AIBU to think a white man should not be able to self identify as black

[probablynotrelevant]

AIBU in thinking that you can't self identify as a different race? Where will this all end? Being able to self identify as a different gender is inevitably going to open the floodgates for all kinds of other 'self identifying' - WTF is going on?!

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/anthony-ekundayo-lennon-black-white-theatre-director-job-people-of-colour-actor-artist-tawala-a8617011.html

Or am I missing something here and essentially humanity is better off as identifying as whatever the hell they like, no matter actual reality, where men are women, black is white, cats are dogs etc etc

How funny!!
I suppose if he were genotyped for ancestry, he might have some African DNA. That might qualify him to ID as black.:D

If he comes from a white Irish socio-economical background, would he have experienced the same difficulties establishing his theatrical career as someone from a mixed-race background?

This is an initiative designed to counteract the barriers that actors with black or other ethnic minority backgrounds face, yes? Do the barriers they face stem from reactive subconscious and conscious discrimination against them in a white-dominated environment, or does it begin earlier on?

I know that actors report that casting directors and scriptwriters unthinkingly picture characters as white, and so on.

One thing that I didn’t understand was when, why and how did he adopt the extra name “Ekundayo”?

Now, clearly, it’s to add authenticity to his claim to being mixed race, but the article I read didn’t seem to address that at all?

@confussssed the reason for black actors being treated differently in the sense of funding has been answered in two posts above your last post. It’s due to the theatre and acting as a whole being dominated by white people.
I find it funny how people get up in arms about ‘positive’ discrimination but do and say nothing about the racism people endure on a daily basis. Only interested when your privilege is being stripped away.

Illustrates again the can of worms that is self-ID
As a mixed race woman, I don't think it is right to give him a grant supposed to be for black actors

It is in some ways comparable to transwomen receiving awards that are supposed to be for women

However, a teaspoon of melanin is a far far smaller difference than women (XX chromosones) vs men (XY or occasionally XYY or XXY)
A far smaller difference than those of internal organs, muscular development, bone development, genitals etc
of a lifetime going through periods, menopause, possibly pregnancy and BF

Nothing to add but thought I would use this thread to come out and let you all know that I am trans-financial. I am a rich woman trapped in a poor woman's body.

It's no different to identifying a female and taking a place on a woman's shortlist. I don't agree with either.

I think its more a case of society have identified him as black or mixed race due to his appearance and he has therefore given him the life experience of what it is to live as a black man as opposed to a white man. The fact he has been brought up by white parents does not take that experience away. Some mixed race people are brought up in white families or vice versa but that does not take away their life experiences as being viewed as one race or another. He very likely has mixed race genes from somewhere along the line. Rachel daziel is a different case...she was white and therefore her life experience was that of a white person.

As a slight aside, the guy in question is the spitting image of former Republic of Ireland footballer Terry Phelan.

Totally agree Faithless12 although I’ve seen many a thread on MN about racism and there’s always a disappointing amount of posters who genuinely believe it racism doesn’t happen (because hey they’ve never seen nor experienced it so it doesn’t ) and it just cos we have a chip on our shoulder, enjoy playing the race card, etc.

To be fair on this chap he only went along with everyone else’s assumptions.
However this is what happens when opinions overtake facts as the basis for decisions. This is the problem with self ID. I’d love to ID as a rich, thin Parisian woman but it isn’t possible!
If we all stick to facts then this wouldn’t have happened.

I just got one thing to say D.N.A test!...this guy needs to go on the Maury Show

btw, genetics is a funny thing and genes from way back can influence appearance:

I'm mixed race, with an Arab mother
Every generation in mum's huge extended family, it seems there is a blond blue-eyed baby born, even though both parents for as far back as we know is 100% Arab
About 1 in 30-50 babies, afaik

My colouring is nearly that of my English dad, but the blonde Arab child in the generation below me doesn't even have an Arab nose and cheekbones like I do.

I think he has found a scene he likes and a culture he feels comfortable in and has taken it upon himself to enable how people see him. It is quite easy to do if you are dark, change your hair and clothes and start acting differently.

This how I view it. Fraud

The people who claimed to be in Grenfell Tower and were not did not deserve the hotel accommodation and money they claimed to get resettled. That was fraud.

He claimed funding meant for a specific group knowing he was lying and he then took a job meant for a specific group meaning those in that group missed out because he took their funding and opportunities.

It’s such a one way street isn’t it, not like being female but presenting as whatever counts as a masculine in your culture or the other way around, this is always always white people.

Fraud. He certainly didn’t have to go along with it to the extent of taking the money.

The real problem here is that black artists aren’t afforded the same opportunities as white ones not that a white man took one more opportunity from a black actor.

I don't think this is at all true at all. BAME actors are heavily overrepresented by an industry which is hugely left wing and PC.

I suspect this guy did this because he didn't get roles until he said he was black.

I don't think this is at all true at all. BAME actors are heavily overrepresented by an industry which is hugely left wing and PC

You should watch Black Hollywood on iplayer, it talks a lot about the struggles black actors face in the UK.

My god though he does look black that’s insane. He must have roots somewhere. How is this possible.

I've been hearing coverage of this on Radio 4 today.

I'll tell you what, he seems to be attracting a lot less criticism (so far) than Rachel Dolezal. Now why might that be?

There's a lot of discussion about how well he passes as being a good reason to not have a problem with his own identity choice.

Maybe the mother was playing away from home?

.... someone had to say it!

“If he had Afro hair he would be using it as part of his con act. He doesn't that's why he shaves it”

I think he is just bald. There’s a video of him “coming out” as white to his black friends at the top of the article from when he was younger and still had hair, and it’s in keeping with the rest of his racially ambiguous appearance.

It does have some parallels to the issues that transgender identity raises. This guy passes as mixed heritage, is treated as such and is comfortable in that niche. But he's by his own admission, not.
He has a huge amount in common with the people he identifies with, but how do they feel about him? He is accepted by some, but others are bridling at the fact he has assumed something he is not and by doing that has denied someone who actually is mixed race/black from an opportunity not intended for a white guy. Which is how a lot of women feel about transwomen on short lists or being given awards, sporting achievements etc, intended for women.
You can argue it either way, but there are similarities.
For my part, as a white person, I'd leave it to the people it affects to have an opinion on if this is acceptable.

I think the fact that he's been perceived as black gives him some claim - it's the same as the way e.g. it's possible to experience homophobic hate crime if you're straight but your attacker perceives you as gay. I think for me, it hangs on whether he tried to pass as black or did he simply stop correcting people?