On Trayvon Martin, Biracialism and Who Suffers When We're Divided

About this article: http://open.salon.com/blog/chauncey_devega/2012/03/19/trayvon_martin_and_life_lessons_for_young_black_boys


I was originally just going to share this on my Facebook wall, but the feelings were too complicated. The author makes some excellent points about the culture that allowed Trayvon Martin to be murdered so callously:
"Whiteness and White privilege involve the luxury of being able to decide how, in what ways, and under what conditions, you will be allow yourself to be uncomfortable. White privilege also involves the luxury of not having to have a conversation with your kids about how to avoid being murdered by the cops because of your skin color. In many matters of life and death, white supremacy remains, in many ways, unchallenged. Black and brown folks, if they are responsible parents, cannot avoid such conversations with their children. The foot-dragging by the police in regards to the murder of Trayvon Martin reveals this ugly truth".


But she also goes to far in the process: 
"By implication, young black and brown children must be made to understand that they are not "special," "biracial," or part of a racial buffer group that is going to be given "special" privileges because one of their parents is white. These "multiracial" children are some of the most vulnerable and tragic when they are finally forced to confront the particular challenges which come with being a young black boy or girl in American society. In post civil rights America, this notion is politically incorrect. Nonetheless, it remains true".


As a biracial (no quotes, please) person, I resent the idea that I somehow grew up feeling "special" or like "a racial buffer". I've been aware of my blackness since the first time my white mother plopped me down in a black salon where they attempted to "tame" my hair with toxic chemicals. I was 5, and this went on for 10 years. I was probably even aware of it before that, but I can't really remember. Since then, I could probably recount to you thousands of occasions where other people felt it was their duty to make damn sure I knew I was black. Asserting that mixed people are "vulnerable and tragic" when it comes to this type of challenge is not only incredibly offensive, it also distracts from the issue at hand. ALL brown and black people have the potential to be the target of this particular type of violence. Instead of sniping at each other about "who gets to be black", and "who has to be black", we'd do better to band together to stop this injustice from happening to each other.