A single person’s racial classification shifts across national contexts

Evidence

Another central identity is race, which CRT and CRF naturally highlight. One tenet of CRT is that race is socially constructed, rather than biologically determined (Lopez, 1997). As a matter of fact, scientists have shown that there are often more genetic similarities across different so-called racial groups than within them. To illustrate how race is socially constructed globally, in the USA I am considered a member of the black race. Both my parents and both sets of grandparents are African Americans. In South Africa, based upon my light skin tone, shape of nose, and wavy hair texture, I am regarded as a Colored or mixed race person. I am far too light to be considered black. When I walk down the street there with my partner, who is a dark-skinned black American, we are considered an interracial couple. In Brazil, I discovered I am considered white! Only the darkest people of relatively unmixed African descent are considered black. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1171

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the social-construction-of-race theme running through critical race theory and to prior reading on identity as relational. — connects to: The meaning of race relations differs across national frames of reference — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 641; Physical homeland and language shape how parents classify multiracial children — Tatiana I. Zamora and Amado M. Padilla, Making sense of conflicting messages of…, 123
• DEFINE: Concretely demonstrates the CRT tenet that race is socially constructed rather than biological.