Carol Channing admits to being 1/2 black
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aq_23 — 18 years ago(September 05, 2007 06:44 PM)
I think you should check out these boards
http://www.gossiprocks.com/forum/miscellaneous/26876-black-parents-can-have-white-kids-too.html
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/mulatto/vpost?id=1109621 -
Eva1-1 — 16 years ago(July 31, 2009 06:36 PM)
I will excuse your ignorance, as it is not entirly your fault. If you really believe this, please explain some of these folks.
http://onedroprule.org/about1567.html -
Isle1970 — 18 years ago(October 24, 2007 01:27 AM)
If her father was so light-skinned as to be able to pass for white, he likely was less of a percentage bla2000ck than a mulatto would be. I believe mulatto means half and half (black and white), i.e., Halle Barry is a mulatto (black father, white mother). She is nowhere near light enough to pass for white because her father was not a mixed black-at least not apparently so.
Someone mentioned that Carol was an "octoroon", which would make her an 1/8 black I believe. That would mean that her father was 1/4 black. Neither of these percentages is mulatto though.
Carol's father could have been born of two very light-skinned black parents, but that also would not be defined as mulatto. If one of his parents was light skinned and had a child with a white person, he could be called mulatto technically, but his complexion wouldn't match the usual description.
In the end it doesn't really matter because even though the "one-drop" rule was no longer in place, most people married within their own race (for legal reasons among others). That being the case, Carol's father's parents were likely very light-skinned themselves (but not light enough to pass) and living as blacks, while he had the complexion to choose.
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it - Shaw -
lavenderspirit2005 — 18 years ago(December 05, 2007 08:44 PM)
Carol's father was born in the South to a Black mother and a White father. I believe I read that in JET Magazine when they ran an article on Channing after she said she was part-Black. His mother moved him up North so he could gain more opportunities since as a Black child, he would be discriminated against and be forced to undergo Jim Crow.
"If one of his parents was light skinned and had a child with a white person, he could be called mulatto technically, but his complexion wouldn't match the usual description."
As a person of Black and White blood MYSELF, I'd like to say that there's no "usual description". A person of Black and White mixed blood can look like anything. We can look White, we can look Black, we can look American Indian, some of us can even look Asian. Half black people vary in skin color just like not all Whites are pasty, or all Latinos are brown-skinned with straight Black hair. They come in a variety of skin complexions.
"Someone mentioned that Carol was an "octoroon", which would make her an 1/8 black I believe. That would mean that her father was 1/4 black. Neither of these percentages is mulatto though."
I can tell you right here, as an actual person of mixed blood, that that seems to just be splitting hairs. Not only have all of these percentages historically been considered "mulatto", they've also been considered BLACK.
Historically, the term "mulatto" has not been meant as strictly a term reserved for people who are half pure african and half pure white. That's biologically impossible anyway, since Black people are no longer pure African. So, yes indeed, people exactly like Carol Channing and even whiter have been considered not only "mulatto" but Black as well.
I am exactly like Channing: I have a half Black, half White mother and a White father, and not only can I be called a 'mulatto', more to the point, I can most definitely be called BLACK. There've been people whiter than Carol Channing both in blood and skin tone who've skipped over entirely the so-called "mulatto" racial label and jumped straight to "Black" such as famous activist Walter White:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_White
In fact, People with Channing's racial makeup and EVEN whiter who have been open about their Black ancestry, has historically been referred to as "BLACK" statistically more often than even the "mulatto" racial label. This is Black history, written about in nearly every Black history book pretty much ever written.
Why do you think she stayed quiet about her Black heritage in the first place? Because people like her regardless of being one-fourth Black were viewed as BLACK. And Black musical super-stars in her era were very few, if any.
There are a great many people who are half black and half White who are extremely light-complected and some who look White. My mother is like Carol Channing's father: her mother is Black and her father is White and she's quite fair, a light yellow complection. My Father was White. My mother and I are both very fair-skinned Blacks.
I had a cousin also like my Mother, who was born to a Black mother and White father, who was quite fair-skinned herself, also a light-yellow complection.
The actress Lonette Mckee was born to a Black dad and White mom and looks White:
http://us.ent3.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/contrib_pix/l/o/hds/lonette_mckee.jpg
Jennifer Beals:
http://www.l-word.org/images/jennifer-beals.jpg
Amanda Marshall:
http://www.lyred.com/covers/amanda_marshall_-_tuesday's_child.jpg
Anthony Ervin:
http://www.swimontario.com/uploads/articles/Anthony_Ervin.jpg
and others.
Percentages are all well and good, but in reality, most of us who are of Black ancestry, REGARDLESS of the percentage consider ourselves not only "mulatto", but Black as well. In actuality, there have been far "whiter" people than Channing who've PROUDLY considered themselves Black and Mulatto, in the past and present.
Check out: http://www.aaregistry.com -
andrewwjohnson — 18 years ago(December 18, 2007 10:53 AM)
Lonette Mckee has photos of both of her parents set up on the "my real life" section of her website Lonette McKee.com. Her father is defiantly black although he has clearly Native American features. That's not unusual since as much as a third of African Americans have some degree of Native American ancestry. Her mother has been discribed, at least in the local (Upper Michigan) media, as Swedish Finnish. She (Lonette's mother) was born in Upper Michigan and later moved to Detriot.
Just remember: I was as good as any and better then most-Vincent Freeman in Gattaca -
lavenderspirit2005 — 18 years ago(December 20, 2007 12:55 PM)
Yes, a lot of Blacks have Indian blood. My own great-grandmother was a dark-skinned woman said to be half Cherokee. She had very strong Indian features and several members of the family had wavier hair because of it.
