Kamala Harris' Mixed-Heritage Confuses Simple Minded Conservatives

People like Trump expect us to choose a side, but the answer for us isn't either/or it's "all of the above"

AI Image created on Midjourney by the author

Kamala Harris is not Black, nor is she Indian. She is both. Like I am both Austrian and Nigerian—or neither of the two, depending on who you ask.

Many Austrians don't perceive me as Austrian, and many Nigerians would not immediately identify me as one of their own.

But mixed-race people incorporate both their parents' heritage. There is no black or white; there are many shades of gray. We are "all of the above."

Mixed heritage is hard to grasp for simple minds

In an interview at the NABJ (National Association of Black Journalists) annual convention, Trump had the "very smart" idea of acting as if he didn't know Kamala Harris was Black.

He thought he could score points with his all-Black audience by implying that Kamala was Indian and only pretending to be Black.

@ctvnewsDonald Trump falsely questioned Kamala Harris' race during an appearance before the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago that quickly turned hostile on Wednesday. #trump #race #kamalaharris #donaldtrump #journalist #news #president

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Much to the chagrin of his election team, which had already devised another strategy to smear Harris—one that didn't require Donald Trump to pretend he was blind and not very bright. And that didn't center around her being a childless cat lady.

But as usual, Trump went off script with his best brain. To him, it made perfect sense that a mixed-race person was only allowed to claim one part of their heritage.

The concept of mixed heritage is hard to grasp for simpletons like Trump. If you're different shades of "white" on all sides of the family tree, you'll have a hard time understanding why one heritage features more prominently in one setting and the other in the next.

There's no simple answer for people like me

In Austria, I've been asked countless times if I identify as Austrian or Nigerian. Yes, it's usually white people who ask this question. And, I always wonder what to say so the person will understand. A little bit of both, but also ‘neither’ doesn't compute for most people.

In the end, I usually settle for: I feel like a European — I had a very European upbringing.

Strangely enough, this makes sense to them, even though there is no such thing as a standard European. And they leave me be — or move on to asking me intrusive questions about my braided hair.

People don't understand there's no simple answer for mixed-heritage people. It's not either/or.

Asking if I'm Nigerian or Austrian is a lot like asking: Do you love your father or mother more? It seems as if they want to make sure you rank one above the other.

As if that lifelong question of loyalties didn't feature prominently enough in my life, how do I answer such a loaded question?

I know my younger sister answers differently. She says she is Nigerian. For her, our Nigerian heritage weighs more heavily than her Austrian heritage, even though she has lived a much larger part of her life in Austria than in Nigeria.

In her case, the constant insistence on picking a part of her heritage over the other has made the emotional pendulum swing more to one side.

Not that she denies that she's also Austrian. But I feel she was always more aware that "Are you this or that?" is loaded and that you were expected to pick a "right" side. So she picked the one people saw as less privileged out of spite.

The forced-choice dilemma

Mixed-race children often feel pressured to choose a single racial identity, even if it is only one part of their heritage.

This can be caused by peer pressure — when they have to decide which group to join in the playground. Or by societal expectations — the question "Who are you?" or simple things like forms that only allow you to choose one ethnicity. Psychologists call this the “forced-choice dilemma.”

Like my sister, many mixed-race children who grow up here in Austria choose sides.

Probably because the mainstream thinks they don't "belong." The implicit xenophobia in the question of "this or that" makes them defiantly choose the side they believe is less accepted.

Black and Brown kinship exists

Trump tried to play the xenophobia card at the NABJ convention. He thought, like him, the congregation would turn on Harris if they understood she was not like them. If he could make them believe she was Indian, not Black.

Because for people like him, it's all about "us or them." He's proven enough that he thinks every non-white person is "them." I don't think he can comprehend the sense of kinship that marginalized people can feel for each other.

Mostly because he feels no kinship to anyone who is not like him.

Despite negative examples like Rishi Sunak, Nikki Haley or Vivek Ramaswamy — even if Trump could convince every Black person in the US that Kamala Harris is only Indian, not Black, most of them — like me — would still find more common ground with her and every other brown person than with his weird ass.

“the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being.”

Toni Morrison

Who we are depends on the context

My father is Nigerian, and my mother is Austrian. Both of them and their cultures are a big part of me. I'm Nigerian and Austrian. But I'm also neither Nigerian nor Austrian.

There are things about me that are very Nigerian. My Yoruba name is one thing. When I introduce myself to a Nigerian as Aderonke Babajide, they know immediately that I am Yoruba and claim me as such. But to their utter confusion, I don't speak Yoruba, and I don't know how to cook a decent Jollof rice.

And I don't look Nigerian. I'm too "yellow."

I don't look Austrian, either. My skin is too "dark."

My name, given to an Austrian, makes them see me as "definitely not Austrian." Even though I am an Austrian citizen. Born and (partly) raised here. But when I open my mouth, and they hear me speak, or when they try my pork roast with dumplings, they are just as confused as my Nigerian brethren.

I like to think I've managed to combine parts of both cultures into something better — or at least something that makes sense to me.

Will I say I'm Austrian in certain situations? Absolutely. Because I am. But I will also say I'm Nigerian in other situations. Sometimes, I will claim neither of my parents' heritage. It depends on the context.

Just as Kamala Harris is both Indian or Black — depending on the context.

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