Don't ask Don't tell.

 It's a tricky thing to be black or mixed in today's world. As I've stated before biracial Americans are often racially ambiguous, and considered "exotic" by many.

Rashida Jones is one actor who walks the line of ambiguity frequently. Jones is the younger daughter of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton. Throughout her career Rashida Jones has played a variety of roles on shows such as Freaks and Geeks, Boston Public, and  Chappelle's Show. As Jones' career and notoriety advanced so did the caliber of her roles.

Jones went from a character actor to leading actor and has starred in films and tv shows such as I Love You, Man and Parks and Recreation. I am a huge fan of Jones and I would never doubt her pride in her heritage as she has always defended being bi racial but there's one thing that puzzles me about the roles Jones portrays.

Seldom do they define her race, in any role Rashida Jones plays. In I Love You, Man Jones marries Paul Rudd and there is little to no discussion of race. Jones has played white in some movies even with white parents and at other times it is assumed that character she portrays share her mixed background.

Meghan Markle is another young actor finding success with her biracial charms. Markle's mother is African American and her father is of Dutch and Irish descent.

Markle is best known for her role as Rachel Zane in the popular drama Suits. Zane is the love interest of the shows protagonist Mike Ross played by Patrick J. Adams. There are a couple things I found interesting about Markle's character Zane.

Markle being chosen as the love interest while being biracial shows a shift in thinking radically different from a decade or two ago. In the most recent episode of season 3, Rachel Zane confronts her father and the other characters learn she is the daughter of the powerful African American lawyer, Robert Zane.

This moment is important for the story because robert Zane becomes a recurring character, but by admitting Zane is her father she is also admitting she is black. Although it had been hinted to in the series it had never been outright stated by Markle's character Rachel.

Although Actors such as Jones, and Markle are often criticized for not publicizing their African American roots we need them. We need them to keep playing lead roles and portraying women in roles where they are not defined by their race. Their persistence and success in the industry will blaze a path for others in generations to come.

Biracial Athletes in sports

In April 1947, Jackie Robinson made his Major League Baseball debut on the Brooklyn Dodgers he went on to win the MLB's Most valuable Player award two years later, becoming the first African American player to do so.

And while Robinson inspired millions and taught the world that competition knows no color. Robinson's skills were remarkable but unfortunately he is not the topic of discussion for tonight. I'd like to focus on multiracial athletes and all their splendor.

While most Americans should have no trouble pointing out diversity in sports sometimes we can't decipher just exactly what race athletes are.

Whether you realize it or not mixed and biracial athletes have proliferated all of sports and have attained unparalleled success.

This beautiful competitor is Lolo Jones. Jones is French, Native American, African American and Norwegian. She was the favorite to win in the 2008 Beijing olympics in the 100m hurdle. Jones' dream were shattered when she tripped on a hurdle. Since then she has gone on to become the American record holder in the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.72

This next athlete has taken the Los Angeles area by storm since his professional debut, he has taken one of southern california's most laughable franchises into a playoff contender. If you couldn't already tell I'm talking about Blake Griffin.

The 6'10, 251 pound power forward was born to an African American Father and White mother. Griffin was tragically injured before his rookie season and did  not play a game. He rehabbed his injury and in his Rookie(technically should have been his sophomore) year was already an NBA All Star. Griffin became the first rookie in the All Star game since Yao Ming in 2003 and the first one voted in by coaches since Tim Duncan in 1998.

Whatever Griffin is doing is working. The Clippers 33-13 a franchise record and has his sights set on an NBA title.

Finally that brings us to the famed San Francisco 49ers quarterback...

 Kaepernick was adopted at a young age and is the youngest child of his parents Rick and Teresa. Kaepernick, unbelievably has less than 10 starts in the NFL and despite this, is the favorite to win the Super Bowl as a sophomore player.

Kaepernick in one game ran for more yards than anyone in the postseason and even set a franchise record for most rushing yards beating all of San Francisco's previous running backs.

Kaepernick is also on track to set the record to be the most bet on player ever in the Superbowl generating over $100,000 in wagers. Critics have not been able to point out flaws in his game besides the tattoos on his arm heading into the superbowl.

