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Mulatto.org > Forums > Mulatto Topics > Improving the "mulatto" definition on wikipedia: what we can do
 
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Dave
Registered: Sept 19, 2005
Posts: 4,384

    June 21, 2008 at 07:56 PMReply with quote#1

This thread is for us to brainstorm how to improve the "mulatto" definition on wikipedia, and to make sure the improvements stay in the definition Here's some of my thoughts:

1. Make it clear "mulatto" equally means people who are first generation AND multigeneration white/black mixed.

2. Emphasize the "mullawad" etymology of mulatto meaning "mixed' in arabic as at least equal to the "mulo" etymology of meaning mule. I think one anonymous person keeps trying to emphasize the "mulo" etymology and put down the "mullawad" etymology for the sole purpose of trying to harm positive mulatto identity.

3. Make it clear many people in Brazil and other places DO identify as "mulatto". Make it clear many people in America DO consider "mulatto" to be a positive identification label.

4. A bunch of us need to commit to visit the "mulatto" page on wikipedia regularly, make sure it's edited to reflect positive mulatto identity fairly, and to remove unfair, negative edits.

How do you think we can do this best? How do you think you can help? If you want to debate whether we should do this, please start your own thread for it on the debate and free speech message board.

OTHER
Registered: April 23, 2007
Posts: 1,670

    June 22, 2008 at 11:54 AMReply with quote#2

Just wanted to link to this other thread, which might stimulate some thoughts for this brainstorming thread...

Please help the Wikipedia "mulatto" entry better reflect positive identity



mulan
Moderator
Registered: Dec 26, 2006
Posts: 827

    June 22, 2008 at 12:37 PMReply with quote#3

I don't have much time to invest in this right now because I'm trying to launch my own site, which will include a section of definitions relative to mixed race/culture. I was wondering, however, why this domain ,mulatto.org, could be redesigned/structured to be a hub that would clearly explain this. That way, only a link in the wiki article would need to be provided, and the contributors of this site would control the information.

With the current forum format being the main user interface, the information just isn't readily available. It needs to be presented in a clear, user friendly, way.

Here is what I came up with some months ago:
Quote:

Ok, I'm ready!

Here is a very loose outline of items I feel could be included to make the Mulatto article more complete. It's all over the place, really. Please make some suggestions.

The Synopsis could mention:
  • That there is more than one functioning definition of the term mulatto, and that the term operates both outside and within the social construct of race.
  • The root meaning of half mule half donkey.
  • There are both negative and positive implications.
Eptymology
  • The term's origins within the Spanish Empire and where it falls within this social caste system.
  • The term mulatto was derived from the Arabic Muwallad. With this, the first mulatto's probably existed in or immediately prior to the Moorish Empire since this movement produced many African/Arab offspring; and spilled onto the Iberian Peninsula, of which part of it became Spain.
    • Since, mulatto has Arab implications, and the sub-Saharan DNA is found throughout the Middle East, even in Iraq - even among the Sunnis, are Iranians, Iraquis, Lebanese, Baharains, etc... distant Muwallads?
  • Other terms relative to mulatto:
Quote:
Originally Posted by "FlowerChild"

Black-- A race label that describes people with sub-saharan African ancestral roots.

White-- A race label that describes people with European ancestral roots.

Mulatto-- General definition: anyone of black and white ancestry.

Muwallad-- The most likely etymological root of the term "mulatto." Arabic for "mixed race." It was used to describe the offspring of African and Arab partners.

First Generation Mulatto-- A Mulatto born to one black parent and one white parent.

Multigenerational Mulatto, MGM-- A Mulatto who has both black and white ancestry, as in the offspring of two mulattos, for example.

Anglo-Mulatto-- Mulattos that are black and Anglo white. Also, Mulattos with black and white heritage that live within the English-speaking Anglosphere, such as Britain, America, Canada and Australia.

Hispanic-Mulatto-- Those Mulattos that are black and Hispanic white, such as Spanish. Hispanic Mulattos make up the majority of Cuba and The Dominican Republic, and significant portions of Brazil, for example.

Mono-Racial-- Identifying as having ancestry of one race.

Bi-Racial-- Identifying as having ancestry of two different races.

Tri-Racial-- Identifying as having ancestry of three races.

Multi-Racial-- Identifying as having ancestry of two or more races.

Eurafican-- A term for those of European and African ancestry.

Afropean-- A term for those of European and African ancestry.

Mixed-- Anyone who is racially mixed.

Mixie-- Anyone who is racially mixed.

