Since blogging is a new enterprise for me, I’ve been encouraged by the number and range of responses here.  I have appreciated all the comments from people who shared their efforts to answer the question “what are you?” and to understand the aspects of our country’s racial legacy that made the answer so significant.  However, the comments section is not a referendum for how I or anyone else identifies themselves, despite a small number of people trying to hijack it for that purpose.  If you read ONE DROP, you’ll see that I don’t view racial identity as simply black or white, based on some calculation of blood percentages.  Rather, I think it’s the sum of a person’s experiences, the culture and times in which he or she was raised, how a person is seen by the world, and how he or she sees him or herself.  For my part, I don’t deny one identity nor claim another.  I do try to reclaim the history and family that my father prevented me from knowing.  Please continue to engage in thoughtful nuanced dialogue about the challenges of constructing one’s racial identity and sifting through the legacy of a time when people had no choice in how they were categorized.  Please refrain from judgment or assertions that there is a right answer to these questions.  And please keep your comments to the posts at hand.  If you must grind your axe, then I recommend starting your own blog (especially since you’ll be barred from posting on mine).  Wordpress is very user friendly!