Verified by 
Key points
- Debates about Black identity have long been a part of discourse within Black culture.
- Rarely do debates about "authentic" Black identity originate from outside the Black community.
- Kamala Harris has demonstrated "psychological Blackness" where she embraces her Black identity.
Debates about Black identity and notions of authenticity have long been a part of the discourse within Black culture. There have always been strong feelings within the Black community about individuals demonstrating sufficient commitment and loyalty to Black people. This is one of the reasons why racial identity has been such a popular topic among Black psychologists. The tensions around being “Black” enough inspired me to create a course on the politics of Black identity that focuses on the debates that happen within the Black community about who is “authentically Black” and ultimately problematizes notions of authentic Blackness.
Trump and Black Identity Politics
The key fact to keep in mind is that these debates have occurred from within the Black community, in part to critique the behaviors, attitudes, and philosophies of Black leaders and public figures as either undermining or advancing Black progress. Rarely do debates about “authentic” Black identity originate from outside the Black community, as that would understandably be inappropriate for obvious reasons. This norm was violated during a meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists, when Donald Trump waded into Black identity politics and questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’s identity as a Black woman. Trump said, “She was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person.”
Trump’s incendiary comments, like so many previous racially tinged comments, have ignited a firestorm of controversy. [Note: The Associated Press offers guidance on writing about race and racism and directs journalists to avoid using terms like “racially tinged” as euphemisms for racist or racism. I leave it to the reader to make that determination.] A charitable interpretation of his comments is that they reflect an ignorance and lack of understanding about the complexity and diversity of Black identities. A less charitable interpretation of his comments is that they reflect a cynical and politically calculated move intended to discredit Kamala Harris’s connection to the Black community. However, his attempt to discredit Kamala’s Black identity failed spectacularly as criticisms from across the political spectrum rolled in.
Barack Obama and the Politics of Blackness
Debates about the racial identity of high-profile Black public figures are not new. Fifteen years ago, when Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States and the first African American president in United States history, there were many discussions and debates about his racial identity and “authenticity” as a Black man. These debates were sparked by the fact that his personal biography was not characteristic of many African Americans. He was born in Hawaii to a White American mother and a Kenyan father. As a biracial person, his “Blackness” was called into question by several prominent Black public figures, including Cornel West.
In an insightful article on Barack Obama and the politics of Blackness, political scientist Ron Walters cited the Black cultural critic Stanley Crouch as stating that “other than color, Obama….does not share a heritage with the majority of Black Americans, who are descendants of plantation slaves.” Walters also cited the Black American author and essayist Debra Dickerson who argued that “Black” in today’s political and social reality is a term that really means descendants from West African slaves.
Walters argued that in addition to campaigning effectively within the Black community, Obama was accepted in the Black community because (1) he had a Black wife, and (2) he belonged to a Black church. When I first taught the Politics of Black Identity course, Black women in the class were very vocal about how being married to a Black woman made them feel much more positive about Obama’s Black identity. In other words, his racial bona fides were firmly established with Michelle Obama as his wife.
Is Kamala Harris “Black” Enough?
The parallels between Barack Obama and Kamala Harris are obvious. Both are of biracial heritage. Kamala was born to an Asian Indian mother and Jamaican father. Both served as U.S. Senators. And both have been subjected to racial litmus tests of authentic Blackness. One notable difference is the source of the questioning of their Black identity. Unlike Obama, whose primary source of questioning his Blackness came from within the Black community, the primary source questioning Kamala’s Blackness has come from outside the Black community. The fact that the questioning of Kamala’s Blackness is not coming from inside the Black community perhaps reflects the Black community’s growing recognition that one’s Blackness can not be narrowly defined (e.g., only being a descendant of enslaved Africans).
Trump’s cynical attempt to discredit Harris’s Black identity has resulted in a closer examination of her personal biography. Unlike Obama, Harris is married to a White Jewish man. While being partnered with a non-Black spouse sometimes results in questions about one’s Blackness, I am not aware of Harris’s Blackness being questioned because of her choice of spouse. This may reflect the Black community’s sensitivity to the disproportionate numbers of Black men with White partners compared to Black women.
Contrary to Trump’s depiction, Harris has never vacillated on her Black identity. She honors and celebrates her biracial heritage as both Black and Indian. Harris has also demonstrated what racial identity theorist William Cross has called “psychological Blackness”, where she openly embraces a Black identity. Perhaps owing to the history of racism and anti-Blackness and knowing that the world would see her first as a Black woman, Harris made the conscious decision to attend the historically Black university, Howard University. To those for whom this matters, attending an HBCU is noteworthy and one indicator of her “psychological Blackness.” Harris is also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., the first intercollegiate African American sorority. For some her sorority membership is another indicator of her “psychological Blackness.”
However, I would be remiss not to be critical about drawing definitive conclusions about Kamala Harris’s Blackness based on any specific aspect of her personal biography or her biracial heritage. As the description of my Politics of Black Identity course indicates, notions of authentic Blackness should be problematized. Simply stated, there is no right way to be Black. The Black community understands this, even while sometimes being guilty of perpetuating a policing of Blackness. That said, there is one thing we can all agree upon: Donald Trump has no business commenting on Kamala Harris’s Blackness and should leave Black identity politics to Black people.
