Taye Diggs is trying to explain why he wants you to call his son mixed or biracial.
Diggs, who has a biracial child with his ex-wife Idina Menzel, spoke to The Grio about mixed children not having to identify as black or white. Diggs released a children’s book called Mixed Me that was inspired by his son, Walker, 6, last month.
"When you call biracial kids black, you risk disrespecting that one half of who you are and that's my fear,” Diggs explained. “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?'"
The former Private Practice actor then turned his attention to President Obama’s race.
“Everybody refers to him as the first black president, I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’m just saying that it’s interesting. It would be great if it didn’t matter and that people could call him mixed,” he said.
After receiving backlash on social media, Diggs clarified his comments on Instagram and explained he wants his son to be able to choose how he identifies.
“I am a proud black man. I want my son to grow up to be a proud black man if he so chooses,” he wrote. “He as a mother who is white. He has every right to be just as proud of his mother’s ‘blood’ as well.”