Hey all,
I’ve been pondering on this for awhile. My father is full black and my mom is Hawaiian and I grew up in a very cultural household, fully involved with both races. I go to Hawai’i to visit family and was even enrolled in school there for a while and have taken many black studies courses and was involved with a black society on campus.
As I get ready to transfer to UC’s, I was wondering if it’s beneficial for me to mark that I’m full black or mixed with black and native Hawaiian? What gives me a better advantage? My mom says that schools shouldn’t think of me as “less than black” because I’m half…but I just really want to boost my chances of getting in. My personal statement right now is about growing up mixed in North Carolina, and how the racism there affected me and shaped who I am today. I want to work in film so I wrote about how African Americans and Hawaiians both are underrepresented in the television & film industry and how I want to change that and be a role model for minority kids.
I’m no expert in the UC’s, but there is a big difference between affirmative action and the consideration of a student as an underrepresented minority as part of a holistic review – schools that have a lot of qualified applicants and are looking for interesting and diverse students may very well find your cultural background interesting and diverse (and that actually includes your childhood in NC, given that these are CA schools). Both cultures are important to you, check both boxes and don’t worry about your diversity being somehow “diluted.” Your mother is absolutely right – no one gives special points or extra cookies for being “full black” as opposed to anything else. I’m presuming that you did not experience half the discrimination that individuals perceived to be “full black” experienced (I’m not trying to be glib about discrimination, but rather pointing out that no admissions committee will consider that the diversity offered by your cultural background is some how lessened because both your parents are not black). As the mother of a mixed race child living in the South (although as a Japanese/Caucasian child, he is not an URM), I’m also aware (more importantly, the folks who make these decisions are aware) that there can be additional challenges for a child who is not a single “race.”
@CornellBioMajor since race is self identified, there is little way to misrepresent himself by picking Black or Pac. Islander as each are correct if you are 50%. Some ground rules for Hispanic NHS require 1/4th. So there is little chance of a problem or misrepresentation with the original options.
Hawaiian is more rare than Black. If you are applying to private schools, they will be more impressed with the Pacific Island/Hawaiian designation than Black. Put both.