :)
Thanks for the 411.
"Ya'll know Halle can't keep a man...."
Yeah, black,white,red, or whatever. My girl does seem to have some issues.
Hey, on a side note. Is Michael Ealy the dude from that "Sleeper Cell" show on Showtime?
Yep--Ealy also played Teacake in the "Oprah" production of Their Eyes Were Watching God. Halle played Janey.
ReplyDeleteMyself, being from black/white parentage, Halle Berry always amazed me. My mother, who's black, always labeled her as the typical 'tragic mulatto'.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I've dated black/asian & white men. FN, you may have had/have a crush on Lark Voorhies, but back then "Zack" was on my radar..lol
PS--more faux Malcolm X propaganda. Light skinned slaves, unless they were offspring, were NOT more "valuable." What was value? Where was the slave being sold/used? The streets of Baltimore or New York? A cotton plantation in Mississipi ca. 1857?What time period--colonial? Early Republic? Ante-bellum? There are rather stirring accounts of how much white people--whether slaveowners (of which, folks, most people only owned own or two, the way we own cars!) or working class whites--did NOT like light skinned slaves at all. Especially males. They weren't to be trusted. They were often "artful and crafty" or "evil-minded" due to the "curse" of their white blood. Mant white men liked darker skinned black women because of that "exotic/dark/mysterious" thing that's still present today. And even if you were "spurious issue" of a slaveholder, the lady of the house, whether she be a rich Southern belle or a housewife, usually didn't want your ass around. Only rarely did you hold some favored or privileged status.
ReplyDeleteThings were weird and different in places like Brazil, or parts of the Caribbean. But that was because there was no huge class of white working people, townies, artisans, frontiersmen. There were none of these conflicting republican (with a lower case "r") virtues being preached. The US was and is unique, and there were conditions unique to times or geography. Making generalizations that "light skinned slaves" (hence light skinned people) had it/got it good is, well, something to be trod on with care...
i think for halle that black thing was a crutch that she felt forced to carry because america said she was black. she dated black men because it was a requirement for image as america's top black actress. if she thought of herself a a black women she would have had a black child. she wasn't acting in monstor's ball. she's got the oscar, she dosen't need us anymore. why as black people do we spend so much of our time, resourses,and energy worring about people who don't want to be black? our biggest downfall as black people is that we are a group that that has no rules for membership. everybody gets to be black if it is covienient or profitable for them without worry or consequense. if we had some rules or standards we would not be in the condition weare in now.
ReplyDeleteDon't let the facts kick you in the ass. Thanks C.C. for that swift kick, yet I still stand behind my original statement:
ReplyDeleteThis post wouldn't be complete without my attempting to rationalize causation for our obsession with color.
We're obsessed with it because whites are obsessed with. It's that simple. Color in this country, as in apartheid South Africa, carries, and has carried, with it certain assets and deficits.
"Everybody gets to be black if it is covienient or profitable for them without worry or consequense."
ReplyDeleteSo true! How do we tackle that free-rider problem.
Re the light skinned slave issue, I can't imagine the property-holder's wife would enjoy reminders of his infidelity everywhere she turned.
Finally, Europeans have odd notions of color. I'm on the lighter side myself (I look biracial but I'm not), and when I lived in Italy, people would always tell me I'm "not that black." Well, at least in the U.S. it doesn't seem to matter how black I am when I'm looking for an apartment or out shopping. I still get looked at funny.
Re the light skinned slave issue, I can't imagine the property-holder's wife would enjoy reminders of his infidelity everywhere she turned.
ReplyDeleteTrue. But slaves of all shades(light to black) were sold at auction.
biwtican
ReplyDeletewe have devised a set of standards to judge black people by and determine what life will be like if you pick them to be a leader or member of the group. (1) the definition of a full time blackman: treat no woman better than a black woman, treat no woman better than your wife. treat no neighborhood better than your neghborhood, keep your home clean and safe.(2) the definition of a full time black woman: treat no man better than a blaack man, treat no man better than your husband. treat no child better than a black child, treat no child better than your child. (3) the definition of a full time black family: teach the children, show them the skills to become productive members of the neighborhood. prepare them to take your place.
it sounds simple, but try it for a week and see where your mind is. i use the definitions to take the confusion out of the ballot issues. it explains halle berry, the duke case, issiah thomas, condi rice, clarence thomas, and the problems in the black community in america and the world.
the key to colonialism is getting the colonised to treat you better than you treat yourself. once a black woman's husband or partner is no longer the "man" the relationship is doomed. once your child sees your putting other children ahead of them the generation gap apears. once your kids see you treating other neighbohoods better your neighborhood is doomed. they notice when you put your seatbelt on when you cross the tracks and take it off when you return. the definitions give you something to base your behavior on so that you don't get caught up in the colonial trap and this mess continues for another 400 years.
