Support: 1ne Drop,

Conversations on

Skin Color, Race, & Identity

Tuesday Oct 11, 2011 – by Britni Danielle

How do you define “Blackness”? Skin color? Connection to Africa? Cultural ties? Throughout American history, there have been many iterations of what is and is not considered “Black.” Through slavery and colonization, interracial mixing has both expanded and confused the definition of what it means to be Black for many. Although much has been written about “Blackness,” very few things have explored what it means to be Black when, at first glance, you don’t appear to be Black.

Enter Africana Studies scholar Yaba Blay, Ph.D. and photographer Noelle Théard. Through their project (1)ne Drop, Blay and Théard seek to “to challenge narrow, yet popular perceptions of what ‘Blackness’ is and what ‘Blackness’ looks like” by restarting a “long-overdue and much needed dialogue about racial identity and skin color politics.”

Although the issue of race and how we define ourselves (and how the world views us) is still pertinent, many aren’t tackling the topic. Because of this Blay and Théard have set out to create a book that will take a look at how Blackness is perceived in our racialized world.

To aid their efforts, Blay and Théard are attempting to raise $9,000 to finish their project. So far, they’ve already raised over $4,000 and have a month to generate the rest.

Check out the (1) Drop Kickstarter page for more information about the project and to donate!

How do YOU define Blackness?