<p>Because Obama did it makes it right?</p>
<p>By definition he is more than black. By biology he is more than black. </p>
<p>Filling out a census does not take the opportunity to win something away from anyone.</p>
<p>so iâm guessing youâre not actually going to answer my questionâŠ</p>
<p>(let me make myself clear. you think someone has to be 100% african american to be black. i understand that point of view. but youâre refusing to accept that people or society* can* see multiracial people as black when they look and identify as such. iâm asking you to tell me why you reject that argument, other than just saying âitâs wrongâ. are you going to give me reasons?)</p>
<p>^ Exactly. It isnât just an individualâs choice it is an entire societyâs viewpoint. Even if Obama didnât identify as completely black most Americans would still consider him to so. Think of people like Drake or Tia and Tamara Mowry (sister sister if anyone remembers that) or Bob Marley or any of the other âblackâ celebrities that are only half. America perceives people with any visible black features as black. Multiracial people have the right to behave accordingly. If full black people are getting some rights taken away because of their skin color multiracial people (who are typically seen as black by society) are getting those rights taken away too. And if completely black people are receiving scholarships as societyâs atonement for past treatment of blacks multiracial people deserve the scholarships too.</p>
<p>And you must be kidding yourself if you think Obama filling out a census doesnât matter because nothing gets taken away from someone else. I guarantee you that when he applied for college he applied as a black applicant . They didnât even have check all that apply boxes back then so what should he have chosen?</p>
<p>Umm Bigshot lol ***</p>
<p>I never disagreed with "youâre refusing to accept that people or society can see multiracial people as black when they look and identify as such. "</p>
<p>It just is not related to whether or not you should apply for the scholarship.</p>
<p>I am fully aware that if you are any part black you will be treated as black .</p>
<hr>
<p>@almost there</p>
<p>your argument is flawed in that not only does it get further away from the actual topic, now students have the option to check more than one box, so let us stick to the now, I am not going to answer anymore of your dumb questions like âwhat should he have doneâ, obviously he should of done what he felt was best when he was only given the option of one race, now students can choose multiple races</p>
<p>And yes, how Obama fills out the census does not really matter in the greater scheme of things.</p>
<p>Obama was not a national achievement scholar.</p>
<hr>
<p>Obama is extremely intelligent.</p>
<p>^ Yes you have the option on college applications to check multiple race but for national achievement whether or not you are black is a yes or no question. If you are part black you have the right to check that box and you have the right to get that scholarship. If you are biracial (under these circumstances obviously there are other applicable racial combinations) you are black AND you are white so if they ask you if you are a black american you can truthfully answer yes. Are you saying that biracial applicants are neither black nor white?</p>
<p>And the reason that Obama wasnât a national achievement scholar was because his scores werenât high enough. And it is definitely arguable that he is extremely intelligent. He obviously isnât an idiot but heâs not a genius either.</p>
<p>I say no, you are not majority black so no do NOT</p>
<p>At Harvard Law School, Obama graduated Magna Cum Laude, which, according to the Havard Law School website, is awarded to the top 10% of Harvard Law School students.</p>
<p>I think that qualifies him as extremely intelligent.</p>
<hr>
<p>âif they ask you if you are a black american you can truthfully answer yesâ</p>
<p>Wrong, if they ask you are you part black then you can answer yes</p>
<p>"Are you saying that biracial applicants are neither black nor white? "</p>
<p>Right, they are neither black nor white in whole but they are mixed so yes they are partially white and partially black.</p>
<p>When a horse and donkey mate, they make a mule. Not a horse and not a donkey. While a mule is a mix of both it is not same as either parent.</p>
<p>You cannot enter a mule into a Donkey competition, you cannot enter a mule into a horse competition.</p>
<p>You cannot call a mule a donkey or a horse, but you can say it is a mix of both.</p>
<p>^Wow umm thatâs kinda harshâŠ</p>
<p>I say so ahead. There are plenty of people out there would have two black parents that can pass for white. I like you list myself as multiracial but Iâm still considered black. Donât let anyone bully you into feeling guilty about what you earned because you arenât 100% black. </p>
<p>Anyone who knows anything about black people as a whole knows they are mutts, mixed with a whole lot of genes. Just because you have a stronger white blood line doesnât make you a less of a black person.</p>
<p>Whatever you decide I wish you the best of luck.</p>
<p>If you are eligible for both, you should move forward with both applications. There may be opportunities for one and not the other. There is nothing wrong with going for both. If you get both, and have to choose, you can do that (I do not know the rules). Do not feel guilty that you qualify for something. </p>
<p>I have an acquaintance whose children are Hispanic because their grandfather was born in Spain. One of the kids has they fairest complexion you have ever seen and has had no disadvantages because of heritage. That young person will be a National Hispanic Scholarâor whatever that program is called. With the Hispanic award, it has specific rules for what makes a person eligible. </p>
<p>Go for it.</p>
<p>^^^^
Yes he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard Law but he also graduated from Columbia with less than a 3.3 GPA so its still debatable. Heâs obviously intelligent but I think what actually helped him succeed the most was his work ethic (that he apparently developed when he went to law school). Anyways with a <3.3 GPA he probably wouldnât have even got into Harvard law if it hadnât been for him marking himself as black on his application and Affirmative Action.</p>
<p>But the problem is society does call biracial people either black or white. It doesnât just say that they are multiracial. What it really comes down to is the reasoning behind having a separate competition for black people in the first place.