Unless those men are in Hollywood and had the type of ends to get them in the same circles as Halle then they need to get over it. It's not like she was going to date them or even know they existed.
ReplyDeleteCountering a swift kick in the ass:
ReplyDeleteChristopher Chambers said...
Making generalizations that "light skinned slaves" (hence light skinned people) had it/got it good is, well, something to be trod on with care...
See:
The Persistent Problem of Colorism: Skin Tone, Status, and Inequality
Margaret Hunter*
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Mills College
Sociology Compass
1/1 (2007): 237–254, 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00006.x
Abstract of her essay:
Colorism is a persistent problem for people of color in the USA. Colorism, or skin color stratification, is a process that privileges light-skinned people of color over dark in areas such as income, education, housing, and the marriage market. This essay
describes the experiences of African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans with regard to skin color. Research demonstrates that light-skinned people have clear advantages in these areas, even when controlling for other background variables.
However, dark-skinned people of color are typically regarded as more ethnically authentic or legitimate than light-skinned people. Colorism is directly related to the larger system of racism in the USA and around the world. The color complex
is also exported around the globe, in part through US media images, and helps to sustain the multibillion-dollar skin bleaching and cosmetic surgery industries.
I said:
Without checking my facts, let me hazard a guess here: I would imagine that light-skin slaves were kept closer to the big house, as well as their offspring, and the ones with darker skin relegated to the fields.
A similar color hierarchy developed in the USA during slavery and afterward. Slave owners typically used skin tone as a dimension of hierarchy
on the plantation (Horowitz 1973). White slave owners sometimes gave lighter-skinned African slaves some additional privileges, such as working in the house as opposed to the fields, the occasional opportunity to learn to read, and the rare chance for manumission (Davis 1991). During slavery,a small, but elite class of freedmen was established. These disproportionately light-skinned men and women were early business leaders, clergy, teachers,and artisans, who became economic and community leaders in the earlyAfrican American community (Edwards 1959; Frazier 1957; Gatewood 1990).
The development of a "color hierarchy" clearly suggests a wide-spread practice, and not something that occurred occasionally, or was the strict domain of a white bloodline.
Scholarship on the subject may be inconclusive, but sufficient support abounds for the claim that color plays, and has played, a key role in determining the advantages that blacks enjoy in this society.
So Halle was so mis- used by Brothers
ReplyDeleteshe is getting Milage out of saying that just like Tina Turner did. Lena Horn ,and the Dandredge Lady . You Demonize the Black Man and you are rewarded. Just Like in the Family Courts.Just Like I saw the sister in court telling her Son he was "No Good just like hiss Daddy" . The color thing ? How many Light skin Brothers do you see with White women? Most white women prefer Dark Black Men.
Oh and one more thing remember Ossie Davis sitting at the dinner table in Jungle Fever? Mixed = mixed nuts
ReplyDeleteAnonymous – what are you basing your comments on?
ReplyDeleteHalle Berry looks black, even being biracial she could never pass for anything else. And she dated black men well before she became the leading black actress.
f she thought of herself a black women she would have had a black child.
WTF – she should have had Wesley’s Snipes baby? Eric Benet’s? Even Dave Justice’s? She was unhappy with those people. Maybe the time is right and she feels she’s in a better relationship. Hopefully, we grow and learn from every relationship – whether we screwed things up or the other person.
Our biggest downfall as black people is that we are a group that has no rules for membership.
WTF - I’m going to assume you’re kidding. Besides, white people made a rule – it’s called the one drop rule and black people enforce it. We resent people who pass and yet many of our past social groups had the paper bag test. Look at early photos of black sororities and fraternities. We get angry that Tiger Woods doesn’t think of himself as black. We embrace Lena Horne because she does. My favorite line in Julie Dash’s film, “Daughters of the Dust”, is the darker sister saying about the light skinned sister, “all the yella wasted”. Colorism is alive and well in the black community. Just a few years ago, a good friend of mine got the compliment – “you’re cute for a dark-skinned girl.”
With 40% of black women still sitting on the shelf we should find happiness with whomever we want. I don’t think of myself as a black woman; I AM a black woman. And like Halle, I have spent too many of my child bearing years waiting on the right black man to come along or trying to make it work with the wrong ones. I have definitely broadened my romantic choices. If he turns out to be black, that’s cool, but if not I’m looking forward to my rainbow babies.
