Recently, I was forwarded an article from a friend discussing President Obama’s heritage. It wasn’t the usual article one could dismiss with ease when it comes to
Aaron McGruder
questioning the President’s blackness, as this one involved Aaron McGruder, the creator of the cartoon The Boondocks. The Boondocks, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the comic, is a highly satirical and controversial cartoon that often lampoons popular African-American culture as well as current events and political topics.
In the article, Aaron stated that he doesn’t view President Obama as a “black man” in the traditional sense simply because he was born to an African immigrant, therefore not making Obama a descendant of slaves.
“Barack is the son of an immigrant, not the descendant of slaves. It’s like comparing a half-Japanese man to the oppressed Chinese who built the American railroads. Yes, they are both Asian, but it is not an honest or accurate comparison. We all share the common experiences of being Black in America today – we do not all share a common history. A history that in part makes us who we are – and in some cases (as with the psychological damage that still lingers from slavery) holds us back. These are not, I believe, insignificant distinctions.” — Aaron McGruder
This comment caught me off guard because I had never really put any thought into the reason of what makes a black person in America, well, black.  Is it simply the fact that we are descendants of slaves that makes our plight unique?
Surely, other black people that come to this country know what it’s like to be black in America. Just ask Amadou Diallo or Abner Louima what their crimes where besides their color.
Should black Americans feel any different from President Obama or Hakeem Olajuwan or Dikembe Mutumbo because these African-Americans actually know where their families are from in Africa and they weren’t born of slaves?
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Or better yet, what about African-Americans that have done the due diligence and were able to trace their slave ancestors back to tribes in Africa ala Henry Louis Gates, Jr. ? Should these people no longer be considered “black” by American society standards simply because their ancestral history no longer begins on the shores of American slavery?
After careful thought of this question, I’m afraid I side with Aaron McGruder on this issue of blackness. Obviously, it’s not to say that President Obama or other “black” immigrants aren’t black people. Surely they have felt the hatred of racism and stereotypes at some point or another in this country. However, what they own as well as every other race of people in this country, indigineous or immigrant, is a sense of belonging and a knowing of who they are and where their families hail.  The rest of us… well we’re just in the black.
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