Paula [Patton] knows what it’s like to be misunderstood. Growing up in L.A., the daughter of a white teacher and an African-American defense attorney, it wasn’t easy to fit in. “People judged me because I was light-skinned. [They’d assume] I didn’t want to be part of the black race,” she says. In fact, Paula, who has been referred to as biracial, says it’s a word she doesn’t care for. “I find it offensive. It’s a way for people to separate themselves from African-Americans…a way of saying ‘I’m better than that.’ I’m black because that’s the way the world sees me. People aren’t calling Barack Obama biracial. Most people think there’s a black president.”
Rory Evans, “Paula Patton’s Precious Moments,” Women’s Health, January 27, 2010. https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a19985167/precious-movie/.
