Adrian Piper publicly announced her retirement from racial categories on her 64th birthday in 2012, choosing instead to identify as "6.25% grey." She criticized the reductive nature of racial classifications like "black" and "white" that influence privilege, oppression, and institutional access. Similarly, Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral primary winner in NYC, faced similar constraints when identifying his mixed heritage in a college application. He utilized multiple racial designations to reflect his background, emphasizing the limitations of standard racial boxes and the absurdity of affirmative action requirements.
Adrian Piper's 64th birthday marked her declaration of a new racial identity, stating her designation as "6.25% grey", challenging the limited racial categories imposed by society.
The arbitrary categorization of race often overlooks the complexity of individual heritage, leading to reductive labels like "black" and "white" that influence personal and institutional dynamics.
Zohran Mamdani's experience applied multiple racial labels on his college application to capture his mixed identity, highlighting the challenges of fitting into predefined racial categories.
Mamdani articulated the inadequacies of common racial classifications, noting that many college applications lack options for more nuanced backgrounds, forcing applicants into restrictive designations.
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