It's easy to label someone crazy if you don't know them personally and are on the outside looking in. I respect Halle as a woman and I wish her nothing but the best. And as far as dating and having a baby by a white man I don't see what the issue is. She is half white, even if she wasn't what is the issue? Why can't a person just find what makes them happy and live their lives without people over analyzing the situation? And in response to the person who compared interracial dating to self hatred.....seriously. Come on now. I happen to be an African American woman who is proud of who and what I am but I am engaged to a white man. His color has nothing at all to do with why I'm with him. True love has no color. True love is a man who loves you for you, will take care of you when you are sick, and will do whatever it is he can do to make you feel better when you are having a bad day. That's REAL love and I have it with a man who happens to be white. Did I set out to meet a white man? No, I never envisioned myself being with a white man when I was growing up. And even when I met him I'll admit I had my doubts, but the man that he is that's what won me over, not his white skin. And just an FYI, I have two children from a previous marriage who are African-American. I have since had a tubaligation, don't want anymore children, so that quells the idea that I'm trying to have light children. I'm marrying this man because in him I have found my bestfriend and lover all in one.
ReplyDeleteWe must promote interracial marriage in order to dilute the white race and remove the system of White Supremacy from the planet.
ReplyDeleteAmazing! This thread keeps growing like ivy up a wall. I think I understand where everyone is coming from here, except with one exception: "We all know Halle is crazy." I don't believe that that position was illustrated with examples, so I'm clueless.
ReplyDeleteI know that we blacks are a multiracial group and I have never been bothered by that. I know that for some there's a great deal of pathology around color. And many of our decisions have been made from the grip of that pathology. (So, who in this world is sane anyway...but me.)
And clearly there're others who're pretty savvy about where their head is, and this colorism business, for them, is nothing more than an intellectual exercise.
I say love who you wish without feeling compelled to defend your choice.
I believe that some of the resentment towards interracial relationships comes from the perception that those who date or marry outside of our race have abandoned the race. We rant, "Who do they think they are, white?"
Read on.
I want to share one of those rare moments of life with you, when you just freeze and your mouth gapes.
I was watching, and enjoying for the umpteenth time the movie, Idlewild. I was watching the kaleidoscope of beautiful black women dancing on the screen, their tone and hue ranging from very dark to very light. We say that we're the "Children of Africa," but what I saw was a completely new race of people, neither black in color nor white.
It struck me that we're no longer the children of Africa, but something that whites have created, a hybrid race.
But for a few shades either way, we're them and they're us.
I don't know if my "aha moment" will resonate for you in the way that it did for me. I'm sure that it's something I always knew, but never really thought about, or gave voice to.
I believe that there's a very good reason for that--I'm so busy affirming my blackness that it would have been unthinkable, and whites are so busy affirming our blackness so that they don't have to think about the paradox.
I know that we're mixed with other racial groups (Tiger Woods being one of the standout exceptions), but I believe that who we are physically can be traced to white genetic influence.
I don't say this to arouse anger or resentment, but to share.
The First Domino, never let facts enter into an argument. :D
ReplyDeleteshoesie
ReplyDeletethe rules that white people make are designed to make sure that they remain on top. if black people keep using their rules we will always finish in last place. white people have been the same for the last 500 years. the issue is not about them but is about "who are the black people and what are they going to do?" that is why i listed the rules. many black people don't like the rules because it esposes their desire to worship white people. many white don't like the rules because it requires them to treat black people as equals and they are unwilling or unable to free themselves from the perks of white supremacy. biwtican
The First Domino said:
ReplyDelete"I say love who you wish without feeling compelled to defend your choice."
And that's the truth. Real love is hard enough for people to find in this hard world, so wherever it comes from, whoever it's with, it's a good thing that trumps just about everything else. When you've found your soulmate, whether it's outside your color or within your gender, or if it's with someone no one else in the world could possibly love, you should rejoice. And people who know the value of love will rejoice with you. Everything else is just noise and dogma.
White Racist Destroyer said...
ReplyDeleteWe must promote interracial marriage in order to dilute the white race and remove the system of White Supremacy from the planet.
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Yeah! That oughta do it! *rolls eyes*
Never quite did understand the reverse application of the 'one drop rule' in contemporary US society: i.e., if one parent is black, the child is automatically considered black.
ReplyDeleteAnywhere (?) else the child would be considered mixed, a mulatto, or whatever else the correct term for a mixed-race person.
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