Asked to Declare His Race, Obama Checks ‘Black’

[EpyonXero]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/us...er=rss&emc=rss

Asked to Declare His Race, Obama Checks ‘Black’
By SAM ROBERTS and PETER BAKER
It is official: Barack Obama is the nation’s first black president.

A White House spokesman confirmed that Mr. Obama, the son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, checked African-American on the 2010 census questionnaire.

The president, who was born in Hawaii and raised there and in Indonesia, had more than a dozen options in responding to Question 9, about race. He chose “Black, African Am., or Negro.” (The anachronistic “Negro” was retained on the 2010 form because the Census Bureau believes that some older blacks still refer to themselves that way.)

Mr. Obama could have checked white, checked both black and white, or checked the last category on the form, “some other race,” which he would then have been asked to identify in writing.

There is no category specifically for mixed race or biracial.

Instructions for the census’s American Community Survey, which poses the question in the same way as the 2010 form, say that “people may choose to provide two or more races either by marking two or more race response boxes, by providing multiple write-in responses, or by some combination of marking boxes and writing in responses.”

In the 2000 census, when Americans first were allowed to check more than one box for race, about 6.8 million people reported being of two or more races.

[Trip]

Of course he would, think of the outrage it would cause. It would be pandemonium in the streets. They would start looting the walmart.

[azoomm]

OMG. Obama is black??!?!!?

[dubbs]

Originally Posted by azoomm

OMG. Obama is black??!?!!?

Well he's both white and black.. Apparently he's racist toward the white part in him..

[azoomm]

Originally Posted by dubbs

Well he's both white and black.. Apparently he's racist toward the white part in him..

But, if it is THAT big of a deal - why would you only be able to check ONE box?

[goof2]

Originally Posted by azoomm

But, if it is THAT big of a deal - why would you only be able to check ONE box?

He could have checked as many boxes as he wanted. He also could have checked "Other" and written in whatever he wanted.

I don't care what he checked or how he self identifies.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by goof2

He could have checked as many boxes as he wanted. He also could have checked "Other" and written in whatever he wanted.

I don't care what he checked or how he self identifies.

neither do i. Dumb thing to make news about but still im not above a cheap shot or two

[Apoc]

Originally Posted by azoomm

But, if it is THAT big of a deal - why would you only be able to check ONE box?

One drop rule.

[goof2]

Originally Posted by Apoc

One drop rule.

Again, on the census you can check however many boxes you want. You can also write in whatever race you want.

[Trip]

Originally Posted by Apoc

One drop rule.

Since Obama is half white, I guess he half believes in the one drop rule.