According to Debra Dickerson, author of “The End of Blackness”, Barack Obama should not be described as “black”.
She made this claim on the Colbert Report, and you can see the clip either on on that show’s website or from iFilm.
Her argument seemed to be that there are no “black” people in Africa (which is where Obama’s father came from), since in the American context “black” should be reserved as a label from those who can claim decent from slaves in America.
One of the joys of a show like the Colbert Report or the Daily show is that the interviewers do not take any of their guests as seriously as on other channels, so that instead of nodding along, Colbert manages to probe this view with an irreverence that is well worth a watch:
Cobert: “I was really looking forward to voting for a Black Guy…”
Dickerson: “You can say ‘I voted for an African African-American’ or ‘an American of African immigrant stock’ and he is also a person who has adopted the role of being black, so he’s a brother, but he’s an adopted brother. And the significance of this - ”
Colbert: “Uh huh, Uh huh? He’s like a red-headed stepchild - you can slap him around a little bit, and nobody’s going to care?”
Dickerson: “Well, we love him just the same.”
….
Dickerson: “We’re proud of him, and this isn’t a critique of him, it’s a critique of white self-congratulation, saying ‘we’re embracing a black person’ when we’re not really.”
Colbert: “Listen, if you hadn’t told me he wasn’t black, I would have thought that I was supporting a black person. And then I would have been supporting all black people. But now, I won’t because he’s not.”
Dickerson: “Right. Well. Then that would make you a racist.”
Colbert: “Mmmmm. Hmmmm. If I were white.
But I don’t see race, I’ve moved beyond that. People tell me I’m white and I believe them because I think Barack Obama is black.”
Dickerson: [correcting him] “He’s an African African-American”.
All of which exposes, if nothing else, what a fraught issue race still is in America.
And it must be said that Dickerson did have a point, even though she presented her argument poorly because of her desire to assert ownership of a particular word and a particular definition.