Good morning everyone!
So I'm sure by now most of you have heard about Harry Reid's comments about Barack Obama being "light-skinned-ded" while not speaking with a "negro dialect." I'm sure you can imagine the fall-out from such remarks...and of course the ladies of The View had to break it down as well:
Whoopi didn't seem to have a problem with it, and I won't assume that ALL Black people were offended by the comments. Like Whoopi said, "negro" isn't a bad word.
But what exactly is "negro dialect"? Is that the same as Ebonics? Old School Ebonics? What is that?
Back to that in a minute...
How many of you would consider President Obama "light skinned"? While Whoopi said he wasn't really "light," I think that's relative to who you're talking about. Some would say he is, some would say he isn't. But that really isn't the issue...or the question. My question to you all is - do you consider "light skinned" Black people to be less "Black"? Less "scary"? More "accepted"?
Everyone's experience with race, color (meaning "light," "dark" or somewhere in the middle) and "dialect" is different. Speaking for myself, I always instinctively knew what it meant when a White person said that I was "articulate." However, is that something I should take offense to? After all, I AM articulate - meaning I can communicate effectively. Not all people are articulate - White OR Black...but at the same time, it was always the "tone" with which it was said that let me know that they didn't expect me to be.
But as a person who was never really considered "light" OR "dark," I never really got a handle on if White people felt I was more or less "threatening" or "acceptable." I've been told that I wasn't like "other" Black people - but I simply chalked that up to proper English and a "non-ethnic" name...and their ignorance of course. But I'm curious to hear from my other "colored" folk about their experience as a "light" or "dark" person.
Whether you took offense to Harry Reid's comments or not, it's still baffling that something such as a person's skin tone and how they speak determines whether or not he or she is actually qualified to do their job or to seek the Presidency. Now, I get that you don't want a bumbling idiot in the White House (even though our previous President might fit that bill), but do we equate that with "negro dialect"? I'm still trying to figure out what that is.
Sound off on this - tell me what your experience has been as far as how you were/are perceived based on how you speak or what your skin tone is. This should be interesting.
Go!
-b
