Tiger Woods opened America’s eyes to the inaccuracy of seeing ethnic identity in terms of black and white. In Britain, the debate has not begun – but, in a series of exclusive interviews, Observer Sport reveals a surprising depth of feeling.
When Tiger Woods went on Oprah to declare himself mixed race, not black, it caused outrage across the United States. Many saw Woods’s declaration as a rejection of his black heritage. In America, a country where the ‘drops of blood’ mentality still exists – measuring black identity into halves, quarters and eighths – one drop means you are black.
Even senior political figures, such as the former Secretary of State Colin Powell, weighed in. ‘In America,’ said Powell, ‘when you look like me, you’re black.’ But Woods rejected such polarisation. His heritage is Caucasian, Black, Native American and Asian. He has invented a word to describe himself: Cablinasian. The debate in the US highlighted that, hidden behind the idea that the colour of a person’s skin is irrelevant, there is a real issue for people who consider themselves neither black nor white – and, partly thanks to Woods, sport has become the focal point of the debate.
Written by Anna Kessel, Sunday, 29 October 2006, The Observer
