In the Black World, Barack Obama is considered as a "Medium" complected Brother

[FrenchieCat]

In addition, Barack Obama is married to what is known as a
Beautiful Brown Skinned sister,
and they have two beautiful Brown skinned children.

Barack Obama is not considered as being Light Skinned.

Just wanted folks to know this.
Now we can close this chapter on the many hues of African-Americans.

[AspenRose]

1. PS-Harold Ford is light-skinned. (For reference.)

That is all

[FrenchieCat]

4. LOL!

As fair as I am, I was never turned on to the Harold Ford types....never, ever....
I kept thinking, but what about the children? :rofl:

[Clio the Leo]

25. I thought he was a Blue Dog.

:)

[AspenRose]

45. Ha!

Thanks for putting up that picture! Shows the difference nicely (in more ways than one, ha!)!

[timeforpeace]

84. We have Harry reid to thank for it being cool to point out skin color again.

[johnaries]

91. Isn't Ford what they used to call an Oreo cookie?

:shrug:

[bigwillq]

2. Derek Jeter?

:shrug:

[bigwillq]

3. Bob Marley

:shrug:

[FrenchieCat]

7. Here....

This is light skinned:

[bigwillq]

12. OMG! He is?

Wow. Never knew. Thanks.

[FrenchieCat]

13. My pleasure.

[depakid]

15. For some reason he always reminded me of huggy bear

on Starsky & Hutch.

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/resources/images/759701/?type=display

(though quite a bit darker IRL)

[bigwillq]

5. Grant Hill?

:shrug:


I NEED TO KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!

[Number23]

24. You are hilarious

:rofl: :thumbsup:

And I think Grant would be considered "on the light side" but not really all that lightskinned either. Same for Brother Marley.

[bigwillq]

37. What would I be considered?

Pasty? Milky? Crispy Cream?

[dionysus]

39. you're translucent man! get a tan dude

;)

[bigwillq]

40. Translucent.

Ok, I can live with that. :rofl: :P

I kind of like that. It's just so confusing. All these colors! Who can keep them straight, ya know?!??!

[dionysus]

41. as long as you can't see the blue veins pulsing underneath your skin, you should be all set!

[bigwillq]

42. Cool.

I am all set, then! :)

[AspenRose]

52. Aw, you're a cutie! Look at that smile!

:-)

[bigwillq]

66. Thanks.

:)

[DevonRex]

54. You're a handsome pasty white guy.

With a gorgeous smile that crinkles your eyes up. :)

[bigwillq]

67. Thanks.

:)

[KittyWampus]

61. is that really you? You have a very nice smile!

[bigwillq]

65. Yes, it's me.

Thanks. :)

[Number23]

71. You would be considered cute as a little bug.

What a happy, lovely smile you have.

[bigwillq]

72. Thanks.

:hi:

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

8. Deleted sub-thread

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[FrenchieCat]

9. Because Barack Obama would have to tell you that he was Half White....

it is not something one would guess.

In fact, folks would guess that about Harold Ford, incorrectly,
rather than thinking that about Barack Obama.

Plus remember that Obama's father was 100% African...
which makes Barack Obama about as Black as most Black folks,
who have some mixture somewhere in their lineage.

[tango-tee]

27. Same with my biracial son.

Looking at him, no one would think he was "mixed". He is now 35 years old, and to this day we still get strange looks when he calls me Mom in public. Oh, well. That's a whole other story.

I am so looking forward to the wonderful grandchildren our wildly mixed gene pool will bring forth.

My lineage includes...
Maternal grandfather - Serb with a sprinkling of Romani (jet black hair, green eyes)
Maternal grandmother - German of French ancestry (black hair, olive complexion, very dark brown eyes)
Paternal grandparents - both blond and blue eyed

His dad's family is quite dark-skinned, with some French (Louisiana) and Native American in the recent past.

My daughter-in-law (the best daughter anyone could wish for in the whole wide world) is African-American... can't wait for my grandbabies.

[AspenRose]

10. Because then he might have had a chance at getting a cab.

But since he LOOKS black, all bets are off.

It's not like Halle Berry (or any other mixed race person) is going to walk around with some ID card that says "I'm half white."

In this country, if you look black, you ARE black, even if you have a white parent. Having white ancestry doesn't "absolve," "balance" or "negate" your "blackness."

Period. (Actually, that goes for black and any other race, not just white. Black + something other than black = Still Black!)

In Latin America (I'm thinking of Dominicans here), it's the exact opposite. The One Drop Rule works backwards. If you have white ancestry, you can claim white, even if you look black. (Until you come to the United States, anyway.)

