[raybbr]

Wrong. All 1961 birth certificates would NOT have used the word “black” in that situation. They would have said Negro.

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Having studied more than a few census and other government records, I can assure you that are not always consistent.

Explain how those two declarations AREN'T contradictory in the context of this discussion?

[Captain Kirk]

Valid point. Anything is possible when a doctor or nurse fills out a form.

I should have added two qualifiers. In 1961, I should have said that someone filling in the term "probably" would have used the word Negro (or possibly colored) and "almost certainly would not" use the term black. The word black was considered an insul. It did become accepted until the late part of the decade.

In the case of Obama's father, who, after all, was not an American citizen, the use of African at the time seems far more believable that black.

My point was to correct the poster's flat statement that a form filler woudl have used the black in all cases. This was not true, certainly in 1961. Negro was the standard word.