Why is Kamala referred to as a Black Woman?

[Vior]

Watched a doc on iplayer and it struck me that many commentators referred to Kamala as a black woman. It’s not just sloppiness as some of the black, democrat women participating did similar.

It intrigues me. Especially as a woman with a half Indian daughter. I think I would be pretty surprised if DD referred to herself as purely English or purely Indian. She can pass for both depending on tan.

I know the US has a much different view on race and assume it is based on that. Genuinely interested. Not rage baiting. Have googled the question and no answer has really emerged.

I’m mixed race and considered no others to be 100% the other country in each country that I’m from.

Depends on the country you live in. I heard a woman whose is black Ghanian and married to a white British man relate how her young daughter asked, ' Why is it I am called Black in Britain but when I go to Ghana I am called White?'

That's a child exposing our somewhat odd adult constructs.

I have 1 black grandparent and 3 white. So I consider myself mixed heritage. But I look mostly white (albeit south Mediterranean) and I absolutely HATE the "defining" thing. If you're one thing or another I guess it's easy. But it's shit when you don't really fit in any box. If I was Kamala Harris it would annoy me that people are always commenting. WTF does it matter?
I hate it here in the UK too. I hate all the stupid forms that ask for ethnicity. WHY?

Well Barak Obama was known as the first black president even though he is mixed race. I didn't hear lots of debate around him being described as black. Why is there so much debate around Kamala? Because she is a woman? Or because of her skin tones and facial features, people are making a judgement on her not being black 'enough'. You seem to think that because you would be surprised at your daughter describing herself as fully one race, that everyone else (including in other countries with different cultures) would have similar views

It's not just a US perception. I have a friend raised by a white mother and grandmother, her father is black and though she did not know him growing up she considers herself to be a black woman, not mixed race.

My friend looks black. Many people of mixed heritage identify as the race that they present as, as well as how they are perceived by others.

I’m also of mixed heritage, Caribbean background but a DNA test will show I am almost equal parts European and African. But if you ask me, I black. It’s how my parents identify, and how their parents identified. Some might call me a light-skinned black woman.

There was discussion around Obama's heritage, especially since he was raised in the white side of his family.

I think it's discussed more with Harris because neither of her parents are white. White is sort of seen as "neutral" in the US, so identifying with your non-white heritage is seen as perfectly understandable. But for Harris people don't know which box to put her in as they can't quite pinpoint where someone with two different non-white ethnicities fits. If that makes any sense at all.

This. Op said her daughter can ‘pass’ as either. Look up being able to ‘pass’ with regards to race, in the past (possibly now even) if you looked white, you could pass and reap the advantages or lack of discrimination.

She’s white passing but you’d be surprised if she was referred to as white by others?

What documentary and in what country did this occu?

The forms are what allow us to analyse broad trends though and give evidence to prove racism in things like hiring, for example. Just as it's important to record sex, it's important to record race (and in NI we also record community background for the same reason).

Well she is mistaken for white often. But once people are made aware of her Indian background they never refer to her as solely white.

Many many many of us code switch in our accents. I speak the same language with different accents depending on who I am speaking to. This is very very common for people who are immigrants or who have mixed backgrounds. It isn’t about trying to win votes (whose votes am I trying to win?). My kids will say I have a ‘professor accent’ in English which has a British inflection. I am married to an American and I have lived in the US for so long that I can ‘pass’ with an American accent and when I speak to Indian people I speak with an Indian English accent. I can code switch between the three in a single day!

Theres no given definition of race. There’s not always an easy answer to what race someone is. It depends on the context of the question as well as the ethnic background of the person, their social and family context, what they look like etc etc…

“Who is Kamala Harris?” on iplayer. Not sure if it as an American or British made doc.

OP would you prefer your daughter to be identified as White or Indian?

My husband can also effortlessly code switch between a Midwestern accent, a Californian one and the more ‘Indian’ one he speaks to his mom/me in.

Since when lol it means you’re mixed with Black and mixed with Indian.

One drop rule OP🤷‍♀️ makes no sense to me but what can you do

Neither. English-Indian

Maybe because she looks Black, and that is how others see her? I heard an influencer who is dark skinned Black but is 1/4 white say that she never has considered herself mixed race, simply because society don't afford her that. She is dark skinned therefore she's Black, that is what people see and won't 'allow' her to acknowledge her white heritage.

OP but most people don't care about using such a long form for other people's ethnicity, either they'll say Asian or white or just mixed race, that's how most people identify others.

I don’t think there is that much difference in the uk or us perception of what ‘counts’ as black?
She has black heritage - so she’s black. Same as Meghan Markle, and she was black here, wasn’t she?

Have you seen some of those Republicans? I swear if he started a religious cult those particular Republicans would join it.

Kamala is part Indian part Jamaican isn’t she?

I’m trying to start a discussion on US vs UK perception of race.

Why?

Your thread title is faux-naive as you already know the answer.

Very true post. I have received a great deal of racial abuse in my lifetime, and none of it related to my white parent - just the black one. That’s obviously what racists see

Well that's as maybe but I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels very uncomfortable filling them in.
I actually used to always tick mixed but once had a teacher at my kids pre-school call me back confused, saying - I think you made a mistake on this one. You ticked mixed. - to be fair she was lovely, and very apologetic but it's horrible when you don't "belong" in any of them.
I actually always tick "prefer not to say" if that's an option now. Or just leave it off.