Race/Ethnicity: ____________

I hate filling that blank - or worse picking a label from a list. Always have and probably always will. When filling forms I usually leave it blank or chose "Prefer Not to Answer." When that option isn't available and I am told I must answer I tend to become quite ornery.  I distinctly remember giving elementary school teachers headaches with my protest. "But I'm not African - American," I would complain. "I'm not even American!"

Many years and many forms later, I can finally articulate what bothered me about that question. I don't like to be boxed in. I don't want to be part of the statistics of how well or poorly x percent of black/ African - American / [insert vogue term used by the majority to Other minorities] perform on standardized tests. I don't want to be admitted to an institution so they can meet their quota or use me as their token. I had no interest in "reclaiming" a label originally used to marginalize me.

So, when faced with the same quandary as I  created a profile on a dating website (You don't want to know... Well, maybe you do but I'm not telling :P ) I reacted as I always did: I left it blank. The choices were ridiculously limited anyhow and I didn't want to be filtered out any results if someone happened to refine their search by race.

Cue the paranoid insecure little girl inside my head. Among many other doubts I began having, I also was reconsidering my decision. Just because I am comfortable with interracial relationship doesn't  the other person is. Though I rarely came across a profile that listed a particular race/ethnicity in the "What I look for in a partner" section it is likely the omission is due to a sense of political correctness. (One guy did include ethnicity in his laundry list of qualities a partner must have. He self-identified as Caucasian but was looking for "non-Caucasian women; preferably Middle Eastern or South Asian." It's not my place to judge but take from that what you will.) This is not a post-racist world.

I took the advice of my inner worrywart and of a close friend and added race to my profile. I am now listed under "black" - whatever that means. To be perfectly honest, I don't want any surprises and I don't want to be a surprise.  Besides, if someone is filtering their results by race, I probably don't want them to find me anyway.

Spite the Power

Hooray for more articles! This one was covering a talk by Reena Katz at the University of Toronto Art Centre. It was a learning experience for multiple reasons.

First, I had the opportunity to be exposed to a critical subject matter about which, I must admit, I was very ignorant. The talk got me thinking about the issue and willing to learn more about it. I am even considering reading Said's book in my spare time.

Second, the article was very difficult to write. I was out of my element. It wasn't a review so I couldn't simply give my opinion and the subject matter did not lend itself to witticisms. But with the help of the section editor, I think I wrote a decent piece.

As always the title links to the article.

Note 1: I didn't come up with the title. I only wish I were so clever!
Note 2: Someone commented on my article on the website! My article is spurring discussion! Woot!

My President Is Black: A Reaction to this Historic Election

My American History teacher in highschool had a banner in his classroom. On it was the picture of all the United States Presidents to date. At 11 pm, when CNN declared Barack Obama the President-Elect, all I could think was "Dear God! There is going to be a black man on that banner!"

No one was more surprised by this reaction than me. Throughout this nearly 2 year election cycle, I had prided myself in being able to cite the specific policy and ideological reasons why I supported Obama and not McCain. I had prided myself in not supporting him "just because he's black."

And yet, as Barack, Michelle, Sasha, and Malia gathered on that stage in Grant Park, and stood before the world as the new First Family, all I could think was "Dear God! There is going to be a black family in that White House!"

Some have commented that to much emphasis has been put on Obama's race. That is, if we really claim to be equal, then race shouldn't be an issue, good or bad. I suppose that is a valid point especially considering how carefully Obama avoided "playing the race card" during his campaign. But I think the reality of the situation is that equality has yet to be achieved in America or the rest of the world for that matter. It is only something to which we aspire.

So the reason there is so much elation, the reason there were people literally dancing in the street and hugging strangers is because we have made so much progress in such a short time. Less than 60 years ago, the Courts finally ruled in Brown V. Board of Education that seperate is not equal. And now the American people have elected a black man to the highest office. To pretend that this isn't a big deal is to ignore the entire struggle that made it possible.

America Votes 2008 Debates

I got published again! This time I got a full page complete with color graphics! Nothing can ruin this day! The two articles cover the US presidential debate and the US vice presidential debate. Once again, the title links to both. Thank you and enjoy.