The Student Room Group

Am I black white or mixed?

I'm just curious because I was filling out some paperwork for a study. I'm new and the receptionist was black American like one of those black people that don't know what they are basically. And I put Caucasian because I was always taught to do so since my ancestry is in North Africa. My mother's family is from Chad but ancestral heritage is from North Sudan and my dad has some tuareg (berber North African) heritage and some North Sudanese heritage. I even took a DNA test that showed most of my heritage is sahelian in other words not subsaharan African heritage. But she said I should put African American and the lady after her wanted me to put Other. But when I looked up the FDA for research studies north African is technically under Caucasian. I have it now as white and black currently. But I think this is incorrect.


I have also had other weird situations in the past where on my paperwork at school it would say Hispanic. I don't know how it got put there as my mom would never have put me as Hispanic. She actually hates Hispanics. So I'm guessing someone else put that there. And in another case I was signing up for focus groups and I told them my ethnic background was North African to make things simpler. And I called back and got scheduled then turned away because they put me under the African American category. And now they have me down as Hispanic because they don't want to put me down as white. Which is stupid because my opinion isn't going to be in favor of Hispanics. For one I'm in favor of Donald Trump and believe in actually more border security than even he does.


Plus it's a problem because they always fill in more spots for White respondents than anyone else because in America that's more of a truthful microcosm of the population. When I went to my dr. though I put Caucasian even though it was reserved for European americans. And was allowed to. But it always seems like black people think anyone darker can't be white. But for white people it's usually Hispanic. But I don't have any Hispanic heritage whatsoever. I have French heritage that's as close as I got. Anyway what do you think? And should I change my information at the research study to white completely since I found out regulations of the fda say I'm supposed to put it under Caucasian.... It also affects one study whether I'm allowed to participate or not. Advice?
Reply 1
"Black American like one of those black people that don't know what they are basically. "


What the **** is this?

I would class you mixed because of your berber hertiage.
Reply 2
Original post by novaDRGN
"Black American like one of those black people that don't know what they are basically. "


What the **** is this?

I would class you mixed because of your berber hertiage.


I know I'm asking on a uk site but in America most black people don't know where they are from due to the history of slavery. They weren't able to keep in contact with family. So they don't know their ancestry unless they take a DNA test or something.


Berber heritage means native to North Africa though.... In America anyone with heritage originally in North African or the middle east are considered Caucasian.
Reply 3
I am also North African and yes, while you are African American, they do not class us as that as what they really mean is Black African American. At the end of the day, ethnicity is a social construct so you can put whatever you identify as to a certain degree. As my family is Arab North African of Turkish and Tamazight descent, I always put White/Arab if that is an option. Normally this isn't an option so I'm constantly 'Other'. It may not seem satisfying as you're not able to place yourself within their parameters but for me that is the closest I get to a Western acknowledgement of my ancestry!
Reply 4
Original post by justinborg11
I know I'm asking on a uk site but in America most black people don't know where they are from due to the history of slavery. They weren't able to keep in contact with family. So they don't know their ancestry unless they take a DNA test or something.


Berber heritage means native to North Africa though.... In America anyone with heritage originally in North African or the middle east are considered Caucasian.


Okay!
I'd go by colour of skin/colour of parents, I didn't know there was any other way of doing it?
Reply 6
Original post by justinborg11
Berber heritage means native to North Africa though.... In America anyone with heritage originally in North African or the middle east are considered Caucasian.


Slightly incorrect there; Middle Easterners are on the whole considered Arab unless they are identify with an ethnic minority within their country e.g. Kurds, Yazidi etc. North Africans are also considered Arab unless they identify with Berber/ Tamazight ethnicities (again ethnic minorities within their countries).

People from the Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan) and Europeans are considered caucasian.

You need to try to get past the American way of thinking that ethnicity is determined by skin colour because it is so much more than that!
Reply 7
Original post by yogiyaz
I am also North African and yes, while you are African American, they do not class us as that as what they really mean is Black African American. At the end of the day, ethnicity is a social construct so you can put whatever you identify as to a certain degree. As my family is Arab North African of Turkish and Tamazight descent, I always put White/Arab if that is an option. Normally this isn't an option so I'm constantly 'Other'. It may not seem satisfying as you're not able to place yourself within their parameters but for me that is the closest I get to a Western acknowledgement of my ancestry!



People don't usually think I'm black American. That's the whole problem with focus groups. Because their clients don't want me in a focus group as the black guy. And they don't want me their as white because I'm too dark. But I can't go as Hispanic more because of the fact that I have no tights affinities or relagtions to Hispanic people and would not speak in their interest most likely. They don't allow mixed people either or other. They have to pass for whatever they look most like. Which is kind of why I was thinking of just putting Caucasian.
Lol I'm iranian but I consider myself as asian because I literally am "asian other"
Middle east is just a region in asia so countries within it/ethnic groups - we are all asian

p.s are somalians black?
Reply 9
Original post by justinborg11
People don't usually think I'm black American. That's the whole problem with focus groups. Because their clients don't want me in a focus group as the black guy. And they don't want me their as white because I'm too dark. But I can't go as Hispanic more because of the fact that I have no tights affinities or relagtions to Hispanic people and would not speak in their interest most likely. They don't allow mixed people either or other. They have to pass for whatever they look most like. Which is kind of why I was thinking of just putting Caucasian.


