In a Friday interview on SiriusXM Urban View’s “The Clay Cane Show”, seasoned actress Paula Patton made it clear she’s not a fan of the term “biracial.” The 45-year-old also touched on why she believes the term is offensive.
Patton, who appeared on the program to talk about her new show, made those comments when the host referred her to a previous statement she made about her disapproval of the term, ET Canada reported.
“I find [the term] biracial offensive. It’s a way for people to separate themselves from African Americans, a way of saying, ‘I’m better than that,’” Patton reportedly said in the 2010 interview. The Déjà Vu actress was born to an African-American father and a White mother.
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Cane, who said he resonated with that particular quote after hearing it, asked Patton her current thoughts about it. “I feel the exact same way,” Patton replied. “That’s not to say that I don’t embrace my mother and everything that she’s brought to my life, but it was my mother who let me know, ‘The world is going see you as Black and that is who you are.’ So don’t have any questions about that.”
She added: “I’m very grateful for her. The politics of race in our country are such that when [some]one wants to make it very clear that they’re not Black, it’s a way to keep them separate from Black people. We know, we’ve had a long history in this country of that, of it not being popular to be Black, to be honest with you. I’ve always found that to be an offensive term. I’m Black and I embrace it, that’s my family.”
