Why are people who are partly "white" and partly "black" referred to as black? (illegal, crime)

[Ralph_Kirk]

Originally Posted by SAL9000

Well, let's look at our dear president. If he referred to himself as half black and half white (or perish the thought, as white), would he have been an affirmative action admit to Columbia and Harvard, been a political darling of the Chicago political machine or elected president? No, no and no. Worked pretty good for him, huh?

By being "black" IMO he abandoned him mom who unlike the father never abandoned the family. I find it totally disgusting.

That's a lot of hooey. Obama never abandoned his mother or the white grandparents who raised him. He always acknowledged them and always stayed close to them until the days the died.

Obama Visits Grandma Who Was His 'Rock'

[vrexy]

Originally Posted by Theropod

Because a lot of people who are half black/white do look "more" African than Caucasian.

People like Nicole Richie are an exception though. She can easily pass as a Southern European to me.

Why is Nicole Richie an exception? Her ancestry is Mexican, Creole, and Spanish. She is not black. Lionel Richie adopted her.

(Ooops! Just saw that someone else already mentioned this.)

[Meester-Chung]

it's from an old slavery/jim crow law

[gg]

Originally Posted by UKWildcat1981

That is true most blacks see Obama as black even thou he is bi racial and half white.

The OP is correct. Tiger Woods is another one. Asian mother and no one calls him Asian. Why?

[Northern Maine Land Man]

The term mulatto was used to designate a person who was biracial.

Quadroon was used to designate a person of one-quarter African/Aboriginal ancestry.

The term octoroon referred to a person with one-eighth African/Aboriginal ancestry.

The term mustefino refers to a person with one-sixteenth African ancestry.[2] The terms "quintroon" or "hexadecaroon" were also used.

These terms are from Wikipedia today, but they appear in older dictionaries. Politically incorrect terms are quietly being withdrawn from new dictionaries.

[BlueLuce]

I'm sure you have heard of the one-drop rule from back in the day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-drop_rule
It appears that rule is still in effect in 2015.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Cre·ole
ˈkrēˌōl/
noun
1.
a person of mixed European and black descent, especially in the Caribbean.
a white descendant of French settlers in Louisiana and other parts of the southern US.
2.
a mother tongue formed from the contact of two languages through an earlier pidgin stage.
"a Portuguese-based Creole"

[katharsis]

Originally Posted by sheena12

This link might give you some insight into the "one drop rule" that is still pervasive today -

Mixed Race America - Who Is Black? One Nation's Definition | Jefferson's Blood | FRONTLINE | PBS

EXCELLENT article! Thank you.

[NoleFanHSV]

I thought it was cultural. I here that Ben Carson isn't "black" enough.

[Ralph_Kirk]

Originally Posted by NoleFanHSV

I thought it was cultural. I here that Ben Carson isn't "black" enough.

When my Air Force promotion path stalled for a while, I was told by a promotion board veteran that I'd spent too much time in joint units..."You are not 'blue' enough."