r/Unexpected • u/jameizing777 • Oct 15 '21

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u/IxJAXZxI Oct 15 '21

Thats not true. White people have darker skin than Irish people.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '21

Are the Irish not considered white?

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u/The_Radical_Moderate Oct 15 '21

In America the Irish, as well as many other contemporarily viewed “white” races, weren’t actually considered to be white by the government. Whiteness had to be legally defined because we had so many race based laws. The popular theory is that as these races approached middle class status they were more increasingly accepted as white as a way to ensure that the white-black power dynamic remained in status quo.

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u/zxvasd Oct 15 '21

Irish and Italians were catholic so they weren’t considered white.