Skin wise, NEVER(Micheal Jackson is still black, at least he'll die that way)
Mentality plays a part to where u try to forget, but as long as you see black people, you will remember.
I don't want to dwell too off topic, but I watched a special series on PBS on African American lives about a year ago. It was hosted and narrarated by Henry Louis Gates, a black scholar/critic/writer, and chair of the Afro-American Studies Department at Havard. In the series, they interviewed some of America's most famous black people and researched their geneology. They interviewed Bishop T.D. Jakes, Whoopi Goldberg, Mae Jemison, Chris Tucker, Quincy Jones, Dr. Ben Carson, Dr. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, and Oprah Winfrey. They found out all sorts of information about their ancestors, one of the most interesting stories being that of the suspicious death of Bishop T.D. Jakes's grandfather in Jim Crow Mississippi. I just included this to say that if her mentality was not that of a "black woman" and of one who wanted to forget, I do not think she would have participated in that series and dig up her past for all to see. I mean, there are plenty of "black" folks who would think on a gauge of "blackness" that they would be near the very top, yet they probably could care less about digging up their ancestral roots.
This thread hijacking is now over, I'll get on topic now.
I had to do a double take when I saw Harvey Watkins Jr. from the Canton Spirituals. I was at a gospel explosion, and he wasn't dressed up in his "performance wear" yet. He was just in a regular suit and walking around the church like a regular concert attendee. I passed him and turned around and said "you're Harvey Watkins Jr. from the Canton Spritiuals, aren't you?" He smiled and said "yes I am!" I didn't ask him for an autograph to take a picture with him, but I did shake his hand and tell him that I was looking forward to seeing him onstage. Some people tell stories of "celebs" giving them the cold shoulder when recognized in public, but I've found that most gospel artists do not have that chip on their shoulder. I suppose they're like the old song says, "It's just Jesus in me".
