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Law in Contemporary Society
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“Skin color remains a vital part of private, perhaps subconscious, classification by citizens and public officials alike. As such, it is deeply implicated in racial inequality and poverty, perhaps as much as it was around the turn of the twentieth century.” http://scholar.harvard.edu/jlhochschild/publications/policies-racial-classification-and-politics-racial-inequality.
When society subconsciously classifies citizens by race, is the plurality opinion in Parents Involved in Community accurate when the court argues that one day, to get rid of discrimination on the basis of race society needs to stop discriminating on the basis of race? I am trying to make sense of this. Perhaps not classifying people on the basis of race is just one step in eliminating prejudices, if ever at all. But also, maybe it is especially important to stop classifying by race in a society where the number of people who have parents of different races are rising, and the lines between race are blurred.
Yet, I still have a hard time believing that we can change our attitudes about race. And I have an even harder time believing that by denying the fact that races are classified by society will help solve the problem of racial inequality and poverty.
Skin color is visible, and the color of one’s skin affects many facets of life such as: lengths of prison sentences, the likelihood of death sentences, what is perceived as attractive, chances of being nominated into a political position, and the likelihood of being negatively stereotyped. http://scholar.harvard.edu/jlhochschild/publications/policies-racial-classification-and-politics-racial-inequality.
Take my own experiences as a biracial person, for example. When I was in college, I received a citation for using a fake ID trying to get into a bar, and I also received a citation for buying a minor alcohol. When I received a citation for using a fake ID, the police officer was demeaning, unforgiving, and rude. Usually (according to my white friends’ experiences), when they were caught using a fake ID, they received a slap on the wrist and did not get a citation. However, I received a citation. Years later, when I looked at my record, the officer had written me down as “B” under race, standing for “black.” On the other hand, when a police officer caught me buying my friend alcohol who was a minor, the police officer was understanding and forgiving, even though supplying a minor with alcohol is a more serious offense. When I looked at my record years later, the officer had categorized me as “C” under race, standing for “Caucasian.”
Now, there is a chance that the difference in how each police officer treated me had nothing to do with race. However, it is impossible to ignore the coincidence, especially in central Pennsylvania. Regardless, I do not think that because the police officers in these different occasions were forced to categorize me according to my race on the police report that it exacerbated (or even caused) their biases (assuming they were). Each police officer made his own determination of my race and treated me accordingly. In my opinion, this is why it is difficult to say that to stop discrimination on the basis of race, we need to stop discriminating on the basis of race. Because race is visible, people automatically and subconsciously classify citizens by race before they are even required on paper to do so.
However, as a biracial person, I do agree that classification based on race can sometimes be hurtful. “[A]dvocacy groups argue that multiracial individuals are being treated unequally because of their lack of official recognition . . . and their desire to retain multiple identities rather than follow the one-drop rule.” http://scholar.harvard.edu/jlhochschild/publications/policies-racial-classification-and-politics-racial-inequality. For example, most people always ask me with which group I identify. I am not sure why. Does it make them feel more comfortable to know whether I am black or white? Moreover, black people have told me that I am not “black,” and white people have told I that I am not “white.” Hence, I do not “belong” in either group. But why must I be one or the other when I am both?
An advocate for mixed people created a “Bill of Rights for Racially Mixed People,” she wrote (among twelve elements): “I have the right…not to keep the races separate within me…not to be responsible for people’s discomfort with my physical ambiguity… …to identify myself differently than strangers expect me to identify…to identify with more than one group of people.” http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/dec96/blurring5.html.
As the number of biracial offspring increases rapidly, and the line between races blurs, perhaps the plurality opinion in Parents Involved in Community has some merit. If we continue to try to classify biracial people as black, white, Asian, Hispanic, etc., a racial divide will always exist, and biases will persist. But if we stop trying to racially classify biracial people, perhaps society will start to perceive them as who they are instead of what race they are.
Nevertheless, the majority of society is not biracial. Consequently, it is harder for people to resist racial classification when skin color is so conspicuous. But again, even with biracial people, racial classification is inevitable. For example, Halle Berry, Tiger Woods, and Barrack Obama, are all biracial, yet you would never hear someone call anyone of them “white.” So, is it possible to avoid racial classification? How can we get rid of discrimination on the basis of race by not discriminating on the basis of race when skin color is visible?
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