Personally, I couldn’t possibly care less. She certainly has some African ancestry, and by the Democrats’ “one drop rule,” dating to the 19th century, she is entitled to claim black identity. For what that is worth.
But some others, including Donald Trump, take the question more seriously. And so do some blacks who gather at the neighborhood barber shop:
Among the many hilarious parts of this CNN video is that, after the Black men explain their views on Kamala and race, the White Man of Authority calls them stupid, and says that's not how the majority of black people think, which he knows because his black friends told him so. https://t.co/TEM2bJIJZu
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 3, 2024
I’m with Glenn Greenwald. To me, the question whether Harris is black seems utterly stupid. Why would anyone care? But even more bizarre is the spectacle of white leftists dictating racial identity to blacks.
For whatever corrupt reason, questions of racial identity have become important in our politics. Why else is Kamala so insistent on being “black,” years after she was elected the first Indian-American senator? Kamala and the Democrats think it is important that she be a representative of black Americans–the first black woman president! If Kamala wants to run for president as a representative of black Americans, it seems only fair that black Americans get to say what they think about it.
Much as I detest identity politics, I look forward to that question: is Kamala black? continuing to resonate from now to November. And I suspect that the verdict in a lot of barbershops will not be positive.
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