I had to check the calendar and make sure the year was 2011 and not 1850 something when I heard that South Carolina Democrats are criticizing GOP Governor Nikki Haley for checking the "White" box on her voter registration form. Haley is of Indian descent - no box on the form was provided to reflect that. The governor stayed silent on the matter, although her allies accused the Democrats of the lowest-grade politics: race-baiting. Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, has never emphasized herself as South Carolina's first female and minority governor and the country's second Indian-American governor, but it has earned enormous national notoriety. (emphasis mine). Todd Shaw, a political science professor at the University of South Carolina and an expert on African-American studies, said deciding what box to fit a person in is a very Southern concept. To him, race is a matter of self-identification, or allowing a person to check the boxes that may apply. "I always expect political...(Read Full Post)