Why simplify race?

My wife and I have been married for a little over a year now. She was born and raised in Brazil, has olive-complexion skin, long black hair, and, as Vice President-elect Joe Biden described his wife during the event in Springfield, IL, when President elect Obama introduced Biden as the vice-president selection on the Democratic ticket, “Is smokin’ hot.”

My wife’s mother is a native of Paraguay, and her father is a native of Brazil. I was born and raised in the United States, Texas to be exact, have white complexion skin, short brown dirty blond hair, and am lucky to be my wife’s husband. My mother and father our both natives of Texas.

Sometimes we find ourselves dreaming about the future and what are kids will be like. When we do, we find ourselves asking the question, “What will they be called?” Often followed by, “Why?” and “Why does it matter?” For example, if we have twins: one boy and one girl. The boy has the skin complexion of his mother, will he be called Hispanic, Latino, American, Brazilian, something else? And if the girl has the skin complexion of her father, will she be called white, American, Caucasian, something else?

Which brings us back to the question, “Why do we all just call President elect Obama ‘black’?” His father was born and raised in Kenya, had dark complexion skin and black hair. His mother was born and raised in the United States, had white complexion skin, and dark brown hair. So, if one of President elect Obama’s parents has white complexion skin, and one of his parents has dark complexion skin, why do we all just call him ‘black’?

Perhaps on an individual basis this question is something that each of us ultimately just needs to answer for ourselves, answers that may very well be personal and widely different from one another. On a national or societal basis, perhaps the question will give us pause to consider if the current system of classifying people truly helps us to focus on what is important, or if in the end, any of these classifying terms should really matter. Why do we choose one category or term versus another to classify each other? And, when the children of my wife and I are born in the years ahead, what term should they or will they be called? Why? Should it even matter?