Earlier this month, President Barack Obama aroused some controversy by checking "African American" on his U.S. Census form. He's black, some say. No, he's half-white, declare others.
If blackness is more of a social construct than a biological one, what are its social definitions? Its dating and marriage choices? An identification fostered on Hawaiian basketball courts? An awareness of Ben's Chili Bowl and its signature half-smoke?
In today's multiculti, or as some say post-racial, America, how much do Americans really know about one another? How much do black folks know about other black folks? What does it mean to be black, anyway?
Let's take it to the late 1960s, when some activists maintained that standardized academic achievement tests were culturally biased in a way that adversely challenged many black students. As black history and black studies curricula emerged, their advocates argued that tests should draw on experiences shared across cultures. To demonstrate the cultural bias in IQ and standardized tests, Adrian Dove, a black sociologist developed a "chitling test" in 1971 with questions about black American life.
The sample exam garnered much national attention. There were declarations from blacks and whites that the questions were a poor analogue for standardized ahievement tests. The original test is rather dated, and a 21st-century attempt to administer it fell flat and stirred controversy.
With pop artists saying they have n***a passes—ahem, John Mayer—and politicians saying they're blacker than our president—ahem, Rod Blagojevich, perhaps The Root should put in our two cents. (Well, two more cents. We already picked out the blackest white folks we know.)
So for kicks and giggles, check your cred with The Root's chitlin' test for 2010.
1) A "taper" is:
(a) a cut of jeans
(b) a style of haircut
(c) a hot body
(d) a vendor who sells mixtapes
(e) a copycat
2) Which word is most out of place here?
(a) playboy
(b) son
(c) youngin'
(d) crip
(e) dog
3) A "buster" is a person who is:
(a) broke
(b) uncool
(c) dangerous
(d) a cop
(e) a snitch
4) To "treebox" someone is to:
(a) racially discriminate against them
(b) imitate them
(c) discourage them from dating
(d) outdance them
(e) terminate them from a job
5) The "Stanky Leg" came from:
(a) Chicago
(b) Oakland
(c) Watts
(d) ATL
(e) Texas
(a) 45 minutes
(b) 2 hours
(c) 24 hours
(d) 1 week (on a low flame)
(e) 1 hour
7) Who is Mary Mary?
(a) an urban design team
(b) white girls who dress "black"
(c) a gospel duet
(d) South African singers
(e) Bob Marley's granddaughters
8) What is a lace-front?
(a) a style of boot
(b) a young woman who perpetrates
(c) an expensive wig
(d) a black business with a white figurehead
(e) a hidden strip club
9) King is?
(a) a hip-hop star from Memphis
(b) a men's magazine
(c) an acronym for a sportswear brand
(d) St. Ides' line of 40 oz. malt liquor
10) Who is Cornell Haynes Jr.?
(a) one of the Jena 6
(b) hip-hop star Nelly
(c) an And1 basketball legend
(d) a Princeton African-American Studies and theology professor
(e) an urban novelist
11) "Miss Freek-a-Leek" is the nickname of:
(a) actress Meagan Good
(b) Lil' Kim
(c) model Esther Baxter
(d) actress Lauren London
(e) Mo'Nique
12) Check-cashing centers also sell
(a) phone cards
(b) non-drivers IDs
(c) bus passes
(d) hair-care products
(e) playing cards
13) The character Sheneneh can be seen on reruns of
(a) The Proud Family
(b) Martin
(c) House of Payne
(d) Moesha
14) The word most likely to follow "posner" is?
(a) cognac
(b) boulevard
(c) Crips
(d) bergamot
(e) projects
15) What noted figure was born on May 19?
(a) Biggie Smalls
(b) Tupac
(c) LeBron James
(d) Malcolm X
(e) Michael Jackson
(f) Aaliyah
Go to the next page for answers…
1. b
2. d
3. b
4. c
5. e
6. b
7. c
8. c
9. b
10. b
11. c
12. a
13. b
14. d
15. d
Bijan C. Bayne is a regular contributor The Root.
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