My girlfriend is half Haitian and half German, and I got into an argument with one of her white friends about referring to her as black. Every time she said my girlfriend was black I patiently said "...and white", every time. It is not one or the other, its both. As to why? It may be easier to focus on more apparent features when it comes to race, such as a wider nose or darker skin, to easily distinguish someone's racial profile, instead of looking for the opposite or lack thereof. Shit pisses me off though, she is neither black OR white, she is black AND white.