Only occasionally from what I have seen around here, where south Asian people are not rare (and most Tamil-origin people look visibly different from African or African American black people), although the situation may be different for those living where there are hardly any south Asian people at all.
There is often a distinct category for Pacific Islander in these questions.
In your case the categories make little or no sense, but there is also a ‘two or more races’ catchall that seems to fit a lot of people. IMO the categories work OK from a 1980’s American perspective but get frayed on the fringes. Maybe that would work for you.
@juicymango no offense, but don’t assume that Ivy league administrators are dumb enough to think that someone with the name Bala Subramaniam is black. Don’t hijack AA privileges for those who actually need it when you have not struggled from racism. You do not have ancestors who were enslaved but have been fortunate enough to have had educated parents who sought high quality economic opportunity in America. Keep that in mind before you behead the identity of threads… Maybe excel in things other than school for once.
@MALABARCOAST2014 And what makes you think that an Indian-American is going to have the name “Bala Subramanian”? My three Indian friends’ names are Chad, Dillan, and Mike. And how do you know I haven’t struggled from racism? People have called teased me because I am black since Pre-k. I get made fun of because I am Indian but really dark, and people ask me rude questions like “did your Indian mom get visited by a black milkman?”. And also, I don’t want to mention some of the inappropriate questions directed to me about what color certain…areas…are for me. Of course, the typical, are you Indian or African American questions. And whenever I go to my predominantly white school, I feel left out because I am a different color. And I’m tired of people using the “ancestors were slaves” biased argument. So what? Boo hoo, I feel bad for you, but were you in chains yourself? I don’t think so. And yet another point I want to bring up. What makes you stereotype all Black people as poor and uneducated? And I’m “fortunate enough to have had educated parent who sought high quality economic opportunity in America”…what the heck!!! LOL do you think black people are the only ones who have experienced oppression? My parents grew up in a time that was ruled by the caste system, which means that your worth is already determined before you are even BORN. They were both from poor villages, and by poor, I don’t mean the “American” poor. I mean less than a dollar a day, so that my dad had to divide a pencil for school among his 7 other siblings…yet he worked hard in school, stayed up late nights, even took his 8 high school final exams with typhoid, and got into the top university in India. Same thing with my mom. So they weren’t “fortunate” they worked hard. There are an overabundance of scholarship to help blacks these days so theres really no reason they can complain about “racism” keeping them out of top schools. And finally, how do you know I excel at school? And more importantly, how do you know I don’t excel at other things? You think I just sit at home studying all day because I’m Indian? What if I told you I’m nationally ranked in tennis? Stop being stereotypical and racist. And some AA qualified students like Cameron Clarke, for example, work hard rather than depend on their ANCESTOR’s struggles to get into top-schools.
Talk to your guidance counselor who knows you personally as it can be really complicated. Clearly you can be both white in color and African in ethnicity. We have similar situation in our family with many generations living in Mexico but we are white in color so checking caucasian and Mexican is true for us. My child ended up adding an explanation in the other info box on apps that he identifies as caucasian but technically has __% Mexican background so then they can use that info as they wish and we don’t have to guess what they will feel is honest because we disclosed it all.
You don’t understand the demographical origins and struggles of the African American community. Obviously not all African Americans are disadvantaged but many are held hostage to historical bondage which affected the economic trajectory of an entire community. Simply looking black does not significantly diminish your prospects and you do a great disservice to all Americans of African descent. Secondly, if there was no advantage to being black in the admissions process you would not feign Afroamerican heritage, so your intentions are not opportunistic. Additionally, do you realize that virtually all minorities face discrimination. I am Indian, but understand that we would not have the opportunities in this nation if not for the civil rights struggle of black Americans and are in therefore no position to usurp opportunities for them. Tell me the last time a Tamilian was gunned down by a cop. Tell me what percentage of Tamilians study in elite universities? Your narrative is entirely different from the black narrative and it is not just offensive but deplorable to say that you have faced the same struggles because you look black. Read up on history and stop spewing acrimony and hijacking threads. Also, you’re not ranked in Tennis because you have said in other posts that you only excel in school
The caste system was abolished in 1955 just saying
I marked African American (Africa) for myself, even though most people think I am Indian or Dominican. I mean, both my parents were from Somalia, and so was their parents, grandparents, etc. But, they are not as ‘dark’ as other African’s.
@MALABARCOAST2014 Just saying man, south indian men are gunned down by cops far more often than you’re assuming. These incidents just aren’t publicized as much as other police shootings are.
Let’s not kid ourselves@unwound . I am a South Indian and it is completely different
This thread is the best example I have ever seen of why it is so crazy to admit students based on race. My husband is foreign and thinks if the college admissions system really wanted to be fair, they would help lower income and disadvantage kids by using the school district zip code. Admit the high achievers from bad school districts. No doubt that would result in its own problems though.
It would probably help the well-off kids living in not-so-well-off school districts. The kids feeling the effects of the bad neighborhood are unlikely to benefit from such a policy.
I think that you are all blowing this a little bit out of proportion. I believe that we as a group of educated individuals should come to the consensus that we have differing opinions and leave it at that. Just saying.
If you are a non-black Algerian, or a White South African, or a person of Chinese or Indian descent who was born in Africa, do not mark “African-American” on an application to a university in the United States. Even if it isn’t viewed as dishonest, you will look stupid, and it won’t help you get in.
Let us be honest here. This issue of race would not be a topic of discussion if the OP wasn’t looking for a hook or perceived advantages for identifying as African American. I remember some years ago, all the engineers at our Research & Development company had to attend a weeklong sensitivity training course off-site. One of the course facilitors decided to split the group into two groups, one “black” and one “white”. The few Asians (from India) were placed into the “black” group and one individual, from Algeria was also placed into the “black” group. The Algerian, was very adamant (putting it mildly) that he should be placed in the “white” group, since he was NOT black. For more than an hour, the debate rage among the group, as the group activities were delayed as the Algerian refused to be classified or placed in the “black” group of engineers. The facilitator relented in the end and he was allowed to join the “white” group. The ironic part of the whole debacle was the Algerian was of a much darker complexion than most of the African American participants in the training.