Mills on racial constructivism and assimilationist identity claims

Race is a philosophical issue because it has a strong bearing on identity construction and metaphysical or ontological self-concept. As long as race remains relevant as a means of constructing personal identity or projecting identity onto other people, race will remain a critical component of humanistic philosophies. A discussion of race as a metaphysical concept is distinctly different from a discussion of race as an ethical concept, even though both metaphysics and ethics fall under the rubric of philosophy. However, a discussion of race as an ontological issue depends on an understanding of race as an ethical issue as race has been socially constructed in status-oriented and hierarchal societies like the United States. Race is socially constructed, but race is also subjectively constructed, which is what Ally's case demonstrates. Ally's case is best understood through the lens of what Mills calls subjectivism, in which race designations and categories are arbitrary and individuals can freely choose their own race.

Ally is consciously passing as white, and admits as much. For this reason, Ally does fall neatly into Mills's Problem Case II: the case of conscious permanent passing. However, Ally is also what Mills calls a racial transgressive, because of the conflicts that exist between the variables linked to race including "bodily appearance, ancestry, self-awareness of ancestry, public awareness of ancestry, culture, experience, and self-identification," (Mills 50). The conflicts between these variables are experienced internally, from Ally's personal ontology, as well as socially, in how others view Ally. More interesting by far than Ally's case is the case of her family members who opt into an African-American identity because their conception of race is realist-constructivist. The family members have bought into the "one drop" mentality that Mills discusses, a mentality that plays on racial binaries. And in spite of the lower social status conferred upon African-Americans throughout United States history, Ally's black-identifying family members embrace their heritage proudly even though they cannot necessarily pass as black.

Constructivism accounts for some of Ally's ontological status. In fact, the Ally story deftly illustrates the ways subjectivism differs from constructivism. Race is constructed both socially and personally. Even though her relatives identify as black, others do not perceive them as black -- because of what Mills refers to as the variable of bodily appearance. Whether others are white or black, the family has white features and only a genetic test would highlight their heritage. They are aware of their heritage, as is Ally, but they react to and choose their identity differently with Ally opting for white privilege and the family members opting to find a source of pride in their African-American ancestry. Their situation showcases the concept of "hypodescent," in which the speck of African-American blood removes one from pure white status, as one is considered to be tainted in some way within the racist, white supremist social system of America (Mills 52). Mills would also point out that the United States promotes a racial binary system in which one is either black or white, and cannot be a blend, which is why being bi-racial or multi-racial proves to be an elusive category for someone like Ally and her family.

The racial ontology of both Ally and her relatives are best explained using subjectivism. Perhaps knowing that her white skin and bodily appearance would cause her problems assimilating with or integrating into African-American subculture, Ally opted for the status or self-identification that would give her the most power and privilege. She knows that consciously passing as white will confer white privilege onto her, and she does not want to experience discrimination. Interestingly, though, by consciously passing as white, she also denies the efficacy of in-group identification with both the members of her family that identify as African-American and African-American culture in general. Ally's case highlights what Mills calls the dilemma of "Who Am I versus Who Am I Taken to Be," (50).

Using Mill's taxonomy of race, in which bodily appearance, ancestry, self-awareness of ancestry, public awareness of ancestry, culture, experience, and self-identification all matter, Ally has white bodily appearance, some black ancestry but mostly white, is self-aware of her ancestry, and the public is also aware of the classifications of her ancestry. Culturally, though, Ally is problematic -- she is what Mills would call "racially inauthentic" in some ways but purely American in others given her refusal to move away from racial binaries (Mills 53). Ally claims she has experienced discrimination in spite of her white skin as other people in the community are aware of her family's history. Because of this, Ally has opted to deny her heritage altogether instead of using her in-group status with the family as a source of empowerment. Ally's case is certainly ethically problematic.

The Ally case shows how race is contextual, both from the point of Who I Am Taken to Be, and Who I Am. Both from the outside and the inside, Ally is white. Ally is taken for white because of her appearance, but arguably also because the dominant culture of the 21st century chooses to base race more on outward appearance than of ancestry mainly because of the awareness of what white privilege is: as soon as a person like Ally can pass, they can opt to do so because of white status and privilege, whereas an African-American with dark skin cannot choose to do so. Light skinned African-Americans and even the white-skinned relatives of Ally take the ethical high ground by refusing to pander to the vertical hierarchy that is race-based. Ally chooses a white identity subjectively but doing so, she unfortunately gives credence to the realists by suggesting that the hypodescent theory remains efficacious -- that it is not worth fighting against white supremacy by acknowledging the social construction of race.

Bibliography

Mills. "But What Are You Really?"