Mulattopia, Stage One
Beige people of the world, crack your windows, because when the Mulatto Revolution happens, the above song shall be the sound you will hear!
When the last mixed Negro gets tired of having to prove their racial worth to the black world, and the last halfbreed Oreo gets sick of being the only cookie in their circle with chocolate encircling their cream filling, a new way will be found, a Third Way, a way filled with intricate harmony and devoid of contradiction, and the Mulattoes will join in the streets and start walking out to the countryside to form a new nation, a land of the Other, where the Third Way will be defined as it never could before.
And to this song we will till the land on our compound and with earth under our nails we shall create a space for ourselves in the world without compromise, where we will be half of nothing and whole of all. And this will be our Homeland, because everybody should be in the majority at least sometimes, even us who are minorities within our own families.
(And then, when the music ends, we'll awake from our spell, miss our loved ones and lovers, and be reminded that beige people are pretty annoying in large doses too, and try and figure out how to get the bus out of there...but we will exchange emails or business cards or something before most of us slink back to our realities.)
Until then, you mixed masses, get prepared. Immerse yourself in Mat Johnson's Mulattopia Master Mix. Find a country within the wall of sound:
EMILY KING
Emily King
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CREE SUMMER
SLASH and LENNY KRAVITZ
FINLEY QAUYE
BOB MARLEY
AFRO CELT SOUND SYSTEM
CORRINE BAILEY RAE
SADE
Labels: Mullato Issues
13 Comments:
Can't forget your Philly homegirl, Amel Larrieux!
But Mulattopia already exists! It's called The-Dominican Republic-and-Brazil-and-Puerto Rico. A long name, I know. :-P
Yes anonymous, but in those Mulattopia's they don't like to admit to the African (or Indian) part of themselves.
Ya burnt!
here here! mulattopia - maybe i will be welcome there.
-lillian
I love all these artists, esp. Finley, Marley and Sade.
Can non-mulattos attend mulattopia as well?
On the R&B/Pop side don't forget Alicia Keys, Faith Evans and Amerie. I was going to add DeBarge to the list but not sure what is going on with El.
On the rock side, Tom Merollo from Rage Against the Machine.
Oh sure, there will be a generous visa program for non-mulatto friendlies, and of course the gates are always open for the farmer's market Sundays (although self contained, we will need to sell some goods to the larger world to pay for fuel and taxes).
But wait, why has no one mentioned Prince, who was at the forefront at the Mulatto Movement?
but, how is my blood different than your's? i don't get it. whether we desire it or not, most of us have the same mix of african and european heritage and then some. scew the labels. we know "our" blood. i certainly know mine having both white and ethnic afro american cousins.
damn, regardless of parent, you are dark skin in my family. trust me.
always the constant divisions!
i appologized if i missed the joke or something. i sincerely apologize!
bronzebuckaroo - I see where you're going, but how can someone disregard a parent?
I thought Emily King's clip did a good job at summing up how being biracial is actually quite different from being simply light skinned, having white ancestors (known or guesstimated) or "having Indian in your faamleee". It's another experience, trust me. My best friend is mulatto.
Black people complain of 'constant divisions' but so many times we impose divisions on eachother (while white people are going about their own business). That doesn't mean there aren't similarities or that we can't get along. But isn't it time folks stop pretending our differences don't exist and start letting people be who they are?
No.
I wasn't disregarding the "other" parent! And, it seems we are giveing white folks in general what they wnat when we separate ourselves into casts.
Two, am am rather insulted that you want to tell me my your/their blood mix counts for everything and min for nothing just because of one parent. I'd never ask a brother and sister with an "other" parent to deny that parent, or, the experiences they have had with that parent in regard to prejudices from any people. I'd also expect them to respect my own blood instead of dismissing it as me wanting to bring out the white folks in my family or the Native American blood.
having white ancestors (known or guesstimated) or "having Indian in your faamleee". It's another experience, trust me. My best friend is mulatto.
A "mulatto" isn't one with a white parent. A mulatto is any person of African descent with European blood (e.g. those in Latin American and the Carribean of African descent where black is more brown and one drop rule does not apply. Of course, these culture also "separate" themselves by skin color.)
This is nothing more that misguided political correctness, liberalism and self-hate in at its best. It boils down to separatism, self imposed separatism.
Well, I guess you have won!
Furthermore, to be "bi-racial" requires a parent of African African blood. Too many "ethnic" Afro Americans are of mix racial heritage. Our blood is like those of our kinfolk in Latin American and the Islands--rich and the same in its beautiful and handsome mixture! "We" know our blood better than the prejudices of larger white culture. At lease, I assumed we did.
So help me, NEVER will I separate my/our people into "us" versus "them."
Our individuality in blood mixture and parent can and should be respected as one common uniqueness and shared communal or common bond overall rather than pandering to the poor mulatto stereotype. Yes, within our community there is difference in so many ways, but I believe it is our differences/diversity within OUR people that make us strong/beautiful/and much more of the representative of the Americas than white folk and culture.
Black people complain of 'constant divisions' but so many times we impose divisions on eachother (while white people are going about their own business). That doesn't mean there aren't similarities or that we can't get along. But isn't it time folks stop pretending our differences don't exist and start letting people be who they are?
Some black folk uphold prejudices of the larger culture while pretending to be free thinkers....
What?!?
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