Outward Perception

Race is subjective. At the end of the day, when President Obama looks in the mirror he sees a black man. Rightly so. Explaining why I think he checked “black” on his 2010 census. Wether negative, positive or otherwise how a community and society treat you even based on the color of your skin effects your own self identification.

Have you heard of the doll test? Where black kids would be asked “Which do you prefer, a white or black doll?” Along with, “Which baby is bad and which is good?” when shown two dolls of different race. You can guess the results, and it wasn’t pretty.

How our society is built, how our neighborhoods are designed, how our community operates, and how we are marketed and not marketed to effects our view of ourselves. President Obama is no different.

President Obama also has to raise two black daughters. Part of that is showing them what it is to be proud, strong and educated black parents. Because if their last names weren’t Obama and they went to some city public school, they’d be just another black kid. Not mixed race.