"Perpetual Foreigner" and "American Enough"

The story's headline reads: Is New York Marathon Winner American Enough? The minute I saw that headline, I knew I'd be writing about it even though it doesn't have anything to do with adoption. It does, however, have everything to do with some naturalized citizens not being "American enough," and some birth-right citizens being "perpetual foreigners," too.

As soon as Mebrahtom Keflezighi, better known as Meb, won the New York City Marathon on Sunday, an uncommon sports dispute erupted online, fraught with racial and nationalistic components: Should Keflezighi’s triumph count as an American victory?

He was widely celebrated as the first American to win the New York race since 1982. Having immigrated to the United States at age 12, he is an American citizen and a product of American distance running programs at the youth, college and professional levels.

But, some said, because he was born in Eritrea, he is not really an American runner.

But even if he were born here, he might not be seen as "really" an American. Remember when Tara Lipinski and Michelle Kwan won gold and silver in 1998 Olympic figure skating? The headline announcing that read, "American Beats Kwan." Tara Lipinski, American. Michelle Kwan, not so much, despite the fact that she was born and raised in California.

The relevance of this to our children -- bearing the marks of perpetual foreignness, having been born abroad, being of Asian, Hispanic or African heritage -- is clear.