One-drop Rule (ODR)-- A concept--once a law--technically called hypodecent--created in the 1830s that said that "one drop of black blood makes you black." Considered by many Mulattos to be a root cause of several of the hurdles a Mulatto faces as he/she moves through society today.

One-droppist-- One who prescribes to the One-drop Rule.

Loving v Virginia-- The landmark case in 1967 when Virginia ruled it unconstitutional to base marriage eligibility on race, and thereby legalized interracial marriage.

Race-- A loose, generalize term used to group certain ethnicities in order to simplify the description of one's multi-ethnic ancestry.

Ethnicity-- Refers to a certain origin and culture…usually tied by national, racial, linguistic and religious heritage, whether or not they reside in their country of origin. Not the same as race, more specific. For example, English, Scandinavian and German are three ethnicities of the white race.

Racial Identity-- How an individual sees themself racially.

Self-Identify-- In this context it refers to racially identifying as you choose, rather than having a racial designation assigned to you by outside individuals, as in the one-drop rule.

Black Identified-- Refers to Mulattos (by definition) that choose to identify as black, has been the historic default due to the ODR.

Phenotype-- A person's physical appearance. Often grouped into racial/ethnic categories.

Middle-phenotype-- Refers to individuals with phenotypes in-between black and white: Mulattos, Hispanics, Asians, Middle Easterners…

Minority-- Refers to those of a race/social group that are not in the majority population-wise. Presumed to be disadvantaged socially, based on the idea that majority rules.

"Passing"-- "Passing" refers to Mulattos who try to pass for one race or the other, depending on which phenotype they most resemble. This was done especially in slavery times when Mulattos tried to escape slavery. It is the basis of many early movies made about Mulattos--embodying the Tragic Mulatto.

The Tragic Mulatto-- A fictional depiction of the--usually female--Mulatto used in early American movies written by white men in efforts to dissuade interracial relationships and convince the public that there is no place in society for Mulattos. The Tragic Mulatto myth can be seen in movies such as Pinky and Imitating Life. The Tragic Mulatto abandons her black family to pass as white, lives a great life, gets caught, and is banished from white society, only to be unaccepted by both races.

Census-- Referring to the US Census population counter. The census is significant to Mulattos because the Mulatto category was removed in 1930. Since then, Mulattos have been counted as black, with no option of acknowledging both sides of their heritage. There are currently Mulattos working toward the goal of adding a multiracial category on the census in 2010.

The Mulatto Movement-- Refers to the gathering of Mulattos across the world for activist work toward Mulatto rights: the right to self-identify; a multiracial, and ultimately, a Mulatto category on the US census; Mulatto representation--Mulattos representing Mulattos, and to rebuild Mulatto communities, for example.

The Mulatto Belt-- Refers to the areas of the South in Virginia, Louisiana, and DC, for example, where there are large populations of Mulattos.