[Name removed]

11. Deleted sub-thread

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[Fire1]

77. Trying to push buttons, I see. FAIL! n/t

[Top Cat]

14. Thanks Frenchie because we are like the rainbow we come in a multitude of hues.

[FrenchieCat]

16. We sure do!

[Top Cat]

18. K&R

[chimpymustgo]

33. We're like chocolate: white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate. All the range, all yummy!

[AspenRose]

48. French vanilla, butter pecan, chocolate deluxe

:-) You know it!

[Number23]

73. Look at you going all Wu-Tang up in here!

"French vanilla, butter pecan, chocolate deluxe..."

Now I'm gonna have that stuck in my head all day! :)

[NatBurner]

75. wu-tang is for the children! this is one of my favorite tees, btw:

http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/Apparel/TShirts/BandTees/Ol-Dirty-Bastard-Dirty-TShirt-915562.jsp

[KittyWampus]

62. I may be closer to strawberry

;)

[winyanstaz]

74. that reminds me of the first time my first born saw a person of color...

We lived in a very small town in Wyoming and there were no African American families around..we were in safeway and he was just a toddler.
He suddenly saw the mother of the new family that had just moved into town...half way across the store in the check out lane.
He promply stood up in the cart and screamed out at the top of his lungs while pointing........."Look Momma! A chocolate lady!"
The whole store was suddenly silent and everyone was looking at us..so I said quite loudly..."Yes honey, we all come in different colors and flavors...Some are like chocolate, some are like vanilla and some like us that are also part Native American..are more like strawberry" He was happy and everyone smiled and laughed...including the lady he had pointed out... :)

[janx]

17. Educate!

;-) :thumbsup:

[MadMaddie]

19. You speak the truth FrenchieCat!

[FrenchieCat]

20. Just trying to keep it real!

:headbang:

[Bitwit1234]

21. I heard some black man complaining about Obama not being black

enough but that he married a dark brown woman. And I have heard several people complain about the degree of blackness. It seems to me that is a form of discrimination also.

[AspenRose]

22. It's called colorism

And it's prevalent in both black culture and hispanic culture

[Kind of Blue]

23. Damn straight! And it saddens me especially

when we (People of Color) do it to each other.

[uponit7771]

26. RIGHT!!! Light skinned is Jason Kidd

[rasputin1952]

28. In the scheme of things, we are allowing the RW to define us through race...

The most important thing I find about race, is the Human Race.

We seem to never be able to let go of "racial issues", we fail to see that we are all in this together, and long before we break things down to a "racial" level, we should view each other as human beings first, and the only thing any human being should be "judged" by, is the character they possess, (or lack thereof).

Far too often we use these items as "defining", when in reality they are merely superfluous. PO has character, is intelligent and from what I see, balanced and in control of his personality. I don't see "black", "white", "mixed", I see a human being that can handle the job he was elected to.

There are good and bad in all aspects of society, to use race alone, or in some equation to define a human being, is pathetic in my opinion. Many of us have moved beyond this kind of thing...sadly, many more have not, regardless of where they find themselves in the "sub-sects" of the human race. There are white, black, asian, amer-indian, etc; racists...there should be none.

[last1standing]

31. I'd agree for the most part, Ras, but threads like this only amplify the differences.

It should be put out to pasture, quickly.

[rasputin1952]

32. Have you ever seen or listened to Neil deGrasse Tyson?

He's an astrophysicist, a wonderful teacher, Director of the Hayden Planetarium and quite the bona-fide genius. Seeing him on PBS and a few is a real treat. As vast as his intellect is, he has that rare way of making the incomprehensible, comprehensible. When I first saw him, I was so impressed I did a search on him for his bio. he came through the rough and tumble NYC Public School system, in the Bronx, and just kept on going. Harvard educated, and receiving his Doctorate from Columbia University he never once allowed race to come into the equation. Considered an "egghead" by local blacks, and an "uppity black" by many in the white community, he left all of that behind in his quest for knowledge.

Point is, when I listen to him, or see one of his shows, all I can see is a man I can learn from, a human being that has acquired more knowledge than I could in a lifetime. I could care less that he's black, I wan to know what this man knows...and the true genius of the man is that he can explain things to the point where virtually everyone can understand what the science involved.

To be honest, there are few people I would wish to emulate, I like the rest of us here on DU, am an individual and am proud of that...but if I had to choose someone to emulate, Tyson would be pretty far up on the list. I once caught an NPR spot on him about how physicists should give eulogies at funerals, it was brilliant. It went far beyond what we think of how funerals should be, explaining that the body was part of the Grand Scheme of Things, and how the return to the elements ensured tat we would be a part of the universe forever...in a summation, it was about how we should not grieve, per se, but actually celebrate natural passing.

I didn't mean to run off course here, but I use Tyson as a figure because of his transcendence over what are peripheral issues.

