People who are 1/32nd 'native American' (i.e. invaders from Asia) sometimes claim racial privilege based upon that genetic inheritance. It is even more the case if a grandparent or one parent were 'native American'.
Now historically, particularly in the USA and in South Africa (under white rule), almost any degree of black blood was used to declare people "black" and therefore inelegible for benefits and very eligible for discriminatory action.
This was at one time decried - having a black ancestor did not make a person black, was the argument. That kind of denial was important when being black brought with it all kinds of dangers and difficulties.
Eventually, as impediments began to be removed (in the USA) the "black is beautiful" idea rightly sought to re-establish pride in ancestry rather than fear.
But black as such isn't a 'race' either is it? Shared ancestry/shared genes (below) are surely not a common factor to all "black" people. President Obama's ancestry and genes are what they are - I do not see why his ethnicity is not defined by both sides of his ancestry. Rather as I think of Tiger Woods as being at one time the greatest Asian golfer and the greatest black golfer and the greatest golfer ever.
I think rubato wildly overstates the case that only bigots would consider 'Jew' as a race.
Are Jews a Race?
• Judaism has been described as a religion, a race, a culture, and a nation
• All of these descriptions have some validity
• The Jewish people are best described as an extended family
In the 1980s, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Jews are a race, at least for purposes of certain anti-discrimination laws. Their reasoning: at the time these laws were passed, people routinely spoke of the "Jewish race" or the "Italian race" as well as the "Negro race," so that is what the legislators intended to protect.
But many Jews were deeply offended by that decision, offended by any hint that Jews could be considered a race. The idea of Jews as a race brings to mind nightmarish visions of Nazi Germany, where Jews were declared to be not just a race, but an inferior race that had to be rounded up into ghettos and exterminated like vermin.
But setting aside the emotional issues, Jews are clearly not a race.
Race is a genetic distinction, and refers to people with shared ancestry and shared genetic traits. You can't change your race; it's in your DNA. I could never become black or Asian no matter how much I might want to.
Common ancestry is not required to be a Jew. Many Jews worldwide share common ancestry, as shown by genetic research; however, you can be a Jew without sharing this common ancestry, for example, by converting. Thus, although I could never become black or Asian, blacks and Asians have become Jews (Sammy Davis Jr. and Connie Chung).
http://www.jewfaq.org/judaism.htmFor Christianity, by identifying truth with faith, must teach-and, properly understood, does teach-that any interference with the truth is immoral. A Christian with faith has nothing to fear from the facts
