Quote:
Originally posted by DoggyStyle82
There is a concept of race, especially how it was used on the census prior to 2000. In your example of what race would a Cuban be if the "appeared black". They would be and are still racially "black" despite their nationality. We must not confuse nationality or ethnicity for "race". Hispanics can be of any race (black, white, or indian/native american). What makes them Hispanic is their shared linguistic or cultural characteristics that define Hispanic culture.
Also African is not an ethnicity. An Ibo, a Yoruban, a Kikuyu, a Dinka, A Tigre, a Zulu, and a Hotentot are all Africans but they are very different ethnically and culturally. What they do share is that they are of the same race.
For the most part, until the loosening of immigration laws in the mid-70's, east of the Mississippi, most Americans were easily identifiable as White or Black, with some Puerto Ricans in major Northern cities. Most Hispanics were confined to South Florida, Texas and Califirnia. Now we have an influx of Central Americans, Asians, East Indians, etc who don't fit neatly into Black, White categories.
One last thing, because Hispanics can be of any race, its usually not their "race" that defines them in society, but how well they assimilate into the larger culture. The big "handicap" that they face is generally mastery of the English language. Cameron Diaz, Frankie Munoz, Christina Aguilera all have Spanish surnames, but they have the benefit of being "racially" white so that one or two generations removed from immigrant parents doesn't really make them "Hispanic" anymore whereas, if your skin is black, its gonna stay that way whether you change your culture or not (unless you are Michael Jackson of course).
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I see what you're saying. I do want to say thank you for clarifying the ethnic differences of the various African cultures. I should've been more clear b/c I know there is a difference among them.
I think overall we're explaining the same thing. I agree w/ you that in America, there is a concept of race. However, I'm saying that it is really inappropriate for that concept to be used on the census. Race, as I said, is defined in our society primarily on one's skin color. To use that type of classification on a census is, IMO, wrong. For me, to define someone's "race" by any type of phenotypical traits such as skin color, body shape, facial features, is not really saying how many ethnicities we have in the U.S. I guess if that's what they're interested in, fine, but what's the point of that? I'd like to know a little bit more info that than.
The last thing about Hispanics being of any race is a weird concept to me. I don't know what to really say about that, except that it makes the census seem even more wrong to me.
Again, I agree w/ what you're saying for the most part, I just think that the census needs to change the way people can identify themselves.