I guess I just love the genius we humans are capable of...:)

If anyoner is interested, here's a link to his home site: http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/

[last1standing]

36. Um... Yes, I have listened to him but would never type an OP dedicated to his skin color.

I'm not sure you took my point there, Ras. This thread is inherently racist and demeaning. It emphasizes the skin color of our president when that is the very last thing we should be considering when thinking of him.

This is a racist OP and should be locked.

[rasputin1952]

38. This was just a passing set of remarks I was thinking of...

I just wanted to express that race has nothing to do w/a person's ability...:)

[chimpymustgo]

76. "he never once allowed race to come into the equation". THat's MIGHTY presumptuous. When you're

black in America race is ALWAYS a factor.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

87. I saw him speak in November.

Went to a fundraiser for the library at Oklahoma State University. He spoke. It was great.
He has said that he was expected to be a jock and not a scientist.

Post on my blog about him, with picture and quote:
http://lavidacountry.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/saw-neil-degrasse-tyson-speak-in-stillwater/


"It is remarkable what can be accomplished when you are surrounded by people who believe in you;
people whose expectations are not set by the short-sighted attitudes of society--people who help to open doors of opportunity, not close them."

--Neil deGrasse Tyson, upon receiving his Doctoral Degree in Astrophysics

[AspenRose]

43. The reason why Frenchie started the thread

is because Reid had (erroneously) described Obama as "light-skinned."

He's not. Not in the definition the black community uses for "light-skinned."

So Frenchie decided to take the opportunity to educate non-blacks on what "light-skinned" blacks look like, in context of how blacks define their many hues within the community.

While we ALL wish for a day when skin color and tones didn't matter, the rest of us in the black and hispanic communities don't have the luxury to ignore it, because someone will always be around to remind us, whether it's a white person or another person of color (see the "colorism" mention in the thread). We have no choice but to live in that reality.

[retread]

29. This is "light-skinned."

[AspenRose]

46. No: If he were black, he'd be considered "passable."

In other words, he'd be able to pass for white. In New Orleans creole society that'd be called "passe blanc."

[last1standing]

30. Why are you focusing on Obama's skin color?

This OP is offensive.

[AspenRose]

47. See post #58

I think it would be offensive if there was an argument as to what skin color or tone would be better or more preferable. That's not the case in this OP. The intention is to educate people who wouldn't know otherwise what constitutes a 'light skinned' black person. Reid thought Obama was, and he was wrong.

Not all conversations about race are BAD ones. Ask Eric Holder.

[hileeopnyn8d]

50. "Not all conversations about race are BAD ones. Ask Eric Holder."

Exactly.

[donco6]

34. And you would know, because . . . ?

I find this rather broad-brush.

[AspenRose]

44. I bet you've never heard of the "brown paper bag" test, have you.

If YOU already have YOUR mind made up on what YOU think, we (the black folks in this thread who are contributing and attempting to teach, with Frenchie) can't help you.

Plus it's been pointed out that we have distinctions within our own communities on what is 'light' and what is 'dark,' and unfortunately use it against ourselves ("colorism"). During Jim Crow, blacks often segregated themselves based on 'light' and 'dark.' Churches...social groups...greek letter organizations...

Finally here's a book (with a white co-author, because some white people need that before they'll take a black person's word for it) that you may find enlightening (no pun intended).

http://www.amazon.com/Color-Complex-Kathy-Russell/dp/0385471610

[Karenina]

79. Obama would be waved through...

So would a well-connected brother of my Michelle shade. As a teenie I was refused entry to a party in Philadelphia. Felicity KNEW about the "test" (I did NOT) but since I was with a group of redbones and her daddy was... she didn't think anyone would DARE make a fuss. When she began the "Don't you know WHO I AM?" routine, I realized what was happening, having been "edjumacated" by the Jack and Jill Club at an AKA function in L.A. several years earlier. :eyes:

If you were female, your "pedigree" carried less weight than your hue and hair texture.

Between the colourism and the hair thang... :rofl::rofl::rofl:

[AspenRose]

89. Also true!

I've read on J&J some of the east coast elite STILL have 'issues' with Michelle :eyes:

[Enrique]

35. where does Rod Blagojevich fit in?

;-)

[BlueMTexpat]

49. Thanks for posting this beautiful picture of beautiful people,

no matter what shades they represent.
We are a rainbow world and I, for one, enjoy ALL the colors, but especially when the people within want to make a positive difference in the world and demonstrate that desire, not as role models for a certain group but as role models for all.
Whatever my personal disappointments with Obama's political agenda not moving as quickly or in as progressive a fashion as I would like, I do not doubt for a moment that everyone in this family is a positive role model for all of us.
I am proud of them and I am proud of us for having the sense to elect Barack Obama as President in 2008.

[Flying Dream Blues]

51. Thanks Frenchie and AspenRose for trying to

educate and have the conversation. Hiding all this under the rug doesn't ever make things better. And we can make it better!