Is it to make amends for the discrimination and slavery that occurred in this country? If so, biracial people were discriminated against and held as slaves.
Is it because black people generally score lower on tests and they want black people to have a sense of academic accomplishment? If so, biracial people still score lower than whites and everyone scores lower than asians so why not just have scholarship competitions by race?
Youâre saying that biracial students shouldnât be allowed to apply for black scholarships even if they are just as disadvantaged because they are taking the place of ârealâ black people? </p>
<p>Also Iâd be careful about using that mule analogy. I mean I donât buy into most of that politically correct BS (I mean people donât really need to take offense to everything that anybody says) but there are some people that will find it incredibly offensive. The word mulatto came from what slave owners used to call the children that were born when they raped their slaves. Since they considered blacks to be of a different species (which is kind of what you implied in your analogy) than whites a lot of them thought that like a mule the child would be sterile. The name stuck but now some (note not all) people consider it to be as offensive a the n word. Others use it (like some use the n word) to self identify.</p>
<p>Donât try to reason or argue with trolls, almost there.</p>
<p>@babycakebriauna</p>
<p>I literally have no clue what you were attempting to say. I am just going to go out on a limb here and say whatever you were trying to say is wrong.</p>
<p>@MD Mom</p>
<p>Partly agree. Yes, if he calls and finds out if he qualifies then he can apply. Should he apply if he is not a âBlack Americanâ is another story.</p>
<p>@almost there</p>
<p>While it is debatable, just because someone graduates with a low GPA does not mean they do not have a high IQ, factors such as laziness, boredom etc need to be accounted for.</p>
<p>Yes work ethic would be an arguing point if this was high school. In college you get exams, you are tested for your knowledge. You do not have daily worksheets, quizzes etc to prove your work ethic and endurance. Either you learned the material or you did not.</p>
<p>"Youâre saying that biracial students shouldnât be allowed to apply for black scholarships even if they are just as disadvantaged because they are taking the place of ârealâ black people? "</p>
<p>This is not a scholarship based on your level of disadvantage. This is a scholarship based on race. Either your a full Black American or your not.</p>
<p>âI mean people donât really need to take offense to everything that anybody saysâ</p>
<p>Agree in this specific context. It is an analogy, nothing more nothing less. Anyone who takes offense, does not want to accept the point clearly proven by the analogy</p>
<p>OP, have you decided what youâre going to do yet?</p>
<p>^^
âYes work ethic would be an arguing point if this was high school. In college you get exams, you are tested for your knowledge. You do not have daily worksheets, quizzes etc to prove your work ethic and endurance. Either you learned the material or you did not.â
Do you learn by magic? Tests test your knowledge and application of information. To learn the information you have to study which requires good work habits. And as you said in the preceding line:
âfactors such as laziness, boredom etc need to be accounted for.â
Obviously he was lazier in undergrad but the point is with less than a 3.3 GPA you arenât getting into Harvard Law at all unless you say you are black.</p>
<p>If it is a scholarship based on race why isnât there one for white students or Asians? Because black people are less likely to go to college and they are trying to âidentify academically promising black American high school students and encourage their pursuit of higher education.â. Multiracial people have the same (if not more) societal disadvantages that reduce the likelihood of them going to college. Also by your reasoning by not checking the box you are saying that you are a full white american which isnât true either.</p>
<p>And your analogy doesnât really prove anything because there arenât any special âshowsâ at all for white people or biracial people. A better analogy would be two doors. One is for black people and the other is for non black people. Would a biracial person have to go through the nonblack door?</p>
<p>@lachicabuena: basically i decided not to do it but then my parents found out and are making me apply since thereâs a chance iâll get more money. i still feel a little iffy about it but the choice was basically taken out of my hands, so i guess itâs over now. thanks for your opinions everyone (and it seems like theyâll keep coming in since this debate has taken on a whole new nature), it was helpful to at least see that there are a lot of different views on this.</p>
<p>What I was saying is that black people as a whole come from a mixture of other ethnic groups. Black Americans have a white blood line so there is no such thing as being 100% black unless your parents are African immigrants.</p>
<p>Hello, I am 1/4 African(-Brazilian, not American), but relatively lightly skinned, so I am somewhat in the same position as you are. Some more background information: I am also half-Brazilian so I usually identify as multiracial. Technically, being a Brazilian does not make you Hispanic (because of the Portuguese) or Latino, however I still ended up being a Hispanic National Scholar. </p>
<p>I have dealt with the same issues as you, being so lightskinned I was not at initially allowed in my schoolâs College Bound Latino Club. I have a younger sister who actually came out darker than me (to the point that people dont believe we are siblings), yet she has the exact same parents/is the same race.</p>
<p>I am also a national Achievement semi-finalist, having marked that box because I consider myself both black and white. However, I am also feeling reservations about going through with the full application, so I decided to call National Achievement Scholarship about this. They said that being multi-racial is fine as long as you consider yourself partially black. My teachers at school also agree.</p>
<p>That being said, whether or not you should to continue at this stage really depends on how black you consider yourself (as mentioned before). Everyone has different opinions on this, so I would be hard pressed to say that anyoneâs is wrong. In Brazil for example, your race is based primarily on skin color, to the extent that my sister isnât really considered to be the same as me, despite the same parentage. I am planning on going through with the finalist application, as my sister would probably have no problem, and I do, in some measure, consider myself black.</p>