30% Jewish: What We Can Learn from Touré on Grappling with Multiple Racial Identities

When it comes to 21st century discussions on race, how it has influenced past and modern-day cultures, Touré has become a major reference point for those who are deeply connected to their communities, express their minds freely and stand by their ideologies. I, therefore, found it very interesting when I learned that Touré is 30% Jewish. I couldn’t help but wonder what this would mean for a man who has spent his entire life being black. As Touré once said in a YouTube video, “Throughout my life being black has meant so much to me. In college I majored in African-American studies. I wrote a book about what it means to be black and grew up in a home where we played Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin all the time. We talked about what it means to be black and how to survive an encounter with the police at the dinner table.” In a world where many people struggle with numerous identities, be it race, religion or political views, what does one do when they are faced with a truth that threatens to undermine the identity that they have based their whole life on? As this conversation becomes increasingly common, stories such as Touré’s are bound to become the norm for future generations as more and more people traverse the boundaries of race and culture, and learn to accept each other no matter who they are or which communities they come from. The result? Future generations that will be so diverse that it will be hard for an individual to identify with only one racial identity or confine themselves to only one ideology. So, what does it mean to be part of several racial communities? What does it mean to believe in different ideologies that may come from wildly different groups? Does it mean that race, political affiliations, religion and other identities have to be either-or situations? As Touré says, it doesn’t have to be. We all have the option to embrace every aspect of our identity, no matter where it comes from. It might be hard or even impossible to fully understand who you are when you are a product of so many ideologies but the one thing that we can do is to embrace every aspect of what makes us ourselves. As long as we strive to be productive members of society who care deeply about all the communities that we are part of, our bonds to other people will strengthen and this will help us to get centered in our identities. At the end of the day, everyone is always on a journey of self-discovery. The only thing that matters is whether or not you will fully embrace whatever identities you choose at the end of your journey. You can watch Touré’s video on discovering that he’s 30% Jewish “here”