The politics of Blackness

Henry Louis Gates once wrote, "My grandfather was coloured, my father was Negro, and I am black." If I could communicate with the young Gates, I would ask him to add, "My children will be African American, but as for my grandchildren's race . . . well, that will depend on where they live."

Have you realised that getting on a plane might change your race? Until January of this year when I made the 18-hour trek from the United States to Botswana, I didn't. When I got on the plane in the US, I was black. Short of a few confused looks and questions regarding how black I was, my racial identity was something that had not been questioned. Then, I got off the plane in Botswana and was deemed coloured because of the lightness of my skin.