Given that the terms "person of color" and "brown" seem to me vague outside specific contexts (e.g., the context of racial politics in the US), I'm interested to know which, if any, of the following people would fall under either of those classifications if they lived in the US.
I realize that there are significant differences among Western countries (and most countries in general) regarding racial classifications, so I'm narrowing down my question to the US for the purposes of this thread.
In addition to the above question, how would you, whether you're from the US or not, classify any or all of the above people if you had to check a box or fill a field on an official or medical form?
Please note that I'm only asking how you would classify any or all of the above people if you had to do so. I realize that many people don't think of people in terms of such classifications or care to classify skin tones at all, and that is my perspective too. However, I'm interested in exploring prevalent views regarding how the classification is most likely to be done in cases where it does occur.
As a general rule, I don't usually classify people in this way, since there might be some element of doubt. If a person wants to tell me what "color" they are, then I will accept that at face value.
The issue has a certain background within America and is typically within a uniquely American context. Also, the Civil Rights Movement was primarily viewed as a "black" and "white" issue, since it largely focused on African-Americans in the southern U.S. It should also be noted that, during the 1950s and 60s, the foreign-born population of the U.S. was at an all-time low (thanks to the 1924 immigration act), so whatever racial politics took place, it was viewed as something internal within America involving the rights of U.S. citizens who happened to have a different skin color. I don't believe it was intended to come up with all-encompassing definitions of race on a global scale (although it seemed to morph into that later).
I never even heard the term "person of color" until the 1990s. I never even heard terms like "African American" or "Native American" until the 1980s. Even the term "Hispanic" was used less often in deference to the specific country associated with Spanish-speaking immigrants. If you were in the Southwestern U.S., then Spanish-speakers would be called "Mexicans." If you were in Miami, they'd be Cubans or Puerto Ricans. If you were in New York, they'd be Puerto Ricans. The term "Hispanic" was largely used as a lingual designation, since Hispanics could be any race, black, brown, white - or any shade in between. Also, it was considered more polite, since it was considered presumptuous to call someone a "Mexican" if they were from Central or South America. I knew Panamanians and Argentineans who didn't like being associated with Mexico at all, and I knew a Brazilian guy who didn't like being called "Hispanic" because his language was Portuguese, not Spanish.
On the other hand, I've known Hispanics who look as white as any WASP, yet they consider themselves "not white" because of their Hispanic heritage. My step-sister's ex-husband was Mexican-American, yet he appeared and acted like a typical WASP. However, I've attended a few of his family gatherings, and most of his extended family was much darker in skin color. I understand that this is not that uncommon in Hispanic families, as members of the same family will often have different shades of skin color.
Similarly, the term "Asian-American" seems more a recent contrivance (1980s or 90s), as they were also more typically identified by their nation of origin.
Of course, the more brazenly racist and bigoted types (which abounded in America once upon a time) would openly use whatever pejorative term struck their fancy. WASPs made the definitions, even to include people whose surnames ended in a vowel.
I think "person of color" may have been a way of referring to a person who is not white - or not considered white by typical American standards of the past, and thus would be viewed as part of a group which has been traditionally oppressed due to their race, heritage, or national origin.
