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Monday, October 03, 2016

White House wants to add new racial category for Middle Eastern people

WASHINGTON — The White House is putting forward a proposal to add a new racial category for people from the Middle East and North Africa under what would be the biggest realignment of federal racial definitions in decades.

If approved, the new designation could appear on census forms in 2020 and could have far-reaching implications for racial identity, anti-discrimination laws and health research.

Under current law, people from the Middle East are considered white, the legacy of century-old court rulings in which Syrian Americans argued that they should not be considered Asian — because that designation would deny them citizenship under the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. But scholars and community leaders say more and more people with their roots in the Middle East find themselves caught between white, black and Asian classifications that don't fully reflect their identities.

"What it does is it helps these communities feel less invisible," said Helen Samhan of the Arab American Institute, which has been advocating the change for more than 30 years. "It’s a good step, a positive step."

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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

So they can get more freebies. White Caucasians need to check the black or new category box so that our lives can matter too!

Anonymous said...

As with any race, ethnicity or culture you will find that they are predisposed to certain health issues based on their genetics, culture and diet. I see no problem with this and encourage it

Anonymous said...

terrorist box ?

Anonymous said...

WE are on the brink of civil war , bring it .

Anonymous said...

8:57 , I don't like your opinion at all , we are dividing the nation and the world . Hope you are prepared at the max.

Anonymous said...

If the 13% want a race war bring it.

Anonymous said...

I agree start with the panthers,blm.

lmclain said...

8:57....that's racist.
Further, GEOGRAPHY does NOT create a new race, no matter how much you want to give them or how much you want to give them, which I think, is the real basis for this new BS.
Keep cheering.

Anonymous said...

947
"We are dividing the nation . . . "

Are YOU dividing the nation?
Or are you talking about the "government" dividing the nation?
Who is "WE"?

Are you agreeing or disagreeing?