Can an adopted child check Hispanic box even though born in a non-Hispanic country?

[Anonymous]

Did yiu ever tell anyone your DD was Hispanic before college came up? Does your DD consider herself Hispanic? Just admit you are willing to shelve any integrity if it benefits your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. How does a college find out short of asking for documentation (like passports, birth certificates, etc.)? Like I said, we went through the process already and not one college asked for proof. DS is in a top private university.

The college admissions office may call the high school counselor to ask. Federal ethnicity and race info is often included in ordinary K-12 school enrollment forms. (I have no clue whether this is a common or unusual occurrence.)

Nope...doesn't happen...and even if it did, OP has proof of Hispanic background through birth certificate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did yiu ever tell anyone your DD was Hispanic before college came up? Does your DD consider herself Hispanic? Just admit you are willing to shelve any integrity if it benefits your kid.

OP here. Both kids understand their grandparent's background and growing up were exposed to the music, food, prayers, and other activities that are unique to the culture. But considering they were born and raised in the US, they are both very American. They still officially meet the requirements of the definition however. Of course I won't deny them any boost they can get for admission. Would you? My question was not about whether they qualify based on our situation, but whether adopted child qualifies, and I now have my answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Hispanic. As has been said repeatedly, Hispanic is a culture.

You didn't say the child has one Argentine grandparent (meaning a person of Argentine culture) - rather one grandparent born and raised in Argentina. Seeing that Argentina (and a number of other Latin American countries) had many European immigrants (Italians, Jews, Germans, even Brits) who lived there for one generation and moved on, I would say no. If the child and the family have an ongoing relationship with Argentina, speak Spanish at home, that's different. But if they just happened to be born there and left and re-established their entire family line elsewhere without maintaining Hispanic or Argentine (or Uruguayan, or Nicaraguan or Venezuelan or Brazilian or Chilean) ties, their offspring are not Hispanic.

Think of it this way, is Mitt Romney Hispanic? No.

Yes, that's right. White Hispanics in countries like Cuba and other South American countries often are of European backgrounds. That doesn't make them any less Hispanic. OP's father-in-law was born and raised there and I assume speaks Spanish. Whether or not they embrace the culture today is insignificant. They meet the definition of Hispanic and can check the box.

Don't assume. It's not about having European (white) background. Many, many Hispanics are white. It's about Latin America being a stepping stone country. Look, I have a friend whose family fled Iran, was born in South America, and went to the U.S. when she was little. She is not Hispanic. In the same way, there are a number of people whose grandparents were born in Argentina or Brazil or Chile or Uruguay because they were fleeing war and they eventually made their way to the U.S. That does not make them Hispanic. If, however, they have an ongoing relationship with the country, and/ or speak Spanish at home, travel regularly to visit family there, then yes, they're Hispanic. But not just because of birth. It's a culture. It's not a nationality.

All the families I know who fled the Nazis and landed in South America held to their Judaism but assimilated in many other ways. Know a few families where the families spoke French, German, even Yiddish at home, while speaking Spanish, Portuguese outside the home and learning English at school. One friend ended up fluent in French (native language), Portuguese, English, then finally Spanish. Others are younger so there parents may be the second generation, so they grew up speaking Portuguese, Spanish at home mixed with the grandparents' first language (which can be a real mix for those who grew up in Argentina - German, Italian, Russian, etc).

There are people who did stay and are Hispanic and there are those who didn't.

The person mentioned above who was born in South America after her Iranian parents fled but before they were allowed into the U.S. is not Hispanic.

I also know missionaries kids who were born in Mexico and in Central America. They are not Hispanic. (Mitt Romney is an example.)

I also know a Jewish man who was born in Central America, understands Spanish but certainly didn't remain in contact with the country or that culture. He and his children would not check Hispanic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So Dolezal is/was black?

I think the measure is can you publicly state it without being viewed as a fool. In the previous example, a white kid adopted by a family with one black parent can absolutely say that they are black, that they were raised by a black mother with black grandparents and cousins and that that is their culture. If the people asking the question want to update it to refer to biology or genetics, they are free to, but they are making a choice to keep the question open.

I wonder about this personally. I have two full-blooded Middle Eastern great grandparents, which makes me 1/4 Middle Eastern. However, I still strongly identify as Middle Eastern because that was the dominant culture in my family, I was raised by full blooded grandparent. We still cook the food, not just on holidays but as part of our daily lives, we maintain religious traditions, we speak the language, we know the songs and stories… do I check ME/NA on my forms? Yes, I click white too. And I do on my kids’ stuff, white and ME. Maybe that’s wrong. But I don’t see why I shouldn’t when my fully white Hispanic friend has absolutely no attachment to her culture and sometimes seems to reject it.

So yes, To me, cultural attachment matters a lot. But I’m still not sure if this would make the girl in the situation black for Purposes of things like college applications. Race is different though. These things are tracked for the purpose of working out systematic biases against people of certain races in ethnicities. This girl already has white privilege and it’s no danger of being discriminated against for it So why would she want to claim it except for an advantage she doesn’t need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Hispanic. As has been said repeatedly, Hispanic is a culture.

You didn't say the child has one Argentine grandparent (meaning a person of Argentine culture) - rather one grandparent born and raised in Argentina. Seeing that Argentina (and a number of other Latin American countries) had many European immigrants (Italians, Jews, Germans, even Brits) who lived there for one generation and moved on, I would say no. If the child and the family have an ongoing relationship with Argentina, speak Spanish at home, that's different. But if they just happened to be born there and left and re-established their entire family line elsewhere without maintaining Hispanic or Argentine (or Uruguayan, or Nicaraguan or Venezuelan or Brazilian or Chilean) ties, their offspring are not Hispanic.

Think of it this way, is Mitt Romney Hispanic? No.

Yes, that's right. White Hispanics in countries like Cuba and other South American countries often are of European backgrounds. That doesn't make them any less Hispanic. OP's father-in-law was born and raised there and I assume speaks Spanish. Whether or not they embrace the culture today is insignificant. They meet the definition of Hispanic and can check the box.

Don't assume. It's not about having European (white) background. Many, many Hispanics are white. It's about Latin America being a stepping stone country. Look, I have a friend whose family fled Iran, was born in South America, and went to the U.S. when she was little. She is not Hispanic. In the same way, there are a number of people whose grandparents were born in Argentina or Brazil or Chile or Uruguay because they were fleeing war and they eventually made their way to the U.S. That does not make them Hispanic. If, however, they have an ongoing relationship with the country, and/ or speak Spanish at home, travel regularly to visit family there, then yes, they're Hispanic. But not just because of birth. It's a culture. It's not a nationality.

All the families I know who fled the Nazis and landed in South America held to their Judaism but assimilated in many other ways. Know a few families where the families spoke French, German, even Yiddish at home, while speaking Spanish, Portuguese outside the home and learning English at school. One friend ended up fluent in French (native language), Portuguese, English, then finally Spanish. Others are younger so there parents may be the second generation, so they grew up speaking Portuguese, Spanish at home mixed with the grandparents' first language (which can be a real mix for those who grew up in Argentina - German, Italian, Russian, etc).

There are people who did stay and are Hispanic and there are those who didn't.

The person mentioned above who was born in South America after her Iranian parents fled but before they were allowed into the U.S. is not Hispanic.

I also know missionaries kids who were born in Mexico and in Central America. They are not Hispanic. (Mitt Romney is an example.)

I also know a Jewish man who was born in Central America, understands Spanish but certainly didn't remain in contact with the country or that culture. He and his children would not check Hispanic.

In all of those examples, the kid could check the hispanic box and be fine.