AFRICAN AMERICANS

I have a friend who was born in Cincinnati and whose parents are both of Egyptian descent. Is he an African American?

If South African professional golfer Ernie Els were to become a US citizen, would he then be an African American? Since my great grandparents were both Irish, am I an Irish American or a European American?

Are people from Spain, Mexico and Haiti all of the same race? Are they all of the same ethnicity? Aren't Alaskan Eskimos Native Americans? Are there really any people who are native to this country?

If you're confused, don't feel bad. The US Government is too. The definitions of race and ethnicity change every time there is a census.

In the 7th U.S. census in 1850, each person was asked to declare their "color" as "white", "black" or "mulatto". In the 10th census in 1870, these options were available under "color"; white, black, mulatto, Chinese, and Indian. In the 22nd U.S. census in 2000, there were so many options to race and ethnicity that many people were confused.

Racial and ethnic and ancestry classifications were once thought to be beneficial but now, because of their cloudy nature, that is dubious. The next census, in 2010, will probably continue to modify these questions to no avail. Soon, so few people will answer this question, that it will be dropped altogether. Some day, no one will care. I hope I live that long.