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Troy202 — 17 years ago(October 22, 2008 01:16 AM)
Mermaid77, what is your point of trolling the board with the same subject, to make you feel better about yourself? You have spent about two years going to just about every mayor star and claiming they are black and passing for white, when in reality most of the fans don't care what they were since they love this stars no matter what.
Your arguments are pointless and narrow-minded and I don't think it bothers anyone if these stars had black in them or green Martian blood. A star is a star and therefore loved by most races no matter what the color or their herita5b4ge was. You need to step off the 1960's and stop claiming white stars as black because frankly, no one cares.
You have devoted your life for the past 2 or so years by posting the same thing over and over again at most mayor star as if your intention is to bother people. And today with the world crumbling economy, terrorism and what not, you are going from board to board posting basically the same thing.
Sounds like you have a needless inferiority complex about being black yourself, therefore, you concoct these wild fabrications about these stars so you can feel better about yourself.
It's Ok to admire Carol Channing and others without having to resort to idiotic claims that she was half black. The point he is the Ms. Chancing is a legend and a great entertainer and that's all the fans care about.
At the Diana Ross board no one is going around saying that she is trying to pass herself as white, despite the obvious ski bleaches and her more commercial voice sound.
Why don't you try accepting yourself and these stars for their talent and not their supposedly heritage. In the end it doesn't make a difference and I don't see what is it that you get by these off the wall claims. Satisfaction? Bother people? Attention? Trolling? Maybe you have a problem being black and and the old saying goes, "Misery loves company." This is your own way to feel less lonely.
"Any girl can111c look glamorous. Stand still and look stupid."
Hedy Lamarr -
Diamond97 — 12 years ago(March 24, 2014 11:35 AM)
Mermaid77, what is your point of trolling the board with the same subject, to make you feel better about yourself? You have spent about two years going to just about every mayor star and claiming they are black and passing for white, when in reality most of the fans don't care what they were since they love this stars no matter what.
Your arguments are pointless and narrow-minded and I don't think it bothers anyone if these stars had black in them or green Martian blood. A star is a star and therefore loved by most races no matter what the color or their heritage was. You need to step off the 1960's and stop claiming white stars as black because frankly, no one cares.
You have devoted your life for the past 2 or so years by posting the same thing over and over again at most mayor star as if your intention is to bother people. And today with the world crumbling economy, terrorism and what not, you are going from board to board posting basically the same thing.
Sounds like you have a needless inferiority complex about being black yourself, therefore, you concoct these wild fabrications about these stars so you can feel better about yourself.
It's Ok to admire Carol Channing and others without having to resort to idiotic claims that she was half black. The point he is the Ms. Chancing is a legend and a great entertainer and that's all the fans care about.
At the Diana Ross board no one is going around saying that she is trying to pass herself as white, despite the obvious ski bleaches and her more commercial voice sound.
Why don't you try accepting yourself and these stars for their talent and not their supposedly heritage. In the end it doesn't make a difference and I don't see what is it that you get by these off the wall claims. Satisfaction? Bother people? Attention? Trolling? Maybe you have a problem being black and and the old saying goes, "Misery loves company." This is your own way to feel less lonely.
Why do you have a problem with her mentioning what Carol Channing admitted? I think you have a problem w5b4ith Carol being black. -
Jane_Doe01 — 18 years ago(January 02, 2008 04:55 AM)
^Wow, it's like a broken record in word form. This was of the most annoying and out of the left posts I've ever read. You seem heart-racing with desperation for 'BLACK' acceptance, which is pathetic as trying to passing for white. You should stop embarrassing yourself and think about other things besides race.
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lavenderspirit2005 — 18 years ago(January 03, 2008 03:42 AM)
"A broken record"? "You should stop embarrassing yourself and think about other things besides race."?
I'd like to inform you that this thread is entitled "Carol Channing admits to being 1/2 black".
It is a thread discussing a racial topic (Channing's mixed-race background) where I, a person of mixed-race background, was simply sharing a few opinions on the subject since it has personal relavance to me. That means I am "embarassing myself" and needing to "think about other things besides race"? Ummthat doesn't make any sense. I'm doing what every other IMDB.com user is doing: sharing their opinions on a variety of topics on the website. Some threads I participate in are racially-themed and others have nothing to do with race. What's the issue?
And as for me seeming to be "Heart-racing with desperation for 'BLACK' acceptance'", I find such a wild and outrageous assumption coming from a person who doesn't know anything about me completely out of line and not to mention laughable. Where's all these wild assumptions coming from? I don't know you and you certainly don't know me. I don't feel I need to explain myself to some anonymous online stranger, but just to set the record straightthe only person who would be desperate for acceptance is someone who is not secure and confident about their heritage. I'm very proud of my family background, and I know who I am.
I don't know why such a letter assuming such preposterous things about me, would come out of left field like this from some net stranger but I think of quite a few things other than race. I am a member of various forums that have nothing to do with race and I've got various interests in my private life totally unrelated to race, as do all people. You wouldn't know that because again, YOU ARE A STRANGER who knows nothing about me. On this thread about a celebrity's mixed-race heritage, however, I happened to participiate in it by sharing some of my opinions and also some info on the subject. That's my right as an American who has free speech.
Now, any conversation with YOU is closed. -
bellaalma — 18 years ago(January 17, 2008 09:29 PM)
lavenderspirit2005 - thank you for such an intelligent post. The misconceptions that abound regarding BLACK people, race, appearance, history, etc. are mind boggling. It is so refreshing to read a post from someone with a shared knowledge and opinion. You said EXACTLY what I was going to say.
Well done.
