75% Caucasion, 25% Hispanic -- What race am I?

sunnyone
Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:01:22 +0000

Indulge me…
My father is Mexican and mother is Caucasian. Who am I? What am I? Where do I belong? I belong to no group… these were the complex questions that came up in my life as a result of “checking the boxes”.
The boxes available in the 1970’s did not apply to me - really! It is not a simple task and it is certainly not something I think of as an opportunity or an advantage. I am forced to identify myself BEFORE anyone knows who I am, what I am capable of, or what I value. The agencies/people I disclose my race/ethnicity to have the power to admit/accept or deny my application. I always wonder if they are biased toward Mexicans. When I took my GRE in a computer center, I was asked to ‘check the boxes’. Did I get a different test? Was it scored differently?
We live in an affluent midwest neighborhood near a large, highly ranked university. Someone told my younger child to go out for track because Mexicans can run fast (from border agents) and jump high (over border fences). They thought it was funny. It’s not so funny.
My kids work hard and excel in school. I expect it from them because others do not, simply because we have a hispanic last name and their sole experience with Mexicans is what they see on TV (taking our jobs, etc)
The OP who used the term ‘opportunist’ should be ashamed.
I could go on and I might another time:)
Economic studies illustrating the benefit of a elite university education for disadvantaged and a study in which 2 job applicants with identical qualifications and experiences(one with obvious hispanic name and the other with an obvious caucasian name). They sent in their identical resumes (except for name) for the same jobs with very different results.

OK DONE!

Now - what is my child?
Father: Guam - native peoples
Mother: 1/2 Mexican, 1/2 Caucasian

Thanks for indulging me. And, hopefully, giving a little more thought to the real advantge of identifying yourself on paper:)