Some Multiracial Disappointment

Obama Disappointment over Appointment

Project RACE does not usually get involved with articles about race-based entitlements, but an article caught my eye and begged for a little commentary. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is admonishing President Obama because he hasn’t chosen any blacks to fill cabinet and other high-level positions during this, his second term. In a very blunt letter, Chairwoman of the CBC Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) not only complains about the slight, but adds, “[The CBC] ire is compounded by the overwhelming support you’ve received from the African-American community.”

So what are they going to do? Pressure the White House, get even more publicity, scream and shout and hopefully get an African-American put in one of those top positions. I could go into the logic of just getting the right person, regardless of race, into the right job, but we all know that argument or the implication of some pay-back by the President.  

Surprise! My point is to applaud the CBC for coming together and pointing out their gripes. The letter also states, “We want to make sure that everybody understands that we’re not some group that’s so way out that we can’t fit in the mainstream. We are very mainstream, and I want that message to be told.” You go, Congresswoman.

The CBC is doing exactly what the multiracial community should be doing, but is not. Oh wait, I sent a requested letter to the Census National Advisory Committee (NAC) a week ago and stated this: “Members of the multiracial community are stakeholders, not outliers in the Decennial Census and in other government reports. We are more than bits of data or combination folks.” I waited until their March meeting was over to speak with them, so they could confirm that none of the vital concerns of our community were brought up during the meeting, especially not by multiracial members of the committee. Then I immediately followed-up with the letter.

The biggest failing of the multiracial community is that many do not understand how things work in Washington, or even on state levels. Ya gotta have clout and/or think outside of the box(es). We accomplished everything we could in the 90s because of strategic political thinking by some of the Project RACE advisors. But where did all the other advocates go? How did academics without political science knowledge become voices for the movement? The same way clueless people got on committees, they were appointed by people on the inside who knew they were powerless or they were self-anointed to play “expert.”

I am proud to say that Project RACE has worked for the civil rights of multiracial people and our families since 1990, mostly behind the scenes, politically, to build an important base. But we can’t teach others in the community who do not understand the different needs between—let’s say a zombie—and a multiracial child.

So don’t worry, Project RACE has the collective backs of the multiracial community despite one old academic and his followers’ efforts to keep us down. Maybe one day, we can join forces and become as effective as the Congressional Black Caucus.