So growing up, I’ve always been told that I’m Hispanic (Mexican specifically). My mom was adopted by a full Hispanic man after he married her birth mother (who is Caucasian). My mom doesn’t actually know anything about her birth father and I am concerned as to whether or not I am truly classified as Hispanic based off of the fact that she was adopted. It’s really weighing on my shoulders as I don’t want to be dishonest. She told me to claim it for my college applications and I did. My sister, who is two years older, also claimed it when she applied two years earlier. I just don’t want my integrity to be on the line. I even consulted with my high school counselor and she told me that I should claim it. I decided it would be better to get some second opinions on the matter though. P.S.-I have blue eyes and I look as white as someone can get. Am I truly Hispanic or am I not because she traces this Hispanic origin back to her adoptive father?
Also, forgot to add that my mom’s maiden name is actually Gomez, which she gained when she was adopted as a baby
The National Hispanic Recognition Program of College Board has this definition:
To be eligible, you must be at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnic category, not a racial category, so you can be of any race.
You must have ancestors from at least one of these countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, or Venezuela.
@Adventurer101 I was drawn to your post, probably because I adopted children of a different ethnicity than my own. I have no answer for but will offer this from Brown’s website “47% . . . Identify as students of color”. The key word being identify. Only you can answer that. Sounds like your mom identified as being half Hispanic and proud. Best of luck to you wherever you choose to go.
If an Asian child was adopted and raised by a black couple, does that child become black? You aren’t Hispanic.
@calicash Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity not a race.
@CaliCash But Hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race, hence the confusion.
This is an interesting position to be in. I don’t quite know what to make of Dolemite’s post, as one’s ancestors is not a term clearly defined.
Family is family where I come from, and my (adopted) cousins are my cousins, we share the same grandmother, their respective (adoptive) moms are my aunts, my mom is their aunt, and when we were kids were we to step out of line, we’d all get our butts beat for the same transgression by the same hand.
So, ancestry is more than blood line for me. And in that case, if my ancestor originated from one of the recognized countries on Dolemite’s list, I would go forward with the designation.
I do see where the waters get murky in terms of definition. Can you tell us if your sibling encountered any pushback from her school offices? Any inquiry after the disclosure was made on forms when applying/matriculating?
As for identity, I’ve been working on being clear with my own child who does not have a chance of being identified as Black any more than Boomer Esiason does (though I am Black), that as his consciousness of self is Black-centered, it does not matter that others will question him.
As @BUalum93 says, “The key word being identify.”
@doschicos @bodangles **If a Cantonese child was adopted and raised by a black, Caribbean American couple, does that child become black, Caribbean American? Either way, you aren’t Hispanic.
WWE wrestler Seth Rollins is white, but his real name is Colby Lopez. His step father is Mexican and that’s where he got the last name.
Ethnicity is a complicated area. Is the child of white person who’s ancestors have lived in Africa for centuries and a white American considered “African American”?
Do the Asians who live and were born in the Caribbean get to identify as Caribbean?
A rule of thumb that I have heard from guidance counselors is that if you have to ask if you fall under a certain category, you probably don’t.
Hispanic can be ANY RACE, including asian. There are hispanics of Japanese descent in Peru, for example.
Hispanic is the only category where doing something as totally arbitrary as being born in a different country enables you to check the box. The category definition, IMO, is in need of massive reform. Explain to me why a person named Garcia from anywhere in the world can claim hispanic ethnicity, but not if they’re from the Philippines…
We aren’t talking African American or Caribbean American here and if those were on the CA as ethnicity, it would be open to debate.
For a child adopted into a hispanic family and deeply immersed in hispanic culture throughout their life, my opinion would be a yes, just like a Korean child adopted by a Jewish family would be Jewish.
Another example: there are plenty of Germans who have lived in South America for generations. Do you consider them Germans or South Americans? At what point do they become so?
Some latinos/hispanics can have bloodlines that include ancestors from Indigenous Peoples of the Americas but many, many do not.
@CaliCash I’m guessing you didn’t really poll GCs. OPs GC actually knows the OP and suggested checking the box. And, in asking the question, the OP is merely expressing confusion based on the unknown and appearance, neither of which mean OP is or isn’t. OP you can be latino/hispanic and white (and you can check latino/hispanic, white on the Common App). You do not know your paternal birth grandfather’s ethnic/racial background and you appear white. Is that the reason you question your ethnicity/race? However, you say your mother “always” identified you as hispanic/latino. “Always” strikes a chord here. Your grandfather is Mexican, and the rest of your family identifies as hispanic/latino? I’m assuming it was part of your cultural upbringing/experience based on these statements? If so, you have your answer from your family and GC. If that is not the case, and you’re being told you should check it because you can get away with it and game the system, then you you have a different answer. If the former is accurate, check the box with pride. If the latter is true, don’t.
“Do the Asians who live and were born in the Caribbean get to identify as Caribbean?”
Where I have lived they do.
Do you have any life experiences in that culture? That is really what they are asking.
^^Those life experiences being rooted not only in contact with,’ but contact within the cultural traditions and practices.
“We aren’t talking African American or Caribbean American here and if those were on the CA as ethnicity, it would be open to debate.”
The question the OP asks about is how to define oneself within the rather murky definition of ancestor, and within the less murky, closed set of characteristics used to define Hispanic. There are issues of a challenge to OP’s identity integrity being considered.
It can be inferred from the mention of the color of the eyes and hair, and skin, that OP is concerned that others perceive that OP rests not within the easy definition of Hispanic, but with the Caucasian Non-Hispanic majority here in the U.S., and is the recipient of the privileges that come with such a designation.
As such, in this secondary component of the OP’s concerns, I discussed a issue parallel to the OP’s which my son will face over his lifetime. No one has confused or thinly extrapolate the issue of race with that of ethnicity, the OP’s chief concern.
(Note: In a close re-read, OP never explicitly states that she holds herself to be Hispanic, nor that she has claimed it throughout her lifetime, but that her mother has so designated her.)
@Waiting2exhale Not sure why you chose to quote part of my post or how it relates to your post.
Hair, eye, and skin color have nothing to do with being hispanic, although they might be relevant to only those unaware of what being a hispanic/latino really means.
I’m not really getting the gist of your post.
The OP has 2 threads going on the same subject and addresses her upbringing in a post on the other thread that I was aware of in making my posts on this thread:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1875943-am-i-hispanic-and-should-i-have-claimed-this-on-my-college-applications.html#latest
Got it. I read the excerpted part of your statement as related to the identity statement comments of my prior post.
Will go and read the other thread, though. Thanks for the link.
Uninformed statements like “You are not Hispanic” make me wish there was a “dislike” button. I hope OP reads past those posts to find the more useful input.