Soledad O’Brien: Jesse Jackson Told Me I ‘Didn’t Count’ As Black

I cannot believe Jesse Jackson of all people would say something so demeaning and derrogatory like that! How dare he! Does that mean my sister, who is light enough to pass for white, but does not, doesn’t count either? Does that mean my dear friend doesn’t count either because she’s lite enough to pass for Spaniard? Rev. Jackson, you need a little history lesson sir!

I am white and married to a black woman. What is our son? Are you telling me we are still going by the One Drop Rule???? I think my heritage should be respectfully considered just as much as his mother's.

The fact that we are still trying to shove people of half black/white heritage into the black race says alot about how either whites or blacks view race. In my opinion, until you stop trying to label everyone, you are part of the problem.

Break the chain…let's be people.

I'm very disappointed with Jesse comment about Soledad
I'm a black Latino, so that means I also don't count as black.

The only person diminished by this episode is Soledad O’brien. There is not a black person in America who is not aware that lighter skinned blacks have been used in media more than darker skinned black people. That is what he was suggesting.

I find that Rev. Jackson has a reputation of speaking tactlessly on many occasions. That's only one of his faults. He, however, is known for his good traits, too. I was not able to determine Soledad's race, either. I thought she might be American Indian because of her name. And if not, maybe Latino. Listening to an CNN interview of hers, I heard someone on the program identify her as “Black”. Speaking of race or color, it doesn't matter. My mother taught us from young children that we were not to think less of ourselves because of the color of our skin. She would say, you are just as good as anyone else, but no better than others. I passed this phrase on to my children and they to theirs, etc. God sees us all as equal. That's all that matters.

Jackson's comment makes no sense. She has a black mother and a white father. President Obama has a black father and a white mother. So does Obama not count as being black? Tell that to the GOP

I don’t think he meant it like that. I think he’s talking more about there being no darker skinned black anchors on CNN. To him, Soledad falls into the “acceptable” black category. The non threatening very fair skinned kind.