Around the construct of Race
  • Black and White
    1. Illustrate how a mulatto can come from two parents each having different social race identities; however, either parent can be mixed beyond those.
    2. Discuss that many mulattoes are of Amerindian ancestry.
    3. Black Indian assimilation into general society and intermarriage with other mulattoes/whites
  • African/European
    1. Trends of African/European unions in continental during the colonial period.
    2. How mulatto ancestry can be acquire without having an ancestor who identified as either Black, or White.
    3. First/Second Generation Mulatto offspring, population rise in Europe between 1950-2007.
      • Resulted from American Military and European Civilian parentage.
      • Post-colonial African/European Parentage; Pre-post-colonial social assimilation (two slightly different implications)
      • Globalization factor
      • Affluent class
4. MGM Immigration from the Americas into
Europe, and vice versa.
  • Caucasian/sub-Saharan
    1. Arabic, or Berber, sub-Saharan mixed populations of Africa
      • Sahel
      • Moroccans
      • Mauritanians
    2. sub-Saharan DNA traced in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.
      • Which countries
      • DNA frequency
      • if implicated by phenotype
      • the historical implications
Mulatto Generations
  • Definitions
    • First Generation
    • Second Generation
    • Multi-Generation
  • Extraction
    • Half-Cast
    • Quadroon
    • Quintroon
    • Octoroon
    • Throwback
    • Negative connotation
    • rationale behind continued use and acceptance of terms
  • Social implications
    • arguments relative to FGM, SGM, MGM
      • Being mulatto verses being of mulatto ancestry
      • Identity verses Ancestry/covert ancestry
        • Coloreds (America)
        • Jamaicans
        • Barbadans
        • Among Blacks
        • Among Whites
        • Mulattoes
          • discuss other ancestries among mulattoes
          • Switching back and forth
            • how social race identities shift per generations
              • social oppression
              • social necessity
              • social choice
        • Among Hispanics
        • Among Africans
          • ethnic Swazi
          • mulatto ancestry among
            • Nigerians
            • Ghanians
            • Sierra-Lenoneans
            • Liberians
            • Equatorial Guineans
        • etc...
    • implications based on phenotype
      • Aesthetic range/spectrum of Mulattoes and Mulatto descendants.
        • Examples of each
          • FGM
          • SGM
          • MGM
      • Expected/sterotypical phenotype
        • LSGH (Light Skin Good Hair)
      • Mulatto Privilege
        • Historical Implications
        • Blue Vein Society
        • Freed/Educated Slaves
          • Emancipados
          • Plaçage
          • Freetown, Sierra-Leone
          • Freedman
          • Coloreds (America)
        • Fernandinos
        • Old Guard Class (America); Black Bourgeois Class
        • Passing (racial identity)
        • Paper Bag Party
        • Creole Elites
  • Mulatto Societies/Populations/Empires/cultures
    • Basters
    • Afro-Cubans
    • Bermuda and the Azores
    • Cape Verde
    • Fernandinos
    • Moorish Empire's Influence on the Iberian Penninsula; spread of mulatto/biracial population
  • Melungeons/Tri-racial isolates of Mulatto ancestry
    • Dominikers
    • Lumbee
    • Chestnut Ridge People
    • Cape Coloureds
    • Puerto Ricans
    • Redbones
    • Saponis
      • Carmel Indians
      • Haliwa-Saponis
    • Reunion Creoles
    • Louisiana Creoles
    • Creoles of Color
    • Guineas
    • We-Sort
History Per Country
  • Africa
    • Arab/Berber, Sub-Saharan unions
    • Persian influence on sub-Saharan descended populations
    • Pre-Colonial Caucasian/African encounters
      • trade
      • Arabic/Islamic Slave Trade
    • Colonial Rape
    • Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
    • Colonial and Post Colonial Social Trends
  • America
    • Slavery
    • Vikings/Pirates
      • I'm just wondering if there was some history here of mulatto offspring since some of the early Vikings were indeed sub-Saharan African. Also, how some Melungeon groups came to be in the USA is still generally unexplained
    • Consentual Unions and Illegal Miscegenation
        • First wave European immigrants unions with coloured and Black Indian women during the 1800-1900s: Irish, German and Italian men - mainly.
          • Italian influence on Louisiana Creole culture/population
        • East Coast USA interracial union trends of the 1800's
        • Legalization of interracial marriage
        • recent and current social trends in the US and abroad.
          • their influence? media, perhaps?
    • Racial mislabeling, convenience; passing, not passing.
    • Prominent White New England families of African extraction
    • Charlottesville, VA
    • Thomas Jefferson and Monticello, descendants
    • Charlotte, NC;
      • Queen Charlotte;
      • Tri-racial population of Mecklenburg and surrounding counties
    • Tri-racial/bi-racial Isolates
      • New England States
      • East/Southeast
      • South
      • West
    • Puerto Rico
    • Hawaiians
      • It's a bid of long lost referenced info that I encountered years ago. It indicated how indigenous Hawaiians were once divided into sub-tribes/communities/identities based on distinct ancestries acquired via colonization. One sub-group had more Caucasian ancestry, the other was more indigenous, etc...But one subgroup descended from former African slaves brought to the island probably 300 to 400 years ago. Some of them escaped. Nonetheless, these slaves intermarried with some of the indigenous Hawaiian population. This subgroup evolved to have their own little cultural identity and name. The book I referenced had to be about 8 years old; this was in the early 90's. The image in the book showed indigenous Hawaiians with huge Afros, dressed in their tradition costume. So, i wonder if some Mulatto offspring resulted from that population, since Hawaii is such a diverse place, now.
  • Europe
    • mutual relations between Africans and Europeans prior to the trans-atlantic slave move.
      • offspring
    • Slavery and the Black population of England
    • Colonialism/Post Colonialism and the Afro-descended populations of other countries
      • Countries with notable numbers of FGM, SGM, and TGM Mulattoes
        • Switzerland
          • African/European parentage
        • Germany
          • US military
          • African/European parentage
        • Sweden
          • African/European parentage
        • Denmark
        • England
          • sub-Saharan descended British monarchy.
            • How this bloodline is connected to the ruling families of other European countries.
          • African/European parentage
          • Historical Implication
          • Immigrants from the Caribbean/West Indies
        • France
          • Post-colonial immigration
          • Slavery
        • Spain
          • Colonial trends
          • Post-colonial immigration
          • Pre-colonial movements
        • Portugal
          • Colonial trends
          • Post-colonial trends immigration
          • Pre-colonial movements
      • Need info for other countries
        • Poland
        • Ireland
        • etc..
  • The Caribbean
    • Barbados
    • Jamaica
    • Cuba
    • West Indies
  • Latin America
    • origin of the term and use of mulatto/Spanish Empire
    • Belize
    • Brazil
    • Venezuela
  • Australia
    • Why Aboriginals are considered Black despite being Australoid and non sub-Saharan.
    • Stolen Generation
    • Discuss the historical terms and strategies used in dividing Aborignals of certain degrees of Black/White mixture into separate communities throughout Australia.
      • Ref: ISBN-10: 0521370132; ISBN-13: 978-0521370134
  • Bermuda Triangle
    • Slavery and the mostly Portugues/African population there.
Mythes and Stereotypes
  • Tragic Mulatto
  • Tropicalized mulatta mami
  • Exploited mulatta
  • Emasculated mulatto male
  • Stereotypes in the media
  • Black and Hispanic male/females stereotypes relative to young mulatto males of an Urban background; Thug culture
    • I think this is important since it adversely affects many mulattoes.
Social adversity/implications
  • Black/White social/cultural background
    • Unique experience
    • Support
  • Based on phenotype
  • Based on class/urban stereotypes
  • Racial identity
    • choice
    • recognition

