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Race

Thursday, May 31 at 11:39 AM

Jim Bernath of Englewood writes:

George Will says that according to the Census Bureau there are 100 million nonwhites in America. What is a nonwhite, exactly? Does it include people of Spanish descent, even though they are Europeans, because of the Moorish influence in Iberia and the Indian influence in Latin America? In that case, all Southern Europeans should probably be included. I suppose the Census Bureau is going by how people identify themselves on a form, but that ambiguous distinction, “nonwhite", only perpetuates a racial divide that contradicts the American “melting-pot” ideal.

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READER COMMENTS

I am reminded of the "one drop" rule which refers to the many state laws of old which stated that if a person had a small amount of negro blood, in some states as little as one-sixteenth, in some one-eighth, he was considered a negro.

It is interesting to read the 1930 Census Bureau's definitions:

"151. Negroes.-A person of mixed white and Negro blood should be returned as a Negro, no matter how small the percentage of Negro blood. Both black and mulatto persons are to be returned as Negroes, without distinction. A person of mixed Indian and Negro blood should be returned a Negro, unless the Indian blood predominates and the status as an Indian is generally accepted in the community.

152. Indians.-A person of mixed white and Indian blood should be returned as Indian, except where the percentage of Indian blood is very small, or where he is regarded as a white person by those in the community where he lives. (Se par. 151 for mixed Indian and Negro.)

153. For a person reported as Indian in column 12, report is to be made in column 19 as to whether "full blood" or "mixed blood," and in column 20 the name of the tribe is to be reported. For Indians, columns 19 and 20 are thus to be used to indicate the degree of Indian blood and the tribe, instead of the birthplace of father and mother.

154. Mexicans.-Practically all Mexican laborers are of a racial mixture difficult to classify, though usually well recognized in the localities where they are found. In order to obtain separate figures for this racial group, it has been decided that all person born in Mexico, or having parents born in Mexico, who are not definitely white, Negro, Indian, Chinese, or Japanese, should be returned as Mexican ("Mex").

155. Other mixed races.-Any mixture of white and nonwhite should be reported according to the nonwhite parent. Mixtures of colored races should be reported according to the race of the father, except Negro-Indian (see par. 151)."

Posted by Truth on June 1, 2007 06:52 AM