In terms of race, some individuals are quick to lump individuals who are of the same 'assumed' ancestry. For example, one might assume that all people who have African ancestry identify themselves Black.
However, some argue this is not the foremost criteria of who is Black.
According to the one drop rule, which was created during slavery, anyone who had an individual of African ancestry in their blood was considered black. However, this definition of black has come to become a messy and incomplete definition of what it means to be Black. For example, some individuals who had a mixture of black and white ancestry could pass as white, and desire to define themselves as such.
This is where the knowledge issue begins
Consider this, a black couple produces two children. Here is the catch, one turns out indisputably white and the other, indisputably black. Despite the similar African ancestry, would they both be considered Black?
From a technical perspective, one would say 'Yes'; being Black is defined in terms of one's ancestry originating from Africa. From the opposing side, one would bring in less abstract and concrete definitions of "Blackness"; in order to be black, one must have certain Black experiences (profiling, discrimination, etc) and in order to have such experiences, one must appear Black, in terms of having dark(er) skin.In this context, the child who appears indisputably white would be considered 'less' Black; consequently, they would have a hard time being fully accepted as a Black individual by the black community.
All in all, what it means to be "Black" has a plethora of meanings, beliefs, and perspectives surrounding this question. To some, deviating from socially induced "Black" behaviors is enough to define someone as acting/being "White", while for others, it's a matter of the extent that an individual has Black (physical) features and can relate to the Black community.
Evidently, there is no universal meaning as to what it means to be Black. This question will continue to persist.
I thoroughly enjoyed this post due to the multiple perspectives you discussed. I believe that there is a beauty in being black. This beauty derives the difference even among blacks themselves. We have some black people with lighter tone skin and others with darker tone skin. Some have straighter hair and others have kinky hair. So although there is variation in the black community, I personally enjoy it and believe that it should be embraced.
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