Some South Asian Muslim immigrants sought citizenship by performing Blackness after being denied whiteness.

Evidence

Whiteness was not the only avenue by which applicants could gain access to citizenship. In recent scholarship, it has been noted that Bengalis tried to fit themselves into the binary color framework as Black. Once they were in the United States, they passed as Black and intermarried into the Black and Puerto Rican communities. After the Supreme Court decision in Thind made it clear that Indians were not white, this was the only other avenue left to Bengalis who sought a place in the United States, even if it meant taking on the burdens of a profound and 104. — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 174

Categorization

• QUESTION: The excerpt cuts off mid-thought; worth chasing the full account of how Bengalis navigated the binary and what burdens they bore.
• XREF: Shows the racial-assignment flexibility that connects to the reader’s broader project on racecraft and performative racial identity. — connects to: Non-white South Asian immigrants could obtain citizenship by passing as Black; Immigrant Muslim petitioners chose whiteness claims over easier Black identification.; Arab and Muslim immigrants deliberately pursued legal whiteness despite easier Blackness claims — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 189 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Bengali immigrants navigated citizenship by adopting Black identity after Thind #exemplifies (0.92)
• Non-white South Asian immigrants could obtain citizenship by passing as Black #expands (0.90)
• Muslim immigrants preferred strained whiteness arguments over an easier Blackness claim #contradicts (0.88)
• Immigrant Muslim petitioners chose whiteness claims over easier Black identification. #complicates (0.85)
• Arab and Muslim immigrants deliberately pursued legal whiteness despite easier Blackness claims #complicates (0.85) — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 189