Have you ever seen that “who is blacker?” segment of Lopez tonight? It was a battle between Snoop Dog and Charles Barkley to see who was “blacker”. Charles Barkley best out Snoop 75% sub Saharan African to 71%. Most African Americans probably have some degree of European ancestry because of our country’s history with slavery and rape.
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Well, obviously not everyone would respond with such indifference to that news. trueThe family in the OP may have actually cared and checked the African American box with newfound black pride
personally, I don’t feel white pride and if I was part black, I wouldn’t feel black pride. I feel pride about the things that I achieve, not the things I can’t control, like genetic makeup.who knows?
indeed, who knows, but if I were a betting man, based on the way the OP related the story, I’d guess the family is excited because they believe checking a non-white box gives them an admissions advantage.It’s their business.
true, but I never said they did anything wrong. I just described my thinking and experience. the decision is clearly a gray area and what’s right for me, may not be right for others.
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OP here - I have no additional light to shed on this family since I don’t know them that well and have no intention of providing details that could “out” anybody. But I will reiterate that the mom was quite forthright with the information and did not seem ashamed about sharing it at all. I don’t know what she meant by African American blood. She imparted the information in response to my inquiry as to how the college applications were going; she launched into a quick explanation that she felt confident the apps would go well and that they were able to check the AA box due to this test.
I don’t know where the kid applied, but I am not under the impression that this kid would be looking at top colleges. So, I’m not really sure what advantage this family is seeking. I was really more shocked that anybody would think that some .com test would allow them to check a box that - in my OPINION - should be reserved for those who identify with that race or culture and would contribute that identity to the college environment.
Now, checking the box on a medical history form once you make this type of discovery (assuming these tests have any real validity) - that makes sense. But it seems obvious to me that on a college application, the purpose is to discern diverse candidates.
Ancestry.com provides a DNA test, yes they are accurate. I know of several people who found sibling they didn’t know about, birth parents they were looking for, through Ancestry.com DNA tests. The moral implications and percentages to claim a race are another matter, but the tests are accurate.
It’s fascinating to me that so many in this thread are defending the idea of blood quantum for Native Americans when almost all of my Native American friends in college (who were registered tribal members, visibly NA, and typically 25-100% NA by ancestry) were ardently against blood quantum for determining NA status.
Re: #104
Stating that colleges outsource the determination of Native American status to the tribal governments does not necessarily mean that one endorses the method used by each tribal government to determine that status.
You really need to look into how it’s done today and the problems with per tribe differences.
@ucbalumnus , yes, but many posters are using blood quantum rules as positive exemplars of how to determine who is “really” a member of a given racial/ethnic group. As my NA friends pointed out, blood quantum was originally put in place by the White federal government, not the tribes themselves.(FWIW, I’ve know people with majority or full NA ancestry from multiple tribes who couldn’t qualify as members of some of those tribes because they had blood quantum rules that specified 25% or 50% ancestry from that particular tribe).
The kid from Grosse Pointe Michigan has a whole different experience than the one from much of Flint regardless of their blood or features.
Would probably be in our collective best interest to stop asking about race altogether and just go with zip code - if you want meaningful diversity.
If it’s about looking a certain way then nevermind.
Please post anything further here:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1843141-race-in-college-applications-faq-discussion-12-p23.html