Instead of us airing our differences in public, we have to realize we’re all the same family.” Malcolm X’s words remind us that some conversations belong in family spaces, not out in the open. This is the family version of the article I posted publicly on Facebook. It’s here on PAN because this is our space—where we can be honest, address the issues, and keep our discussions within the community. Let’s handle this as family.
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Lately, I’ve been hearing too many uninformed opinions about Vice President Kamala Harris’s Blackness—most recently from none other than Janet Jackson. Yes, that Janet Jackson. The same one who has taken pride in her place as an icon of Black culture now questions whether Kamala is Black because her heritage includes an Indian mother. Seriously? Are we doing this again?
Let’s be clear: under America’s racial system, where the “one drop” rule has dominated for centuries, Kamala Harris is Black. Period. If you’ve got a trace of Afrikan ancestry, you’re Black—that’s the reality of how race has been constructed in the U.S., and whether we agree with that history or not, it’s undeniable.
Kamala’s father is a Jamaican man with Afrikan roots, and her mother is Indian. She comes from a blend of cultures that make her who she is, and there’s no reason to pretend otherwise. Yet Jackson seems to think we should question Kamala’s Blackness, as if Afrikan identity can be split or categorized neatly to fit whatever narrative is convenient.
It’s not just Jackson who’s guilty of this shallow, divisive thinking, but when someone with her platform starts echoing nonsense, it becomes a bigger issue. D.L. Hughley hit the nail on the head with his take,
“#JanetJacksons interview sounded like a #Trump rally! FYI!! It’s a little ironic to question whether someone is black while you’re breathing through the nose of a white woman! #TeamDl.”
It IS ironic to question someone’s Blackness when you’ve undergone plastic surgery to achieve Eurocentric beauty standards. Maybe Jackson should take a moment to think about that before speaking.
Kamala Harris didn’t just check a box. She went to Howard University, one of the most prominent HBCUs in the country. She pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first sorority established by Black women in the U.S. She’s been steeped in Black culture and community long before the national spotlight found her.
The real issue here is the one that plagues far too many people today: ignorance born of laziness. Janet Jackson has either failed to do her research or chosen to ignore it. We live in an age where information is literally at your fingertips—Google it. Harris’s father’s Jamaican heritage is a matter of public record, and a quick search will pull up images of him. What’s Jackson’s excuse for this oversight? At best, she’s repeating nonsense she heard without checking the facts. At worst, she’s deliberately ignoring the truth because it doesn’t fit a preconceived notion of what Blackness should look like.
Let’s also not forget that Kamala’s Indian heritage is part of her story, too, and that’s something to embrace. In Afrikan cultures, lineage isn’t something you chop in half—whether you trace through the father or the mother, you recognize the whole person. Kamala embodies a global identity that bridges two worlds, and trying to tear one part of her down doesn’t erase her Afrikan heritage.
At this point, it’s hard not to see how this is connected to the broader culture of misinformation we live in. People hear something on TV or see it on social media, and instead of thinking critically, they parrot it as truth. That’s how Trump remains viable in the eyes of his supporters, and it’s the same lazy thinking that lets someone like Janet Jackson question Kamala Harris’s identity.
So, let’s stop the nonsense. Kamala Harris is Black, and she’s Indian. We can claim her as part of the Afrikan diaspora without stripping away any other part of her identity. She represents the interconnected world we live in, and that should be celebrated, not questioned.
As for Jackson, maybe she should stick to what she knows—her music and her performances—because if she’s going to wade into a conversation this ignorant, the best advice for her is simple: shut up and play.
