PHRASE OF THE DAY "Only-Ones"

We here at Transracial have always been a bit resistant to media types who go by one name.

Indeed, except for Madonna, we believe that mono-monikers are best left for supermodels and third world despots.

Which is why we’ve always been a bit resistant to the writings of Toure — a well-known African-American journalist who does…well…African-American journalist things.

But we were quite taken with Toure’s piece in this week’s New York Magazine breaking down the ins and outs of African-American society on Martha’s Vineyard — where Mr. and Mrs. O are expected to vaca this summer.

The piece did a great job of explaining how and why the black American elite came to holiday in one of the Waspiest colonies on the East Coast.

What we most appreciated was Toure’s discussion of the concept of the “Only-Ones” — “black professional and social elites who travel in worlds where they’re often the only black person in the room. The Only Ones typically break into fields or companies that admit few blacks, move into neighborhoods where few blacks live, and send their kids to mostly white schools.”

Only-oneness is a concept that has certainly defined our life and it was comforting to hear it so succinctly put into words.

Toure’s piece was also notable in his lack of judgement for the “only ones” — and respect for their desire for the best for their families and children.

“They are not running from their own—they’re chasing after the best they can get,” he notes. “They aren’t assimilationist; they’re ascensionist.”

We applaud Toure’s article and his mainstreaming of the “only one” concept.

It’s worth noting — as THIS current story from W magazine suggests — that being an “only one” is anything but limited to the African Americans experience.

As both stories suggest — perhaps being an outside is the ultimate example of being an insider.