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I would be willing to bet that most Americans are mixed race to some extent, and as the decades go on the nation gets more racially mixed. We are no where near as obsessed with race as people from outside America say we are.
I agree we in the US are generally more comfortable discussing the topic of race which I think is good despite the occasional racist fools that chime in the discussions on this forum every once in a great while.
Depends on the persons appearance. I have a friend who has a Dominican mother and white american father. He is probably 80% european, but looks 80% black. If he told people he was white he would get some strange stares. Lol. Euro genes are recessive after all.
You are mixed or multi-racial. The Latin and European countries where it is more common than the U.S. will call you "moreno". Black in those countries is darker skin tones. For example, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson of the GS Warriors would be called "moreno" and Russell Wilson of the Seahawks would be multi-racial (perhaps Samoan) because of his darker skin-tone. Go figure.
I like how France, Denmark and Brazil and other countries do it. If you are born there, you are French, a Dane or a Brazilian first and foremost. No need to categorize you on more levels. America's need for racism seems to crave on putting people in a particular category.
You are mixed or multi-racial. The Latin and European countries where it is more common than the U.S. will call you "moreno". Black in those countries is darker skin tones. For example, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson of the GS Warriors would be called "moreno" and Russell Wilson of the Seahawks would be multi-racial (perhaps Samoan) because of his darker skin-tone. Go figure.
I like how France, Denmark and Brazil and other countries do it. If you are born there, you are French, a Dane or a Brazilian first and foremost. No need to categorize you on more levels. America's need for racism seems to crave on putting people in a particular category.
There is considerable history behind that. It needs to first be realized that until the 14th amendment, there wasn't really a basis for national citizenship. National citizenship was undefined--persons were citizens of a particular state, and that was determined by the laws of that state. You were not an "American" unless you were first legally a Virginian or a New Yorker or a Georgian; American citizenship was a by-product of state citizenship.
In most cases, slaves and freedmen were not considered citizens of the states they resided in--if anything, they were still considered Africans.
I answered "Mixed race aka biracial"... but honestly I'd say both that and "Black" based on cultural norms. For example on average African Americans have 25% European DNA. So does that mean "Black" starts at 25% white but 75% African people? Also someone like Henry Louis Gates Jr is 50/50 DNA wise, but he and others typically consider him "Black". If you talked with him about his DNA or someone else, and that it's 50/50 then one might consider him biracial but "Black" would still apply.
In that context I think if you look African at all (even if very light skinned) you are considered Black by many (if not most)... I think this includes many African Americans themselves... Being "Black" or "African American" is more than just a racial term, but a culture and something people within that culture own with pride. I've heard many light skinned African Americans be upset when other "Black" people don't consider them "Black", or at least not as "Black" as them (while conversely all involved would probably call them "Black" compared to a very white person).
Basically I don't think the above perceptions that seem pretty widespread here in the US stands in opposition to the concept of someone being multi-racial. By DNA all "Black" people are multi-racial (again 25% white on average), so they seem to be two separate concepts that overlap to some extent.
Actually on average, Black Americans have 80% African DNA and 17% European DNA. That African percentage has been stated in many publication like Scientific American and BlackDemographics.com | The African American Population
Socio historically speaking, "Mixed" or "Black" is how they are socially viewed, but align primarily with those of Black African descent. For instance, during segregation, generally speaking, signs didn't say "Negro", but said "Colored". Meaning anyone of Black African descent. This sentiment is consistent throughout history in the United States, but the problem is that history is taught in a skewed fashion where it is either hushed up/hidden or is minimized. Here is a great example related to this forum as well: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h7aoHIVkpfs
Also, you have to keep in mind that some groups think more in terms of purity and others more in terms of a socio-historical context.
One more thing that I found out from that Scientific American article is that 30% of Whites in the US have anywhere from 2-20% Black African DNA. So, this isn't something that doesn't crossover and speaks more to the reality of the social(and historical) context of race.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 10-27-2015 at 10:25 AM..
They're mixed. I used to view them as black until I realized how hostile they are towards us. I just wish we would stop mating with non-blacks and creating more of them.
Actually on average, Black Americans have 80% African DNA and 17% European DNA. That African percentage has been stated in many publication like Scientific American and BlackDemographics.com | The African American Population
Socio historically speaking, "Mixed" or "Black" is how they are socially viewed, but align primarily with those of Black African descent. For instance, during segregation, generally speaking, signs didn't say "Negro", but said "Colored". Meaning anyone of Black African descent. This sentiment is consistent throughout history in the United States, but the problem is that history is taught in a skewed fashion where it is either hushed up/hidden or is minimized. Here is a great example related to this forum as well: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h7aoHIVkpfs
Also, you have to keep in mind that some groups think more in terms of purity and others more in terms of a socio-historical context.
One more thing that I found out from that Scientific American article is that 30% of Whites in the US have anywhere from 2-20% Black African DNA. So, this isn't something that doesn't crossover and speaks more to the reality of the social(and historical) context of race.
I don't doubt the validity of that reference, there have been a couple of different studies, I was citing what as far as I understand the most recent and comprehensive one submitted the end of last year:
I'm open to any other sources that are more recent or more comprehensive... the more we study it seems we get a clearer idea of it.
The amount of European DNA in African Americans of 17% vs 24% in that study is distinct but not as big... however:
Quote:
30% of Whites in the US have anywhere from 2-20% Black African DNA
That conflicts with most of the studies I've seen, including the one I linked which states:
Quote:
Consistent with previous anecdotal results,32 the frequency of European American individuals who carry African ancestry varies strongly by state and region of the US (Figure 3A). We estimate that a substantial fraction, at least 1.4%, of self-reported European Americans in the US carry at least 2% African ancestry. Using a less conservative threshold, approximately 3.5% of European Americans have 1% or more African ancestry (Figure S8). Individuals with African ancestry are found at much higher frequencies in states in the South than in other parts of the US: about 5% of self-reported European Americans living in South Carolina and Louisiana have at least 2% African ancestry. Lowering the threshold to at least 1% African ancestry (potentially arising from one African genealogical ancestor within the last 11 generations), European Americans with African ancestry comprise as much as 12% of European Americans from Louisiana and South Carolina and about 1 in 10 individuals in other parts of the South
The study before that I saw was similar suggesting between 2-5% European Americans have %1 or greater African ancestry.
Still that's quite a few white people with african DNA and black ancestors.
I myself am a "White" American with highly predominate European Ancestry, though I come up about 0.4% Sub-Saharan DNA, and my mother is at least 0.5% (possibly up to 1.2% or so). This is validated by segments too large to be noise. It's not too surprising since I have a lot of Southern ancestry... though as you say such things were kept secret so DNA is probably the only way I'll figure out where it came from. I've matched at least 5-6 people on that segment, people who themselves vary, one is half Portuguese, one to three others are white like me (though comes up about 2% SSA), one is about 34% African, and another about 84% African... We all share a SSA segment which means we all share an African ancestor somewhere back there. Hoping to one day figure out who it was via DNA.
Hmmmm....if you mix chocolate ice cream with vanilla ice cream (or any other flavor) then you have a mix regardless of what you call it. . .
Someone mentioned "African American." I don't even know what that is. Black folks come from places other than Africa.
Also, What do you call a white guy who emigrates South Africa to the United States?
I hope you don't think you're the first person to come up with that line. Not even on C-D.
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