This space is usually reserved for my professional work but seeing as we're in the midst of some of the craziest times, I've decided to use this space more openly to discuss what's on my mind. More likely than not, it will be work-related, but occasionally it will be something more personal. I hope you enjoy the detours.
Over at least the next 2.5 months there will be lots of discussion surrounding Sen. Kamala Harris and her ethnicity. Something likely to be missing from the conversation is the topic of privilege. Not the privilege that Kamala Harris finds herself in as a sitting US Senator, with what is looking like a very good shot at being the next Vice President, but the privilege of those commenting on her ethnicity. A vast majority of the chatter surrounding her ethnicity will come from either privileged white cis-males or privileged people of color. I will probably get a lot of blowback for attaching privilege to the latter but in the context of this discussion, they do have privilege. People in these groups – and all monoethnic groups for that matter – have the privilege of not having to defend this part of their identity. Monoethnic individuals will undoubtedly face trials and tribulations, but they have a privilege that multiethnic people do not: they get to be gatekeepers of their ethnicity and thus have the ability to otherize and ostracize those who don’t meet a standard. Gatekeepers of identity often look to set standards for inclusion that center around shared histories, experiences, or cultural values. Many critics of Kamala Harris’s claims of being African American will look to her Jamaican heritage and say, “she’s not the descendent of American slaves.” True. But this answer begs an even more important question: what are the differences between American and Jamaican (British) slavery? Slavery under the British Empire was abolished in 1833, which included the overseas territories like Jamaica. America would abolish slavery in 1865. Twenty-two years is the difference. Black American’s would suffer under a failed Reconstruction and Jim Crow laws for an additional 100 years until 1965. Meanwhile, Jamaica would remain a British Colony, subject to rule by the British Parliament and Crown, until it gained its independence in 1962. Needless to say, race relations between Blacks and whites in both countries were and remain fraught. So, what are the differences between American and Jamaican slavery? It would be much simpler and easier to answer how American and Jamaican slavery are similar. The Atlantic slave trade was a vile economic system that exploited and dehumanized people from all parts of Africa. Destinations for slaves included both Jamaica and America. Framing this in the crude terms of economics, the supply chains are the same but the end customers were different. Kamala Harris’s ancestors did not choose to get on the ship bound for Jamaica – chance made that decision for them. Instead of debating the particulars and continuing to propose strict standards, people with the privilege of a defined ethnic identity should seek to understand the unique burden of being multiethnic. They are often the product of individuals who embraced the differences between us, not the outcome of failed gatekeeping and poor taxonomy. Multiethnic individuals don’t choose to be half this and half that. They don’t seek to be “approachably brown” or a “light-skinned brother.” Just ask President Barack Obama, comedian Trevor Noah, reggae superstar Bob Marley, and Kamala Harris about their experiences defending the everyday realities of being multiethnic. As the recent mass editing of Kamala Harris’s Wikipedia page shows, everyone has a strong opinion on this matter. Moderators for the website have resolved the issue but the fact that so many people found it to be of the utmost importance to determine the proper label for a person with parents from Jamaica and India is concerning. Yes, the histories of these places and the people from them are complicated, but accepting that people can be Black and Asian at the same time shouldn’t.
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Steven M. Johnson
Aloha and Hafa Adai! I'm an Assistant Professor at Cornell University. As a researcher and knowledge enthusiast, I enjoy learning about social-ecological systems, the ocean, and the people who rely on it. Archives
April 2022
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