By Tara Perry
Guest Columnist
In a recent interview with The Guardian, pop icon Janet Jackson made waves with her comments about Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president. When asked about her thoughts on Harris potentially becoming the first Black woman president, Jackson said, “You know they say, she’s not Black. … I heard she’s not Black and her father is Irish.”
Jackson’s remark has sparked debate, especially concerning the complex and nuanced conversations around racial identity in America. The issue at hand isn’t whether Kamala Harris is biracial, but how blackness in the U.S. is understood as both a racial and ethnic identity.
Being Black in America, particularly in the context of descendants of chattel slavery, carries a specific historical and cultural meaning. That distinction matters, and yet it is too often glossed over in favor of more generalized racial classifications.
In America, blackness isn’t solely about having African ancestry. It’s tied to the lived experiences of Black Americans who are descendants of U.S. chattel slavery — an identity shaped by the history of Jim Crow, segregation, underfunded schools, the prison industrial complex, the crack epidemic, redlining and systemic economic exclusion. This particular lineage has faced unique hardships, and the cultural and political identity of Black Americans is deeply rooted in this shared history.
Kamala Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, has often been described as Black or African American, but her ethnic identity as a descendant of Jamaican immigrants doesn’t align with the experiences of Black Americans, who trace their ancestry to American slavery. That distinction is crucial, yet mainstream discourse has consistently blurred these lines, failing to acknowledge the importance of the unique Black American experience.
Jackson’s comments are likely to be interpreted in various ways, but one possibility is that she’s trolling the media. For decades Jackson and her family, particularly her brother Michael, have faced intense media scrutiny.
Her brother was labeled “Wacko Jacko,” and subjected to relentless tabloid headlines and accusations of pedophilia that continue to shadow his legacy. Is it possible that Janet Jackson, aware of the power of media narratives, is turning the tables, drawing attention to the media’s selective accuracy?
Critics like DL Hughley have been quick to pounce, tweeting, “Janet Jackson’s interview sounded like a Trump rally. FYI. A little ironic to question if someone is Black while you’re breathing through the nose of a white woman.”
Hughley’s jab, while pointed, misses a deeper conversation: why isn’t the media distinguishing between Kamala Harris being Jamaican versus Black American? And why is there such a concerted effort to conflate the two?
The outcry against Janet Jackson’s comments feels disproportionately harsh, especially when no one of celebrity status has demanded reparations or tangible benefits for Black Americans from Kamala Harris. For many Black Americans, there’s a growing sense that their unique culture and experience are being “co-opted” without the corresponding commitment to policies that directly address the needs of descendants of U.S. slavery.
When Harris ran for president in 2020, many Black Americans raised questions about whether she understood the specific struggles of their community. These were valid concerns.
However, the media and other Black celebrities wrote them off as white supremacist ideology instead of digging deeper. There’s a feeling that their culture is being “cosplayed” by individuals who haven’t lived through Jim Crow, segregation, the crack epidemic or economic exclusion nor whose families has suffered the consequences thereof.
And yet, every time someone who doesn’t share this lineage ascends to political power under the banner of blackness, Black Americans seem to get the political short end of the stick.
The bigger conversation here is not whether Kamala Harris is Black but why so many people are invested in convincing us that she is. What does Harris stand to gain from being identified as Black American?
Blackness in the United States carries significant social and political currency, and in the past, individuals have benefited from this identification without delivering tangible results for Black Americans.
When it comes to Kamala Harris, the pressing issue is less about racial classification and more about policy.
What policies will she enact to close the racial wealth gap, address the effects of systemic racism, and make reparations a reality for Black Americans? And why is the conversation so focused on her racial identity rather than her actions?
At the heart of this conversation is the need for many Black Americans, to gate-keep their culture. For too long, individuals outside the community have been able to claim their identity without sharing in the struggles or delivering the necessary benefits to those whose lineage has faced centuries of oppression in this country.
Janet Jackson’s comments, though provocative, bring attention to the importance of distinguishing between cultural identity and political convenience.
As we move into another election cycle, it is critical that we have honest conversations about what blackness means in America and how it has been shaped by specific historical and cultural experiences.
Suppose we are serious about reparations, economic justice and political representation. We must ensure that the individuals claiming to represent us truly understand and advocate for us from the perspective of our unique experiences here in America.
Janet Jackson may be trolling, but she’s asking questions we should all be thinking about: what does Kamala Harris stand to gain from being identified as Black, and what do Black Americans stand to lose if we don’t start gatekeeping our culture?
Tara Perry is an activist/writer fighting for Black liberation, reparations and justice with two decades of advocacy in South Los Angeles.
