Color dichotomy vs. the ethnoracial pentagon

Throughout American politics, two particularly well known categorizations of race and ethnicity have arisen: "Color Dichotomy" and the later "Ethno-racial Pentagon." Each seeks to define and categorize the vast racial diversity America prides itself on. While intending to create clear and fair ethno-racial constructions, there are obvious advantages and weak spots to each for the purposes of analyzing American politics. An "old-fashioned" and less popular method of categorization is the "Color Dichotomy." This concept distinguishes …

…greater than the genetic variation between races" (Hollinger 34). Morever, Hollinger claims "If the classical race theory of the nineteenth century is not directly behind the pentagon, this structure's architecture has its unmistakable origins in the most gross and invidious of popular images of what makes human beings different from one another" (32). Overall, the two frameworks for categorization of ethnicity and race contain too many internal weaknesses to be used effectively and fairly in American politics.