Mulatto is a grossly outdated term that is barely used these days in the USA. That is because biracial people classify themselves as ethnically black. What people like you fail to understand is that there can a huge difference in one's racial background and one's ethnic identity. Most biracial people in America who have mixed black and white parentage, consider themselves ethnically and are considered black regardless of how much European background they have. Your Meghan Markle is a rare exception that further proves the general rule.
As to your point about the multi-racial category, that actually proves my point further because the vast majority of people of half-black parentage identify themselves as black on the US Census. The multi-racial category is mostly used by Asian-White or Latino Asian and other people who do not fit neatly into the other categories. Just because the Census permits use of multi-racial, does not mean most people of partial African background choose to use it. This is what you do not get.
If you ask most Americans if there will ever be a black US President, 99% of them will say that we already had one, Barack Obama. Those Pew Center results can be thrown in the trash because the way the questions are phrased gives skewed and often deception results. Historians will also view Obama as the first black President of the USA.momopi wrote: The majority of Americans did not view Obama as black (see pew center data cited in previous post), though Obama defined himself as black on census form.
Meghan Markle does not determine how other biracial people define themselves. She is at most, an anomaly. Further, before you start talking about how she is legally defined racially, you should probably know more about what you are talking about. Despite how she defines herself, she could LEGALLY bring a successful action of racial discrimination in court based solely on her partially African racial background. So in that way, the law WOULD recognize her as black under certain circumstances.momopi wrote: Meghan Markle defines herself as biracial and when she was in school, she refused to check the black or white ethnicity box when multi racial option was not avail. Her teachers told her to check the white box because they thought she looked white. Later, she was able to leverage her “racially ambiguous” identify and appearance for a wide variety of roles in Hollywood.
Meghan Markle does not identify herself as black (or white), nor is she legally classified as black. Since 2000 the US census has allowed for multi racial identity.
Because of the history and social custom of the US, having one black parent makes you ethnically black in the United States whether or not you indicate such on the Census or personally identify as such. In fact, more and more racially white people consider themselves ethnically black now. It is not so common yet, but whites who relate more with black culture than mainstream or white culture are identifying as black. Rachel Dolezal is one wacky example, but I have known many people (mostly women) like this over the years.momopi wrote: Having one black parent does not automatically make you “ethnically black” on the census or in perception by others, though you’re free to identify yourself as such.
I think your problem is you, like most people, think that racial background determines your ethnic identity. It is more complex than that because again, 80% of blacks would have to indicate multi-racial instead of black on the US Census. I myself have many hundreds of thousands of Swiss, Scots-Irish, and English ancestors. When American people see me, they consider me black American which I have no problem with. However, since I no longer consider myself very American at all, I actually tell people overseas that I am Swiss when they ask and they accept it immediately with no further questions oddly enough. Why Swiss? Because when I say I am Swiss, people have a much better ideal of my personality and inclinations than if I say I am American which tends to bring out the worst in other people.