Subset of TikTok videos using the "I am White hehe" audio include White & light skinned people from migrant backgrounds saying "Just found out X country is classified as Caucasian"

Many people, incl migrants, do not understand the difference between ancestry, ethinicity, race

This thread is about how concepts apply to *migrants*

Ancestry is about kinship: where parents & ancestors were born & cultural heritage. It is not necessarily a marker of ethnicity or race. It can inform one's cultural identity, but mostly in context of other social relations

Genetic tests do not prove ancestry. Results are over generalised & not meaningful

A #sociology study of 100 people showed few people change their ethnic identity after a test. Few who do are White & selective about which "ancestries" they boast about https://theconversation.com/genetic-ancestry-tests-dont-change-your-identity-but-you-might-98663

Ancestry is one component of ethnicity. Ethnicity describes a cultural group whose social bonds are forged through social interaction and ideas of culture. E.g. language, customs, institutions

Ethinicity is the cultural practices, values or traditions that shape our daily life

Race is a system of stratification: people are classified into categories based on ideas of biological & moral superiority, which puts some groups at the top of the social hierarchy (e.g. White & light skin people) and others at the bottom (e.g. Indigenous/ Black people)

Race is a category that's imposed. E.g. the state or dominant groups ultimately define racial categories, with definitions shifting over place & time. Race is embedded into policies & institutions

Ethnicity is more personal. It matters to people based on their cultural practices

Some migrants experience shifts in race & ethnicity by virtue of moving to another country. They may adopt some cultural practices of new home but not identify with culture. E.g. I am Peruvian (ethnicity)

Or they may adopt a hybrid identity. E.g. Peruvian Australian (ethnicity)

Ethnicity is *sometimes* structured around race. I can be born in Australia to overseas-born parents, and see my ETHNICITY as Australian (I see my cultural practices as Australian), but I may not be accepted as Australian by others

The mechanism for this is RACE, not ethnicity

Migrants who are White or who have "European" physical features can more easily meld into the majority, especially English-speakers. E.g. White person born in Australia, whose parents are born in Scotland, may easily choose to adopt an Australian identity without being questioned

Race & ethnicity impact life chances. Many second-generation migrants from English-speaking & Western European countries (i.e. people born in Australia with at least one parent born overseas) have similiar outcomes to third-generation Australians (see Siew-Ean Khoo's research)

The less like the dominant majority, the more that race & ethnicity are amplified for migrants

In Australia, official discourse since mid-1970s has focused on ethnicity & multiculturalism, so race is poorly understood, even though race has a massive impact on policy & outcomes

For some migrants, esp second-generation, being *ethnically* "different" means they focus on CULTURE. Race is not critically understood. Hence TikToks where White migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds ("Arabs" or "Latins" etc) are confused why they're classified as White

There are many examples in anti-racism spaces, especially online, where White migrants bemoan that they're not *seen* as "people of colour." White Spanish-speakers for example, may experience discrimination on basis of CULTURE (e.g. they may speak with an accent) but NOT race...

E.g. Afro-Latin migrants in Australia can experience both race + ethnic discrimination both within Latin communities & broader Australian society

White Latin migrants may experience ethnic discrimination from society but not racial discrimination...

People of migrant background who publicly despair that they're not "seen" as people of colour have the luxury of not being classified as "other" or different when it matters. When it's outside of their control. When it will cost them a job. When it's dangerous. That's RACE

Migrants classified as racially "other" (Black, Brown, Asian) may be labelled in ways that do not match their ethnicity. That's why race is an imposed category. It's hard to escape & consequences are immediete (e.g. police, teachers, people in power treat you differently always)

Not recognising the difference between race and ethnicity reproduces racial categories

Migrants who want to build an anti-racist world should learn critical race theory. Much of this is not in populist op eds (e.g. it's not about "check your privilege" "white fragility" & so on)

In Australia, migrants should start with Aboriginal scholars & practitioners, and read other Australian anti-racism research, especially by people of colour

Migrants should also avoid getting the majority of our ideas from North America. Read anti-racism from other regions

Mixed race people have distinct experiences of race in Australia, but general principles apply. No matter our ancestry or ethnicity, we must develop critical thinking about race, ancestry, ethnicity. Starting with history of our place here & wherever our families originated

Refugees face additional stigma, as they often live in multiple countries before being resettled, or experience legal discrimination if they arrive by boat. Again: not having a critical race perspective can mean that racial hierarchies are unknowningly reproduced

"White passing" is a potent example of how migrants misunderstand race. This phrase describes the legal classification of race. E.g. Aboriginal people were classified according to "blood" & denied rights. Children abducted by the state. "White passing" was a survival strategy...

"Non-White" migrants were denied entry to Australia from invasion to mid-1970s, with some exceptions. In the early 1900s, a few Syrians entered Australia using fake passports. Being "White passing" was survival. They couldn't practice their culture for fear of being deported

When migrants today use the phrase "White passing" they actually mean, "I am White but I am not Anglo, and I'm not accepted as Australian"

This communicates lack of awareness about history of race in Australia. This is one of many reasons why critical race theory is useful

Another distinction is how migrants will enforce racial categories by ignoring the intersections of race, ancestry & other institutional structures like class or religion. This is why being a "person of colour" does not exempt anyone from potentially reproducing racism

E.g. "Arabs" (a language/ pan-ethnicity) can be White and Christian and experience racism on basis of ethnicity but NOT race

Christian Lebanese second-generation migrants have better socio-economic outcomes than Muslim Lebanese second-gen. Why is complex; but race is complicated

Migrants in general understand cultural difference, but we must develop more sophisticated understandings of race

Academic research, media and policies are focused on ethnicity but rarely on race in Australia. This obscures the many ways in which race is used to govern all of us

Migrants & refugees unknowingly contribute to racial categories. We are not exempt from the impact of race because we experience discrimination (whether on the basis of our skin colour, language, religion etc)

Racial system is designed to fool us into ignoring these machinations

We need all need critical race theory & practice. If you are interested in undoing the system of race, and don't know where to start, see Dr Aileen Moreton-Robinson. It's the 20th anniversary of Talkin' Up to the White Woman. Or try the White Possessive which is about sovereignty

It's important to understand whiteness, but it's one sub-set of race scholarship. White fragility/ tears /entitlement and anything else focused on interpersonal events often lack a critical race perspective & fail to address institutional racism. It's popular, but often misguided

Migrants need to move away from simply retelling our personal experiences of racism, to understanding these events AND our place within a broader system of race

Our experiences are important, but without a critical race perspective, we're doing little to shift race relations