I’ve always had a problem with the race question on forms. You know the ones I’m talking about. Where the options are white, black, Asian, Latino, etc. As a kid I never understood the right way to answer these questions. Is the form asking what my skin color is? If so, then why is brown not an option? But then Asian is not a color, so that doesn’t make sense. Asia is a continent. If I was born and raised here in the United States, how Asian can I claim to be?
What is the goal of this question? To figure out what I look like? Sound like? Act like? How much money I have? How educated I am?
A concise way to describe me would be “the son of immigrants from Bangladesh, eldest of four boys, born and raised in NYC, lives in the country now, works as a doctor, enjoys good food and spending quality time with his friends and family” but that is unfortunately not an option on the form.
Hot Take: The race question is a thinly veiled attempt at discerning socioeconomic status in a society that is deathly afraid of acknowledging the existence of socioeconomic strata.
This whole issue resurfaced for me after listening to Coleman Hughes speak on Modern Wisdom with Chris Williamson. Hughes is a writer, author, and podcaster and has been recognized by Forbes 30 under 30 in Media for his advocacy of “colorblind” public policy. He argues that we should use socioeconomic status, instead of race, to help guide public policy. His message is nuanced and he has unfortunately faced criticism from those that are ideologically trapped by their social media echo chamber.
His message carries particular value for me. Like many Americans in my generation, I’ve chosen a spouse irrespective of her skin color. As such, our son does not look exactly like either of us. He is neither white nor brown, but he is definitely our son and our responsibility. With each new generation of mixed race Americans, the concern with race becomes more and more distracting and politically divisive. Meredith and I will teach him that we do not judge people by what they look like, but rather by the integrity of their character.
My dream is for him to grow up in a society that is less focused on his race, and more focused on his values, actions, and merits.