Being officially recognized as black is the stated goal of Ralph Taylor, a man who is attempting to challenge the Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprise.
The OMWBE denied Taylor’s application to have his insurance business officially recognized as a “minority-owned business.”
Taylor is arguing that, since every person is multiracial, that “affirmative action” should focus on socioeconomic background, and not their race. Taylor believes that his DNA test, which suggests 4 percent of his DNA is black, should allow him to be officially recognized as such.
Taylor stated that he asked the OMWBE to define “black culture” for him and got an answer that he was not satisfied with. “They said something to the effect that, ‘If you don’t know what it is, that’s because you’re not black.'”
It seems, despite the complete absurdity of his claims, that Taylor is serious in this endeavor. He believes that subscribing to Ebony Magazine and being a member of the NAACP, along with having 4 percent black DNA, should qualify him to be officially recognized as black.
He stated that he also checks off all boxes on “ethnicity” questions, identifying as Caucasian, black, Hispanic and Native American. “I cross them all,” Taylor stated. “Hispanic is to embrace the Hispanic culture. They’re self-identifying statements. If you rely on the group to tell you who you are, then that’s sad.”
Understandably, Taylor’s audacious claims are getting serious pushback from many people. One such person is Taryn Finley, who is HuffPost’s Black Voices editor. “Being able to tip-toe back and forth across a line between now I’m Black, now I’m white, now I’m multiracial, that’s not identity. You’re playing a game,” Finley wrote.
“It’s a very nefarious way of using your privilege, and I don’t think that you’re genuinely trying to expose a flaw in the system,” she continued. “I’m a Black woman. My lived experience as a Black woman cannot be passed [as white].”
Finley’s comments cut to the heart of the issue: Taylor is trying to have his cake and eat it, too. However, he has never had the experience of living as a Black person, nor a Native American person, nor a Hispanic person.
