Scholarship for white African

[snopes]

Comment: I actually heard about this one a couple years ago but haven't
been able to find anything on it.

Supposedly a guy from South Africa got a scholarship to a college in the
U.S. based off the fact that he marked that he was African. He supposedly
attended school for almost a year before they called him in to the office
to check how he was doing and were shocked that he was white. The then
cancelled his scholarship and made him pay them back but he was in shock
because he filled out all the forms correctly.

[Ryda Wong, EBfCo.]

I cannot remember any form I've filled out that has just "African." Most have black or african-american or both.

I'd be quite surprised if there was a form just saying "african."

[htonl]

Even if this were true, I can't feel terribly sorry for him. Any white South African knows what "African-American" means, and similarly what "African" means in the sense of ethnicity. I have filled in many forms on which I have to indicate race where the options are African, Coloured, Indian and White. This story is like that case of the white South African expat teen in the US who entered some "African-American of the Year" competition and was shocked, shocked I tell you, when he was chastized for it.

Unless they simply assumed that he was black because he was from Africa, in which case it wouldn't be his fault, but I think that's quite unlikely. If you were awarding a scholarship based on ethnicity, wouldn't you actually ask about ethnicity, rather than imputing it from nationality? Not that I haven't heard, "You can't be from Africa; you're not black!" from Americans. But I don't think university administrators are that stupid.

[moonfall]

Not to hijack too much, but if there are separate categories for "African" and "Indian" in South Africa, then what counts as "Coloured?" Is "coloured" considered as offensive and outdated a term in SA as it is in the US?

As far as scholarship forms go, they would almost certainly use the phrase "African-American" instead of "African" unless maybe it was a scholarship specifically for international students. In that case, however, the forms would probably ask for country of origin rather than ethnicity.

Sounds like the legend is trying to point out the potential problems of using the term "African-American" but the OP left out the "American" part.

[htonl]

Originally Posted by moonfall

Not to hijack too much, but if there are separate categories for "African" and "Indian" in South Africa, then what counts as "Coloured?" Is "coloured" considered as offensive and outdated a term in SA as it is in the US?

My brief introduction to the racial terminology of South Africa:

"Coloured" describes people of mixed race who have ancestors including (amongst others) Africans, European settlers, Indonesian and Malaysian slaves imported by the Dutch, and the Khoisan (so-called "bushmen"). However, the child of a black person and a white person now would probably not be called "coloured"; it has come to denote a specific culture and identity. It is not generally considered an offensive term, although there are some who are offended by it; sometimes the term "so-called Coloured" is used. Some also feel that the term is bad because it reflects the divide-and-conquer approach of the Apartheid regime towards non-white people, and that they should just be considered "black".

"Indian" describes people who are (mostly) the descendants of contract labourers from India who were brought in by the British in the 19th century. They often still have quite direct connections to the culture of India. The same argument about "divide-and-conquer" is also somtimes applied to suggest that Indians should just be called "black".

"Black" usually describes those who are primarily descended from the Bantu peoples. As I mentioned, sometimes it is used to describe all non-white people, as a form of solidarity against Apartheid. Sometimes the word "African" is used instead - for much the same reasons that "African-American" is used in the US - but it can also be controversial. Whites or Indians whose ancestors have been born in Africa for generations may say that they are equally "African". Sometimes the term "Black African" is used to be absolutely clear.

"White" is pretty much what you'd expect. One caveat, though: the American-style "one drop rule" has never applied. During apartheid, quite a few coloured people had themselves reclassified as white (basically, people who would be described as "passing for white" in the US).

As far as scholarship forms go, they would almost certainly use the phrase "African-American" instead of "African" unless maybe it was a scholarship specifically for international students. In that case, however, the forms would probably ask for country of origin rather than ethnicity.

That really the only scenario in which I can see this story making sense, if they assumed he was black just based on saying he was from South Africa. And in that case I can't see how he could possibly be required to pay the money back.

Sounds like the legend is trying to point out the potential problems of using the term "African-American" but the OP left out the "American" part.

Yep. And, like I said, white South Africans are pretty aware of the meaning of "African-American", and if they migrated to the US wouldn't use it to describe themselves. Not unless they were either incredibly stupid, or trying to make a political point. A rather pointless political point, actually.

[Judecat]

I personally don't care what people of any race want to call themselves. However African-American is no more the name of a race than Polish- American is, or Irish-American or Italian-American.

[ganzfeld]

Originally Posted by Judecat

However African-American is no more the name of a race than Polish- American is, or Irish-American or Italian-American.

That's because there is no such thing as race.