my ethnicity

[blk_reign]

so reject something until you can use it to an advantage? then that totally disregards the fact that the OP doesn't want to associate with being African American based on the father's abuse.. why reap whatever supposed benefits based on the ethnicity of the abuser and his descendants that you've disowned?


ok perhaps I should make it more plain.. if the OPs ancestors were never called black, negro, colored, jigaboo, n***** or zip #%@!.. then (s)he is not African American...

Look, when you're abused as a child, your reactions tend to be unreasonable. 

It is not only normal, but common for children to react the way the OP did.  It is not a reflection on the culture, it's a reflection on the person and everything associated with that person (the abuser, that is).

Also, last time I checked, Egypt is in Africa. 

[FossilJ]

It seems to me that while legally the OP can claim anything that she is ethnically, morally it is shady to say your entire life you have chosen not to claim that part of your ethnicity and then decide that it will assist you so you decide to claim it.  How far does this go?  Can I claim that I am part Native American because my great great great great-grandfather was Native American?  How about the fact that my great great great grandmother is part Asian, does that mean that I can claim Asian?  I think there is something to be said for consistancy.  If you have been claiming a particular ethnicity your entire life, why claim a different one now?

Because it's not her great-great-great grandmother.  It's her father.

[FossilJ]

so reject something until you can use it to an advantage? then that totally disregards the fact that the OP doesn't want to associate with being African American based on the father's abuse.. why reap whatever supposed benefits based on the ethnicity of the abuser and his descendants that you've disowned?


ok perhaps I should make it more plain.. if the OPs ancestors were never called black, negro, colored, jigaboo, n***** or zip #%@!.. then (s)he is not African American...

Dude, her dad is African.  She is now an American citizen.  Hey presto, African American.

I see what you're saying, but the fact is that law schools want their classes to look more diverse.  It's pragmatic, not idealistic.  Her heritage is as African as many other URMs.  She irrationally turned away from it as a child because of abuse, but that does not mean that she is not African.  The truth is, all that schools will care about is that she looks black.  And I don't see why that shouldn't play in her favor.

Also, to address your first comment, her rejection wasn't some subversive project.  It was an innocent reaction to brutality which she is now looking to rescind.  *&^%, if this is what she can get from her dad for abusing her, then I say take it.

Sure, it may seem ethically wrong, and perhaps it is, but it's about the same as some black kid whose dad is richer than the queen getting a spot thanks to AA.  The fact is, they're both URMs, and they both represent exploited histories (if you'd like to venture into the exploitation of Egyptians and Asians in the last two centuries, please drop me a PM).  This is another soft factor tool, and she'd be foolish not to use it.

[FossilJ]

You are now my favorite person on this board.  Finally someone recognizes the show!

[vitaminwater]

say your'e "blackanese".

just kidding...


i mean, just say your'e a pacific islander.

[One Step Ahead]

I think both Denise and Penny would bring diverse viewpoints to the classroom and thus should get points.

as for the OP, something smacks of dishonesty when after a lifetime of "passing" s/he then wants to claim an ethnicity. 

[One Step Ahead]

Denise, Penny and that fat white boy from across the street may all bring diverse view points, but that's not why they're getting extra points.  Denise and Penny, and fat white boy, if he wants minority status, should have to explain what those viewpoints are and how they think they will be a better lawyer because of it. 

why?

[blk_reign]

you can't assume that a person that grew up in a financially sound environment didn't have to overcome obstacles that could have been as great or greater than a person growing up in poverty....  a person can grow up in a home with two working parents in what is deemed an upper middle class environment but for example developed a terminal illness that would affect their performance in school in all probability had to overcome some emotional, mental and financial hardships as well... or to go back to your argument.. it isn't just the impoverished that are victims of abuse..

the bottom line is this.. if (s)he has identified with South Asian all of this time and as stated such on her undergraduate applications... all of a sudden checking African American is going to bite him/her in the ass once the Character and Fitness portion of the Bar registration comes into play..

and..fyi I never said that she wasn't half African... I said she wasn't Black American/ African American...

[FossilJ]

and..fyi I never said that she wasn't half African... I said she wasn't Black American/ African American...

Using which set of conditions?  Your judgement?

She's just as Black American/African American as you or Sinbad.

[lex19]

right and i'm just as white as the majority of the posters on this board b/c my mother happens to be half white, please.....and so you know most Africans refuse to be labeled "African American" but you wouldn't and neither would the OP b/c you haven't a clue about Black American culture.

and..fyi I never said that she wasn't half African... I said she wasn't Black American/ African American...

Using which set of conditions?  Your judgement?

She's just as Black American/African American as you or Sinbad.