African-American with green eyes?

[irishgirl]

I think describing Wentworth Miller as half black, half white is disingenous.
His “black” half includes Jamaican, German, Jewish, Cherokee, English and African-American ancestry, while his “white” half includes Dutch, French, Syrian and Lebanese ancestry. He’s a beautiful example of extremely interracial relationships and is entitled to consider himself whatever the hell he wants, but “black” doesn’t tell the full story.

Besides, how do you know some of these people aren’t wearing contact lenses?

[John_Mace]

@SharkB8

Anyone ever seen that movie the "Human Stain?"

I can’t believe I didn’t think of him first, but Wentworth Miller , from “Prison Break” considers himself black , with a black father and white mother.

@irishgirl

I think describing Wentworth Miller as half black, half white is disingenous.
His “black” half includes Jamaican, German, Jewish, Cherokee, English and African-American ancestry, while his “white” half includes Dutch, French, Syrian and Lebanese ancestry. He’s a beautiful example of extremely interracial relationships and is entitled to consider himself whatever the hell he wants, but “black” doesn’t tell the full story.

Besides, how do you know some of these people aren’t wearing contact lenses?

Especially since that wikipedia link does not say the he considers himself to be Black.

Miller’s father “is African-American, Jamaican, English, German” and part Cherokee and Jewish; his mother is Russian, French, Dutch, Syrian, and Lebanese. In an interview, Miller said: “My father is black and my mother is white. Therefore, I could answer to either which kind of makes me a racial Lone Ranger, at times, caught between two communities.”

But keep in mind that “race” is a social construct, and as such, it will defy scientific analysis. If society says you are Black, then you are Black. Doesn’t matter how many or how few African ancestors you have. I think in the case of Miller, society will say he is White unless he makes a concerted effort to self-identify as Black. That might not have been true 50 years ago (when the one-drop rule was commonly used to classify people), but it is today*.

Whenever we try to apply scientific analysis to the concept of race to humans today, we end up throwing up our hands and giving up. It can’t be done, scientifically.

*I’m generalizing, of course, as some people today probably still use the one-drop rule. However, I don’t think most of us think that way anymore.

[SharkB8]

@irishgirl

I think describing Wentworth Miller as half black, half white is disingenous.
His “black” half includes Jamaican, German, Jewish, Cherokee, English and African-American ancestry, while his “white” half includes Dutch, French, Syrian and Lebanese ancestry. He’s a beautiful example of extremely interracial relationships and is entitled to consider himself whatever the hell he wants, but “black” doesn’t tell the full story.

Besides, how do you know some of these people aren’t wearing contact lenses?

I concur…I was just saying how he described himself.

[SharkB8]

Or let me clarify…

There was a quote of his I read about 3 years ago where he refered to himself as a black guy. And said his father considered himself black as well. Like I mentioned earlier, I’m Cherokee, Lakota Sioux, Scottish, French and Black. But you look at me and say black. I say black, not multi-racial…mostly because I’m too lazy to explain. I’ll search around and see if I can find that quote.

Oh, and I don’t know about anyone else, but you can TOTALLY tell when black people are wearing colored contacts. Sometimes you can even see the pixels. It’s not at all impossible for them to have light eyes. And like I also mentioned, my brother’s 2 year old is definately not wearing blue contacts.

And Mr. Mace, my family and friends totally still go by the one drop rule. People are more and more mixed now, though, that usually that one drop is in the presence of othernon-white drops, so that rule may become obsolete.

[Nzinga_Seated]

I know a lot of black people with ‘light’ eyes. Light by anyone’s standards. I won’t try to guess the percentage of blacks with light eyes, but, my oldest sister has light grean eyes. My mom is definitely black by any definition, and so is my sister’s dad. My sister’s daughter has blue eyes. Well they are usually bright blue, and sometimes they seem blue on the edges and yellow in the center! And she has two black parents. That is two people in my close family, alone. It is really not that uncommon.

I think that it is maybe like you with the face said…people who are not black are more likely not to notice the subtle differences in the eye color of black people. Or something like that.