The Half Series — When Black People Look White (3 of 3)
The Finale
Here are the final guesses on Katie Burrell’s ethnic background as of Sunday, June 13th, 2010:
- White/Black 31.3%
- Hispanic/Black 11.1%
- Arabic/Black 10.1%
- Asian/Black 8.1%
- None of the Above 18.2%
- I Don’t Know 21.2%
– Katie Burrell in Her Own Words –
I’m half Arab and half Black. I live in the desert southwest so it’s predominately Latino/Hispanic. When people find out I’m not Mexican but Black and Arab, they treat me differently instantly because they said I lied to them. Honestly, it’s whatever.
When you’re not accepted by the Black community because your hair isn’t apparently ‘nappy’ enough (my own grandmother says I got Puerto Rican hair) and the Arab community says you’re not full Arab, it’s like you’re in between. It’s hard to mix my life and friends because they are so different.
When I’m with my family I feel normal. I feel more at home with Black folks rather than White or Arab, just because I do. People say I act like I’m Black then when I tell them I am, um…they’re shocked to say the least.
I’d say it’s about finding your own identity. We cannot define ourselves by the stereotypes in our culture, that gets us nowhere. No one can act or talk Black or White or Green or Yellow, it’s just how we perceive it. Like half of my family thinks I’m being White because I have an education and an honest job. All that means is that they have set the bar low for themselves and they think success means they’ll lose who they are. It’s actually the opposite, success defines the path in which you’ll go and so does failure.
– Get The Half Series ebook on Amazon –
There you have it! Katie’s ethnic background is Black and Arabic. I would have never guessed correctly myself if I didn’t already know the answer. It just goes to show you that you definitely should not judge a book by its cover.
Black people are not literally black. I know a Black woman with blue eyes, I recently saw an image of a Haitian child with blonde hair, and actor Harold Perrineau (who is married to a White woman) has two daughters and the youngest looks more like him and the oldest looks a lot like the mom. I can also recall a time when many people had no idea that Mariah Carey was Black (Afro-Venezuelan) or that Halle Berry has a White mother! I also just learned that Tom Sizemore’s mother is Black; something that he kept hidden for many many years! Wow!!!
It’s a crap shoot people, and that’s the beauty of it. You never know what you’re gonna get, but you can rest assured that whatever you get it will be part of the human race.
The Half Series — Part 1
The Half Series — Part 2
Update — December 15, 2011
On this day, Paris Jackson appeared on the Ellen show as a guest to promote a book and film project that she will be appearing in titled, “Lundon’s Bridge: and The Three Keys”. She as well as her brothers are in the spotlight more than ever and tongues are also wagging more than ever about whether or not they are Michael Jackson’s biological children.
Look at these two images:
Still don’t think Michael fathered Paris and her siblings? That’s your problem, but here’s something else; Paris is an avid tweeter on Twitter and when someone tried to call her out as being White she promptly came back stating that she’s “mixed”.
So, there ya have it folks, Paris and I’m sure Prince as well as Blanket are very aware of what they are and who their biological father is.
!!!CASE CLOSED!!!
Originally published at dangerouslee.biz on June 14, 2010.