White Black Man, article in the Village Voice

This Village Voice article is about a Black albino man, Victor Varnado, a performer based in New York. He talks about growing up being Black but thought of as White because of his skin condition (unless noted in a conversation/performance or when asked).

Varnado says in the article, "Race and racism is so arbitrary... Sometimes people see me and they think I'm 'acting black.'"

Self-identity and identification (or misidentification) by others when it comes to race and culture is something that has become so complex that the subject itself can only be discussed individual by individual, not generalized for the purpose of academics.

I think Varnados's case of being mistaken for a White man is similar to the half Japanese half White "hapa" experience, regardless of how much they relate to one culture more than the other. For myself, I feel "more White" on the outside because I look it. When I tell people that I'm half Japanese, I get responses like, "Wow, I thought you were all White," and "But your last name is White and you look White." I identify myself more Japanese (not Japanese American) culturally; not just because my mother is Japanese, but because I was raised in a home and by a parent where it was as Japanese as it could get in Los Angeles. I am definitely more Japanese on the inside (than I am on the outside, obviously).

Read the entire Village Voice article and start a discussion below.

There are also several other topics about mixed race identity under "Hapa Identity" on the Discover Nikkei Bulletin Board including a Podcast series.