Arab and Muslim immigrants deliberately pursued legal whiteness despite easier Blackness claims

Evidence

Yet we do not see any cases in which there is an immigrant who spends his time, money, and resources to argue that he is Black even, as in the case of Hassan, when it would have been an easier burden. These petitioners would rather make complex and sometimes contradictory legal arguments to argue for whiteness. As a matter of practicality, however, who could blame these petitioners for attempting to position themselves with every advantage possible? If immigrants did not know about the position of African-Americans before immigrating to the United States, they certainly made these observations once they were in the country. — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 189

Categorization

• CANDY: The irony that some immigrants could have more easily claimed Blackness in law yet chose convoluted whiteness arguments is a pithy, shareable observation.
• XREF: Contrasts directly with Hassan’s and Aziz’s treatment of early Arab-American racial ambiguity and the cost of choosing whiteness. — connects to: Some South Asian Muslim immigrants sought citizenship by performing Blackness after being denied whiteness. — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 174; Muslim immigrants preferred strained whiteness arguments over an easier Blackness claim; Immigrant Muslim petitioners chose whiteness claims over easier Black identification. (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Muslim immigrants preferred strained whiteness arguments over an easier Blackness claim #expands (0.95)
• Immigrant Muslim petitioners chose whiteness claims over easier Black identification. #expands (0.95)
• Muslim identity ejects Arab Americans from legal whiteness and its social benefits. #complicates (0.78) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 473
• Muslim identity ejects Arabs from whiteness and strips them of its material benefits #complicates (0.78) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 662
• Muslim identity was legally treated as proof of non-whiteness #complicates (0.76) — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 979
• Muslims are racially assigned to blackness while immigrants aspire to whiteness. #qualifies (0.75) — Junaid Rana, Terrifying Muslims, 211
• Lighter-skinned Arab immigrants were more readily accepted than darker ones #qualifies (0.72)
• Skin shade determined how easily early Arab immigrants were racialized #qualifies (0.70)