Black social media was up in arms yesterday when Taye Diggs claimed in a new interview that he didn’t want his biracial son, Walker, to only acknowledge his blackness. Instead, he wants his son to identify as biracial and acknowledge both his blackness and whiteness. Not surprisingly, Diggs was blasted online by angry fans who claimed he was throwing away his blackness and teaching his son to be ashamed of his blackness, as well. But Diggs later fired back and clarified his comments on his stance on his son’s race.
As previously reported, Diggs told TheGrio.com, “You risk disrespecting that one half of who you are, and that’s my fear,” Diggs said. “I don’t want my son to be in a situation where he calls himself Black and everyone thinks he has a Black mom and a Black dad, and then they see a White mother, they wonder, ‘Oh, what’s going on?’”
Yesterday, after the backlash ensued, Diggs spoke with TMZ and stood firmly in his stance on Walker’s race.
“My son is mixed. His mother is White, his father is Black, and that’s just how it goes. I want him to be proud of who he is and I want him to be able to, on his own terms, include both parents. So, if anybody has an issue with that then they can go fly a kite,” Diggs said.
Diggs then spoke about racial labels and explained that his son has the right to choose what he wants to be called.
“I want my son to be able to choose what he wants to be referred to and I don’t want him to have to disinclude (sic) his mother. His mother is White. His mother is a part of his makeup and the buck stops there. It’s that simple,” Diggs said.
The actor was then asked how he would feel if, when Walker becomes older, he tells his dad that he wants to be referred to as White.
“I’d tell him ‘good luck with that,’” Diggs said with a laugh. “But that’s his choice. If somebody came to him and said, ‘Oh, you are white.’ I’d say, ‘Well, you’re daddy is Black as well so don’t forget that.’”
Diggs also reacted to the backlash on his Instagram page. See what he had to say, after the cut.