Negative Implications of Mulatto
  • history
  • stereotypes
  • older generation vs. current youth
Positive Implications of Mulatto
  • Mulatto Movement
  • Rational
    • Why it's necessary
    • Indications
  • Alignment with social construct of race

The Mulatto Identity vs. Mulatto Ancestry vs. being Mulatto argument

Other things Mulatto
  • Mulatto - cultural, social, religious and linguistic fusion
    • Creole, pidgin languages spoken by Mulatto populations
    • Religions of Mulatto populations
    • Unique Mulatto cultures
  • Mulattoes in society
    • arts/entertainment
    • politics
    • medicine
    • education/academia
    • technology
    • science
    • public service
    • etc...
    • mulatto contributions to society under other racial/cultural identities.
  • Was Jesus mulatto?

Should the following be addressed?
  • Are Somalians and Ethiopians mulatto/mixed race?
    • Anthropoids
  • Are modern day Egyptians mulatto?
  • Were ancient Egyptians mulatto?
  • Circassian-Armenian genocide, their mulatto-like aesthetic and genetic closeness to sub-Saharan people
  • Black Irish
  • Italians/Dark Skinned Italians
  • The Moors
  • Sahelian People
  • Historical implications of the Iberian Peninsula
  • Mulattoes and mulatto identity on the Canary Islands
    • There was some info about it online like 2 years ago - a website.
  • The notion of Melanesians identifying as Black and how their Black/White offspring would identify.
  • Hamitic/Nilo-Hamitic people
  • Hamitic Theory
  • Semitic people, some can be considered of Congoid/Caucasian extraction
  • At what point in terms of generations is this sub-Saharan/Caucasian ancestry beyond being noted as mulatto; or has any real significance - the argument.
  • When is it estimated that the first person/population of sub-Saharan/Caucasian ancestry existed?
  • Historically speaking, Are all instances of Caucasian/sub-Saharan ancestry considered mulatto since the term is part of the colonial mentality and the social construct of Western Civilization?
  • The first black/white mulatto, or mulatto population/society.


Dave
Registered: Sept 19, 2005
Posts: 4,384

    June 22, 2008 at 03:04 PMReply with quote#4

Mulan,
That's fantastic.
1. Best of success with the site you're launching.
2. Editing the wikipedia site is still important, because it may always be the first ranked site for "mulatto" on search engines.
Dave
Registered: Sept 19, 2005
Posts: 4,384

    June 22, 2008 at 03:19 PMReply with quote#5

I edited out the worst stuff, and gave the "mullawad" definition primacy. But it'll revert back to negative if other mulatto.org members don't visit wikipedia regularly and keep restoring the positive edits.

Dave
Registered: Sept 19, 2005
Posts: 4,384

    June 23, 2008 at 06:17 AMReply with quote#6

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave

I edited out the worst stuff, and gave the "mullawad" definition primacy. But it'll revert back to negative if other mulatto.org members don't visit wikipedia regularly and keep restoring the positive edits.

it was reverted back to the more negative version by Christian Nurtsch, a registered wikipedia user. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Christian_Nurtsch

He reverted it to the more negative version lasted edited by a registered user of the name "KumarFilo".