[tammywammy]

53. I have a question

And pardon my ignorance on this, but I just remembered this.

When I was in high school (this probably happened in 1999), I was a supervisor and one of my employees used to refer to herself as "bright." I never really understood what she meant. I just remember a conversation that was going on, she was I guess around Obama's skin tone, and the other employee there was darker than Michelle, and I remember the one girl was describing some boy she liked as "bright" as well in terms of skin tone.

I never asked her what she meant, because honestly I didn't care about some boy she had a crush on, but in the process of reading this thread I remembered this event and was wondering about it. Was it just a way to differentiate between lighter/darker skin, or did it mean something else?

[NatBurner]

56. it's a regional thing, but

bright = light-skinned

depending on where u live, you'll hear a number of different descriptors for the beautiful chocolate rainbow

personally, i like to use food, cuz it's universal

me? i'm a nice snickers™ brown

[tammywammy]

57. Well, chocolate's something everyone can relate to

I'm a very fair skinned red head. I tell people I glow in a black light. :)

Thank you for your reply. I like these threads because I always learn something new.

[DevonRex]

55. Thank you Frenchie for the explanation of the conversations that

African Americans have. This has been an education for us and it's been amusing, too. Now, about the "hair" debate...

:rofl:

There was a show on Oprah about how African Americans feel about their hair and what some go through to tame the curl. I could relate to it because I have Robert Plant hair that I've been trying to tame my whole life. Well, I finally did give up and just let it do its thing - which is to totally take over any room I'm in. :)

[AspenRose]

64. Was it Barbra Streisand in "The Way We Were..."

She went to a black lady to get her hair pressed? I think that was the movie.

And then there was this guy:

[DevonRex]

70. OMG. I used to iron my hair back before flat irons came out.

The things we do to ourselves to fit some unrealistic view of what we should look like. :eyes:

And my sister with straight hair always put a perm in hers. :rofl:

[RepublicanElephant]

58. then wtf was michael jackson??????

i'm still trying to figure that one out!
he went through almost every color of the human rainbow!
:wtf:


great post, frenchie!

[bigwillq]

80. Can't wait to hear

Frenchie's answer on this one!!!!

[butterfly77]

86. He was a vitaligan...

who was a brown skinned brother..

[flamingdem]

59. Go to Cuba if you really want your color stereotypes to be turned upside down

They have so many combinations, considering that some 70% are mixed.. Brazil as well.. Americans aren't that used to seeing someone and figuring out their racial mix. In fact I wager many do not even realize just how mixed people are ... consciousness was about nil until Obama came along..

[AspenRose]

60. True

[KittyWampus]

63. Hawaii, too. Lot's of folk from Asia added into the mix

:)

[Cha]

69. Yes, I love it!

B-)

[uponit7771]

78. YEAP, love it in Hawaii VERY VERY culturly mixed environment

[akbacchus_BC]

81. If you were to go to the Caribbean, you will see every colour you could

never imagine as some of the islands were colonised by French, Spanish, Dutch, English, etc. The colours are gorgeous and the mix of the different races are unbelievably beautiful. Don't know if you have heard of Shakira Baksh (Miss World) from Guyana, married to Michael Caine and Pamela Lord from Trinidad & Tobago (another Miss World). The mix in St. Lucia is stunning!

[marshall]

68. Zora Neale Hurston came up with the definitive scale back in the 40's

"high yaller, yaller, high brown, vaseline brown, seal brown, low brown, dark brown"

I'm not sure what terms a comparative scale would use now.

[Blasphemer]

82. It is interesting

Growing up in the U.S., you understand "light skinned" to be Lisa Bonet, Al B. Sure, etc. type coloring. However, in other areas of the world those with Obama's coloring are considered "fair" in the way "light skinned" is regarded in the AA Community. As someone who has been treated differently because of complexion and dialect (or lack thereof), I must say that this whole controversy struck a nerve with me and I was pretty offended by the original comments but I really did not want to get into it here. Sometimes, you just don't want to have to "explain" things, so thanks for bringing a bit of simple reality into the debate.

[Umbral]

83. It's like a Julian Bond - Garrett Morris time-warp, we sure have came along way. nt

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

85. I'm saying this as a medium-'complected' sister: President Obama is NOT light-skinned.

He's a medium-brown brother. :)

[CoffinEd]

88. In the words of legendary comic Redd Foxx

Black folks come in a range of colors, including:

• Black walnut
  
• Burnt almond
  
• Chocolate
  
• Chocolate mocha
  
• Pecan
  
• Vanilla
  
• Yeller
  
• Meller
  
• Light
  
• Bright
  
• Damn-near white
  

And so says Redd. B-)

[wisteria]

90. That is a beautiful picture. n/t