Well hello there everyone! I didn’t realize so much time had passed since my last post…I’m gonna skip the long introduction today and jump right into what this blog is about; ethnicity.

I was hanging out at a friend’s house when a conversation broke out that I will never forget as long as I live. One of the guys at the party was going on and on about how cool he was because he’s mixed. By mixed I mean he is of both African-American and Mexican-American descent. What I remember most about that night is how he singled out black women as a group that should not be dated because they are just “too hood” and then he spent the rest of the evening telling me that it was OK that he and I were interested in one another because I was clearly mixed based on my light skin and hazel eyes. I had just enough “non black” in me to make the cut as a suitable bed partner. And this was all coming from a person who was least three shades darker than me!

…….I thought it was the most offensive and interesting notion I have ever heard in my whole life. I began to wonder if this was just another example of the ever growing trend of black men refusing to date black women so I began to ask around. After several conversations in several different settings I noticed a very annoying trend, people seem to no longer enjoy having a single ethnicity. I remember growing up and hearing terms like “mutt” and “half breed” (yes I just said half breed) when it came to having multiple ethnicities but now it seems to be the latest popular trend. You’re a nobody if you don’t have at least three different influences on your genetic code.

I would be remiss if I didn’t admit to the fact that I have listed my diverse ethnicity in conversations myself but what I never realized was that it elevated my social standing somehow. I am a huge fan of history and culture so I have spent a lot of time researching my family’s gene line and what I discovered is that we have Creole and American Indian codes in our mixture. Apparently this disqualifies me from being “regular” black and now places me in a group known as “fancy” black. Yes, there is now a fancy black.

But something like this can’t just be isolated to black culture, and believe me it isn’t. I once had a conversation with a white girl and when I asked her questions about her ethnicity she explained to me that she wasn’t white…she was Irish, Italian, German, and French to which I replied, apparently in great ignorance, that those are all just versions of Caucasian people right? The look on her face made it very clear that they were not.

Now I don’t know what has made ethnic diversity so popular but I am certainly not opposed to people wanting to embrace all aspects of their culture. With that being said there is no reason to run from your race or ethnicity. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being just Mexican as in people from Mexico, or just Asian, as in people from Asian countries. This notion of “fancy” black over “regular” black is certainly not a positive step and it shocks me that such a concept even exists. Concepts like Black Irish, Blue Eeyed Soul, Non White Hispanic, and don’t even get me started on Afrikaners versus Africans continue to place dividing lines between groups of people when the only thing that could ever make sense is what region you live in. I can’t wait for the day when I can just check the American box!

Take it away Kendrick Lamar

Yours Truly,

Amber Mosby…”Forgive me if I don’t get excited”