Paula Patton opened up about her racial identity in a sit-down interview with SiriusXM’s “The Clay Cane Show.”
Paula, whose mother is white and father is Black, says she’s “grateful” for her mother, but the term “biracial” offends her sensibilities.
“I find [the term] biracial offensive. It’s a way for people to separate themselves from African Americans, a way of saying, ‘I’m better than that,'” She told Cane.
“That’s not to say that I don’t embrace my mother and everything that she’s brought to my life, but it was my mother who let me know, ‘The world is going [to] see you as Black and that is who you are. So don’t have any questions about that.”
Paula continued:
“I’m very grateful for her… The politics of race in our country are such that when [some]one wants to make it very clear that they’re not Black, it’s a way to keep them separate from Black people. We know, we’ve had a long history in this country of it not being popular to be Black, to be honest with you. I’ve always found that to be an offensive term. I’m Black and I embrace it, that’s my family.”
Paula reprises her role as entertainment attorney Daniella Hernandez in The BET+ series “Sacrifice,” which is streaming now.
Watch the interview below.
