At the 2002 MTV Movie Awards last summer, Chris Rock, one of the most distinguished African-American comedians today, told a nationally televised audience that Eminem was “the baddest [best] rapper” in contemporary music. That Eminem, a white rapper, has been accepted by African-Americans such as Chris Rock as an artist in a musical tradition that typically embodies black culture sheds light on America’s changing racial boundaries.

The concepts of “whiteness” and “blackness” are in the middle of a transformation. Prior to the mid-1990s, blackness had typically been socially defined by the “one-drop-rule”-the idea that if you had one drop of “black” blood, you were a member of that race. Within the last 10 years, however, there has been an assault on this standard. Though Eminem does not have any “black blood,” he has transcended conventional racial lines by becoming a prominent figure in a musical form that has traditionally been associated with urban black life. While Eminem’s racial transformation is fascinating, what is even more interesting is that, for the most part, the African-American community has adopted him as one of its own. This acceptance is a product of a more flexible racial system that did not exist 10 years ago. As Eminem has shown, blackness is a cultural phenomenon rather than a biological reality.

Eminem’s rejection of racial norms is not new in American history. In fact, several “biologically white” jazz and R&B musicians in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s-the most notable being Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow and Johnny Otis-immersed themselves so much in African-American culture that they claimed to be “culturally black” artists. The current movement to reject the one-drop-rule, however, is more widespread.

Individuals such as Tiger Woods are now refusing to solely be classified as “black” in favor of a category that embraces all of their racial backgrounds. Woods calls himself “cablinasian,” which stands for Caucasian-Black-Indian-Asian. In an 1995 statement to the media, Woods wrote, “The various media have portrayed me as an African-American, sometimes Asian… In fact, I am both… Truthfully, I feel very fortunate and equally proud to be both African-American and Asian.” According to Chicago Tribune reporter Janita Poe, Woods feels the need to define himself as multi-racial so as not to reject the racial identity of his mother.

Though this rejection of the one-drop-rule has been gaining steam, this new movement that embraces racial flexibility has angered some individuals in the African-American community. Race, these people claim, cannot be chosen; instead, race lies in one’s blood and is subconsciously imbedded in one’s identity. As Alex Fak pointed out in his column in Student Life last Friday, the Association of Black Students at Washington University seems to be making a similar statement by grouping all “black” students together regardless of whether or not they want to be in the organization.

Similarly, Rhett S. Jones, a historian at Brown University, argues that “African Americans who consider themselves to be bi-racial or multi-racial are in the forefront of efforts to deconstruct blackness.” Furthermore, Jones believes that those considering themselves to be bi-racial “do not want to be Black.” Jones and other black leaders are defensive about this assault on the one-drop-rule because it diminishes racial unity within a community that is continuously fighting for social reform. It has been estimated that 70 percent to 80 percent of “black” individuals have mixed ancestry. By claiming to be multi-racial, these individuals are assailing the idea that their “blackness” should encompass their whole identity.

While Jones’ concerns are understandable, his arguments are becoming archaic. Why cannot people of mixed race choose their own racial personality? Race, like ethnicity, is gradually becoming a cultural phenomenon that can be chosen, and American society is better for it. The freedom to choose race is an important form of self-determination; one is free to identify with a racial identity that makes one feel the most comfortable. If one can choose race and others will accept this choice, we will become closer to a society where race is not used to define someone’s identity. If people continually cross arbitrary racial lines, the lines will eventually fade away. Perhaps we will even start to think in color-blind terms.

Though science has proven that the concept of biological race is fictional, American society is nowhere near color-blind. Likewise, as both Jeremy Kaplan-Lyman and Alex Fak have argued in their Student Life columns, WU is an institution “socially segregated across racial lines.” However, with Eminem’s and Tiger Woods’ decision to attack contemporary conceptions of racial boundaries, race is evolving into a flexible entity based on cultural, not biological, background and self-determination. Multi-racialism and racial self-determination are not threats; in fact, they offer the possibility of eventually transforming America into a society that can see beyond race.

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