Black Like Who?

Black folks have officially been categorized by the government as a bunch of different things, depending on the political moment. During the very first U.S. census back in 1790, it was simply "slaves." In 1840, it was "free colored males and females" and, of course, slaves. What was "black," "mulatto," "quadroon" and "octoroon" in 1890 eventually gave way to "Negro" in 1950.

And now, in 2020, it's "Black or African American," with the option to write in a country of origin. Just like the nomenclature on the census, who counts as black in the United States has always been evolving — and being on one side of that line or the other has always been enormously consequential.

This week on the podcast, we talked to a lot of people about the ever-shifting boundaries of blackness, including Christina Greer, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University. She's the author of the book Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, And The Pursuit Of The American Dream.