Why Call a Girl With a Black Father and White Mother ‘Black’?

I am slightly confused about Amber Jefferson’s racial identity as I read your newspaper’s continuing coverage of the tragic Aug. 6 apparent racial incident in Anaheim during which Amber’s face was slashed and her jaw broken.

You have reported that Amber’s mother is white and her father is black, yet on several occasions you describe Amber as a “black teen-ager.”

I am disturbed by this, not because being called a black teen-ager is a bad thing, but simply because this label ignores Amber’s biracial heritage. It reminds me of old Southern segregation laws which dictated that a person be considered black (and be treated and segregated as such) if there was as little as one-eighth “black blood” in them. If you strive for accuracy in your reporting, why should you use a label to describe Amber that does not reflect her true biracial background?

It is for the sake of my children that I am writing to you. I am white, my husband of 15 years is black, and we have two fine young sons. We consider our sons to be no more black than white or vice versa. We are striving to raise our sons to be proud of and identify with all that they are: French-Scotch African-Americans.

Interracial relationships are no longer a rarity, as anyone walking through any shopping mall these days can attest. There are more and more children being born who have a combination of racial backgrounds.

Perhaps the media should consider adopting a consistent nomenclature to describe this growing population in a way that acknowledges their diverse racial heritage. By doing this, you will achieve greater accuracy in your reporting and the children you write of will see that they can be proud of and identify with each of their parents’ races.

MARY M. ADAMS

Orange