It is ignorant to assume that every African in Africa is black. While black skin certainly makes the majority, it isn't the rule. There are many white people who live there and lived there long enough to call themselves African. Two American celebrities with white skin are African-Americans. Dave Matthews and Charlize Theron was born in South Africa. Heck, Charlize Theron's first language is Afrikaans. There is also the Seychelles, a group of islands off of the coast of Africa, north of Madagascar, entirely peopled by French and English colonists. (Making the Seychelles the only European colony where the Europeans didn't oppress the shit out of the original inhabitants, it was uninhabited when they arrived). White people do live in Africa. And the student in question here is one of them.
The term 'African American' is frequently wrong anyway. First of all:
This is Chiwetel Ejiofor who played the Operative in the movie Serenity, an American made film produced by Joss Whedon. What race is he?
The kneejerk answer is 'African American.' However, he's British (Source: Maddox).
Here's another black man. He's the famous singer Bob Marley. What race is he?
Bob Marley is Jamaican. Again, to say African American would be wrong.
And this doesn't only go for black people. What about Asians? Siberian Russians are Asians. So are Indians. And Afghanis. And so on and so forth. And yet, when people say asian, they think of people with Chinese facial structures, black hair, and very pale skin. Asia is bigger than China, and heck, there are differences between Japanese, Chinese, and Korean (and so on) and they have similar facial structure. It is more than a difference in appearance, but also a different culture. Lumping people in one group, under one label, over this vague idea of race does not work. We are too diverse for that.
This whole business with race is getting pretty stupid. Race is entirely a cultural construct. There is no biological difference between any races (besides petty and unimportant traits such as skin color, eye color, etc) and they are all a part of the Homo Sapiens species. Why can't we just treat other people with respect that they deserve from their actions and their personalities and not from the color of their skin or the slant of their eyes or whatever irrelevant trait.
This is why I don't like Affirmative Action. It is a program that sounds good on the outside, giving minorities protection from discrimination and diversifying the workforce. However the problem is inherent when an individual from a minority turns out to not have the necessary skills for the job he's working or applying for. He has the power to file a lawsuit, even if the employer is honestly acting on the employee's lack of skills, because he can cry out "discrimination!" and pressure the employer to keep him on. This keeps a man without skills in a job when an employer could find another (of any race, ethnicity, religion, etc) who's better qualified. It gives extra power to certain minorities. If a minority is truly being discriminated against, of course he should have the right to sue. But if he's being fired for being late ten times in a row, he should not be able to use his race to protect himself. Race should not be a qualifier or a disqualifier for a job or college slot. Whether or not you are a minority, you should get a job or a college slot based entirely on your knowledge, skills and abilities. We should be beyond racism, to the point where all that is important about a human is his actions and his character. Skin color and appearance don't matter.
And forcing a kid to lie on a form because he doesn't conform to stereotypical standards is beyond ignorant, it is stupid.
"Now, I don't see race … People tell me I'm white, and I believe them, because I own a lot of Jimmy Buffett albums." -Stephen Colbert
J Kuhl Signing Off
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