Skin color remains a vital part of private, perhaps subconscious, classification by citizens and public officials alike . . . 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.

I agree with this statement. As such, I find it particularly troublesome that the plurality opinion in Parents Involved in Community argues that in order to stop discriminating on the basis of race, society needs to stop discriminating on the basis of race. Even if society stops formally classifying people on the basis of race, society subconsciously classifies people according to their skin color. On the other hand, perhaps not classifying people on the basis of race is just one step in eliminating prejudices, if ever at all. Moreover, perhaps 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.

Can we stop discriminating on the basis of race when skin color is visible?:

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 a minor is caught using a fake ID, she receives a slap on the wrist and will 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, the police officer was sympathetic and forgiving, even though supplying a minor with alcohol is a relatively serious offense. When I looked at my record years later, the officer had categorized me as “C” under race, standing for “Caucasian.”

There is a chance, albeit small, 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 where racial stereotyping is common. Nevertheless, 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). I believe that each police officer made his own subconscious determination of my race and treated me according to his preconceptions of “black” and “white.” Thus, based on my personal experiences, the plurality opinion in Parents Involved in Community seems untenable. 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.

Preventing discrimination against multi-racial persons:

Despite the argument above, perhaps the plurality opinion in Parents Involved in Community has merit. Although subconscious classification based on race arguably cannot be prevented, as a biracial person, I do agree that abolishing formal classification based on race may help fight discrimination against multiracial persons. In fact, many “advocacy 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 I know always ask me with which group I identify. I am not sure why people ask me such a question; perhaps it makes them feel more comfortable to know whether I am black or white. If people do not know with which group I belong, then how do they know whether I belong with them? 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.

Unanswered questions:

It is important to note, however, that 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 any one of them “white.” So, again we come to the question of whether it is 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?