The primary intention of “The Black Mosaic” was to bring a sense of cohesion between the Latino/a groups and African groups in America.  While an admirable goal, I was fascinated by the notion that many intricate racial relationships can coalesce under one identity.

This article concerning racial identity led me to a New York times article, written by Bonnie Tsui, talked about the difficulty of a Chinese-American mother in trying to explain the concept of race to her multiracial child.  Initially, her child, who is part Chinese, part white American and part European, firmly told his mother that “you’re Chinese, but I’m not.”  In the end of the article, the mother concludes by saying that, in the end, only the child can define his/her own identity.  In other words, the child can consider himself, wholly white, wholly Chinese, mixed etc.  All the mother can do is offer her own opinion about her own identity.  This idea is unique in that it suggests that the notion of identity can only be characterized by the self.  In “The Black Mosaic” article, many of the Latino/a were reluctant to classify themselves as black either perhaps because of the American preoccupation against blackness or because of other reasons, implying tension between the African American groups and Latino/a groups in America.  Although the tension between the groups is a detestable fact of the existing racial hierarchy, it must be emphasized that racial identity can only be solidified by the self.  So if an interracial Latino/African American individual decides to label himself or herself wholly Latino/a or African American, what right does anyone have to counter that belief?

Before concluding her article, Tsui also offers a poignant lesson, saying that “there is something about being a racial minority in America that I would want them [her children] to know.”  Because racial minorities are often marginalized in society, Tsui suggests that it builds character and pride in one’s own racial makeup.  Thinking back to the idea of tensions between the Latino and African American groups in America, it is worthwhile to acknowledge Tsui’s idea that one should be proud of one’s identity regardless of the consequent societal burdens.  In the “The Black Mosaic” article, the author references an instance in which a waitress tells the chef to make food for those who are “not colored,” reflecting the race tensions in society.  This is what Tsui means when she mentions the “something” that she wants her children to know.  Tsui wants to impart modesty in her children by informing them of the struggles of a particular race in the American society.  It is perfectly acceptable for an interracial person to deny one part of his/her identity and assume the another part.  No one else has any right to say otherwise.  However, by denying an integral part of identity in order to receive the materialistic benefits of society, it is killing a part of the self and serves to foster prejudice and tensions in the long run.