Discussion for article #239729
Since “race” is fundamentally a social construct, having little to no real biological basis, what matters most in terms of prejudice is not what a person’s actual ethnic heritage is, but whether the person is perceived and treated as if they are a member of the “race” in question. And this works both ways, not just the extent to which someone is perceived to be “black,” but the extent to which someone is perceived as “white.” Increasingly, with more and more people of mixed “race” and mixed ethnicity, there are lots of folks around who might not always be perceived as “black” by others, but are still perceived as non-“white,” and may experience “racial” prejudice as a result.
My guess is that a good number of Americans, if shown this photo and asked if they thought this guy was “black” would respond with something along the lines of “I’m not sure, but he’s definitely something.”