I recall a story a friend (who was a deep chocolate brown in skin tone) told me about going to a family reunion for the first time - the kind that my family doesn't have, with multiple iterations of third cousins twice removed. He was amazed that there seemed to be two very distinct groups there; those who were light and and those who were dark skinned. After some inquiry, he learned that a certain set of his relatives had begun to "marry white" (his term, not mine) generations before - that is, to actively seek out lighter-skinned mates. It was as though there were two separate get-togethers, since the two groups did not mingle. He said that he was uncomfortable enough with this entire situation that he and his family soon left.

Just a couple of unconnected points - isn't the United Negro College Fund still a very active and well respected organization?

And, BTW, I've never heard the term "zebra" used in reference to a "mixed-race" individual.

As always, an interesting discussion - and I will attempt to keep my personal antipathy toward the use of colors (ie, black and white) to describe people that cover the full range of hues from pink through tan to brown.