There are countless multiracial athletes who are all not just great but superstars and franchise players including Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, Hines Ward, Jimp Thorpe and Stephen Curry.

Whatever it is that drives these athletes is extraordinary, their abilities and legacies will be remembered forever, this blogger says good luck to you all and keep accomplishing for biracial people everywhere.

Passing

Passing. According to wikipedia, "Racial passing refers to a person classified as a member of one racial group attempting to be accepted as a member of a different racial group."

Passing was once an unfortunate but necessary reality for many minorities living in the United States. Especially in the south due to legislation such as the Jim Crow Laws and the "One-drop rule" which stated anyone with a drop of negro blood was considered Black.

To be able to fully explore our country or to just walk around with harassment you had to pass. In modern times passing has evolved as most things do with time.

These days passing isn't about avoiding bodily harm its more about hiding your heritage for social or financial advancement.

In 2011 MTV's True Life aired an episode entitled "True Life: I'm Passing as someone I'm not" The episode follows Domaine and Danielle two young women coming to grips with who they are.

Danielle is a black girl who constantly hides her ethnicity by passing as Costa Rican. Danielle never having known her father doesn't acknowledge her African American heritage and is uncomfortable admitting she is black.

As I've previously stated I am Half Black and Half White. I have been to a family reunion on my father's side where my brother and I were the darkest people present.

I can also recall a time in middle school when a black student a year or two older then me came up to me and said "You got some nigga in you, don't ya?"

In both instances I proudly proclaimed I was Black. I have been mistaken for practically every race under the sun yet, I have never hidden my race or attempted to pass.

Passing demonstrates a feeling of shame or an acknowledgement of inferiority. I am neither of those when it comes to discussing my ancestry.

Although discrimination is alive it takes courage and strength to defeat, we need self assured individuals to have pride in their descendants and pave a righteous path of tolerance for the uncertain and downtrodden.

Choosing

Often times in the life of a Biracial American you will  be asked to choose. Mcdonalds or Burger King? Treadmill or exercise bike? Coffee or Redbull?

But what do you do when someone asks you to choose your ethnicity? For many this question is simple, for those of us who are mixed or have parents of different descent the question can cause inner turmoil.

R&B Singer Keyshia Cole received some backlash last year for allegedly "neglecting" or "denying" her African American descent. Ms. Cole was skeptical about participating an event called Blackgirls Rock! for BET. Her reasoning being that she was unfamiliar with the event and she felt uneasy representing them being biracial.

Sounds reasonable, however fans to twitter and started an uproar as they so love to do. In this society often times biracial citizens are forced to choose or even at times temporarily ignore half of their heritage. Deny half of who and what they are for a myriad of reasons, ranging from personal gain to social acceptance.

I was once stopped by one of those lovely solicitors on the Santa Monica College quad to take a survey. I happened to be with a friend of mine who was also half black and half white. The surveyor started with my friend Daryl.

She she had a few simple questions to ask us before we started. Eventually she asked Daryl his race, and he said he was mixed. The young black girl asked him to pick which one he related to more. Daryl told her simply he embraces both sides of who he is and that he cant pick what he wants to be to better suit him at times.

 Until the rest of society realizes or accepts that being biracial is more than filling in more than one bubble on exams and scantrons there will always be Americans forced to choose.

Erasing Race

Race has been an issue in America ever since 1492, when Columbus sailed the ocean blue. The color of your skin, and your ethnicity directly affected your social status, one's ability to progress and even your quality of life.

Fortunately for those of us who aren't white property owning males, times have changed dramatically since the days of the colonies. Minorities and women have gained the right to vote and stories of racial inequality and the civil rights movement seem like ancient history to younger generations.

The United States has been colloquially referred to as the "melting pot" due to its history of diverse residents, however Americans weren't always free to be as diverse as possible until 1967.

In the landmark case of Loving v. Virginia the supreme court ruled that interracial marriage was no longer illegal.

According to the 2010 census 9 million Americans identify themselves as multiracial accounting for 2% of the total population but 5.6% of the population under 18 years old.

With multiracial Americans becoming more prominent we now have a biracial President and even a biracial Spiderman. In the coming weeks I will explore how multiracial citizens are depicted in media and social issues relating to them.