I encourage our massive membership to step up. I think we'd be as interested in a positive version as Christian Nurtsch and KumarFilo might be interested in a more negative version of the wikipedia mulatto entry.

Dave
Registered: Sept 19, 2005
Posts: 4,384

    June 25, 2008 at 09:38 AMReply with quote#7

Warbird, WeArePerfect, and others, your talents could be used with this. Only a handful of people seem to care to make negative edits to the entry. We should way outnumber them.

WeArePerfect
Registered: Aug 23, 2006
Posts: 196

    June 25, 2008 at 12:08 PMReply with quote#8

Ill have a look at it again my family

Dave
Registered: Sept 19, 2005
Posts: 4,384

    July 05, 2008 at 09:19 PMReply with quote#9

The more positive version I edited it to June 22, 2008

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mulatto&diff=223814815&oldid=221031942

The reversion to the more negative version June 23, 2008, by "KumarFilo".

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mulatto&diff=221150483&oldid=221031942

Registered: Member deleted
Posts: N/A

    Aug 01, 2008 at 05:55 AMReply with quote#10

Kumar looks like an asshole! But i have a suggestion. We can create a mulatto wiki right here on this site, so that we can tell our own story! As accurately as we see fit and without any interference from outsiders who wish us harm! So David, spearhead it.... I will be a mod of somesort or whoever you imbibe with that taste. I hope the transaction is both cureuous and malleable to as all to see with vision and envince.
Dave
Registered: Sept 19, 2005
Posts: 4,384

    Aug 01, 2008 at 06:05 PMReply with quote#11

Quote:
Originally Posted by MulattoCentered
Kumar looks like an asshole! But i have a suggestion. We can create a mulatto wiki right here on this site, so that we can tell our own story! As accurately as we see fit and without any interference from outsiders who wish us harm! So David, spearhead it.... I will be a mod of somesort or whoever you imbibe with that taste. I hope the transaction is both cureuous and malleable to as all to see with vision and envince.

That sounds great, and furthermore I have to say, wikipedia.org "mulatto" will always outrank us on google. So I think the number 1 priority is that as many of us as possible share the responsibility of editing the wikipedia entry positively. In particular, giving equal weight to the "mullawad" etymology and making it clear white/black mgm's are also mulatto. I do blog searches on google blog search, and every day I see another blog put down "mulatto" identity linking to wikipedia. There's enough of us here to make a difference with that.

Your idea of an additional mulatto.org wiki sounds excellent!
whitemama
Registered: July 06, 2007
Posts: 25

    Aug 01, 2008 at 11:31 PMReply with quote#12

I personally don't like using Wikipedia.  When I was in college we weren't allowed to site off the Internet as fact because anyone can post whatever; it is not published information, therefore, not gone through the scrutiny of ensuring factuality.  Of course even published information isn't always correct either.  That being said, so many people don't realize that Wikipedia is more opinion based than factual.  Very sad.  I was looking in my 1936 Encyclopedia Britannica and the term Mulatto is defined as "a person one of whose parents is of a white race and the other a negro."  Funny, any place you find that leaves out opinions uses this similar definition.  I was noticing on answers.com, a "better" definition and history is used.  I haven't really used this site either so I don't know the history of it or the process they go through in getting their information.
Dave
Registered: Sept 19, 2005
Posts: 4,384

    Aug 22, 2008 at 04:41 PMReply with quote#13

I'm not surprised to find threads like this popping up, using wikipedia as the reference for why people shouldn't use "mulatto".

http://prince.org/msg/105/276714

The funny thing is, if we spent a portion of the time we spend posting here editing the wikipedia definition more positively, when people clicked on it they'd read a more positive definition for "mulatto".

We have the power to define "mulatto" positively on wikipedia. I suggest we use it.
AP
Registered: Jan 30, 2009
Posts: 25

    Jan 30, 2009 at 10:21 PMReply with quote#14


Great post on the definitions Mulan !

Just wanted to add that ---- 'The Mulatto Belt'
should also include certian segments of the
states of North Carolina, Alabama and Ohio.

In addition, there were northern regions (such as
segments of Michigan, New Jersey, New York and
Indiana) where additional Mulatto communities
were also established and successfully thrived.

And, if you'd like I can provide you with a few
links to websites which have great information
on Mulatto communities found in these states.


Have a great day.
mulan
Moderator
Registered: Dec 26, 2006
Posts: 827

    Jan 30, 2009 at 10:36 PMReply with quote#15

Quote:
Originally Posted by AP

And, if you'd like I can provide you with a few
links to websites which have great information
on Mulatto communities found in these states.





that would be great!
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