I get that, and at the end of the day a tick in a box doesn't really matter and you're right, you're really not the right person to be representing 'Hispanic' ' people because you are not Hispanic ethnically or culturally. You're not caucasian either so you shouldn't really be putting yourself as that if you want to be totally honest with this study. That being said, if this is something that isn't medical or that serious then it's not going to matter what you put!

But I'm really serious when I say that you need to try to move away from defining your ethnicity as a colour. Black people aren't just black; they're all the different African tribes from which they derive, they're Tutsis, Zulus, Swazi etc., 'Asian' people aren't just Asian; they're Central Asian, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani), they're Afghani, they're Uzbeks, Zhuang etc.

You're not Caucasian but not because you don't have white skin. You're not caucasian because that is not where your forefathers were from! There are blonde haired, blue-eyed Berbers but that doesn't mean that they're caucasian. Defining people by their colour is a construction US lawmakers used to categorise their people.

Ethnicity is not colour, colour is not ethnicity.
Original post by samantham999
Lol I'm iranian but I consider myself as asian because I literally am "asian other"
Middle east is just a region in asia so countries within it/ethnic groups - we are all asian

p.s are somalians black?


somalis are a whole 'nother race
Original post by Fluffpuffle
I'd go by colour of skin/colour of parents, I didn't know there was any other way of doing it?


Well yeah my complexion is pretty dark. I'm like a skin type 4 Fitzpatrick skin type scale. Kind of like shemar when he wasn't brown. I'm like a goldish color. Same thing with my mom and dad.
Reply 12
Original post by samantham999
Lol I'm iranian but I consider myself as asian because I literally am "asian other"
Middle east is just a region in asia so countries within it/ethnic groups - we are all asian

p.s are somalians black?


Yeah that's true!

Also, it depends on what definition of Middle East you use! Some include Turkey and North Africa so it spans Asia, Europe and Africa!
Original post by yogiyaz
Slightly incorrect there; Middle Easterners are on the whole considered Arab unless they are identify with an ethnic minority within their country e.g. Kurds, Yazidi etc. North Africans are also considered Arab unless they identify with Berber/ Tamazight ethnicities (again ethnic minorities within their countries).

People from the Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan) and Europeans are considered caucasian.

You need to try to get past the American way of thinking that ethnicity is determined by skin colour because it is so much more than that!



Yeah but there is no arab category. And the fda explains their racial categories to be white/caucasian including those native to north Africa and the middle east. Now if they had a middle eastern/north african category I'd gladly mark that down. But there is no such option.... With the other place for focus groups they also have no category for middle eastern/arab American.
Original post by samantham999
Lol I'm iranian but I consider myself as asian because I literally am "asian other"
Middle east is just a region in asia so countries within it/ethnic groups - we are all asian

p.s are somalians black?


I guess this is why I got African American. But that didn't work for me. And I'm guessing it wouldn't work for you either. Because when the lady put African American I went in for the focus group and got sent back because their clients didn't feel I represented the black American community well.

And I thought they were. In complexion they are at least. But I'd also like to say Somalian is a nationality. So somalians can be any race most likely.
Original post by alkaline.
somalis are a whole 'nother race


They're in a class of their own. :smile:
Well the only 5 races they had listed were Asian Hispanic African American and Caucasian and Native American. I'm not really any of those. For me the way I see it in the edical study is they have a clobetasol study they run and it's for lighter complected people specifically Caucasians but I see Hispanics darker than myself in the study and my cousin did the study just fine. So I know I could possible react to the medication. But if I were to put African American I get automatically locked out. And like I said I feel maybe I'd be the best representation for Caucasian americans as I was already turned away from a study when I was put under African American and all.



Original post by yogiyaz
I get that, and at the end of the day a tick in a box doesn't really matter and you're right, you're really not the right person to be representing 'Hispanic' ' people because you are not Hispanic ethnically or culturally. You're not caucasian either so you shouldn't really be putting yourself as that if you want to be totally honest with this study. That being said, if this is something that isn't medical or that serious then it's not going to matter what you put!

But I'm really serious when I say that you need to try to move away from defining your ethnicity as a colour. Black people aren't just black; they're all the different African tribes from which they derive, they're Tutsis, Zulus, Swazi etc., 'Asian' people aren't just Asian; they're Central Asian, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani), they're Afghani, they're Uzbeks, Zhuang etc.

You're not Caucasian but not because you don't have white skin. You're not caucasian because that is not where your forefathers were from! There are blonde haired, blue-eyed Berbers but that doesn't mean that they're caucasian. Defining people by their colour is a construction US lawmakers used to categorise their people.

Ethnicity is not colour, colour is not ethnicity.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by alkaline.
somalis are a whole 'nother race


We are 100% black. Why do people class East Africa as a completely different race. Black people are diverse. Africa is diverse. People need to stop excluding East Africans.
Original post by thefreakoffreaks
We are 100% black. Why do people class East Africa as a completely different race. Black people are diverse. Africa is diverse. People need to stop excluding East Africans.


Thats what i thought!! Somalis are so pretty and their features are stunning. When I ask them if they are black they say no?

At the end of the day you're either white,black,asian,hispanic,latino or native/ native american
Original post by justinborg11
Yeah but there is no arab category. And the fda explains their racial categories to be white/caucasian including those native to north Africa and the middle east. Now if they had a middle eastern/north african category I'd gladly mark that down. But there is no such option.... With the other place for focus groups they also have no category for middle eastern/arab American.


Tbh there shouldnt be a category for arab. They are asian in the end anyway and yes I know their roots are semitic but they should come under asian other because then you could argue that kurdish people should need a seperate box so it doest make sense. Broad categories are more convinent

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