Hi. I didn't know quite how to phrase my challenge in a one-line title. Let me explain what I'm after.
In the United States, OTL 2016, there are very clear ideas about race. It seems that the main four are whites, blacks, asians, and hispanics (all of which are considered as census categories, right?) -- with a newer category of "arab"/"middle-easterner" also taking hold. No matter what one thinks about these categories, most Americans do split people up into them.
But what if it were different? My challenge is: with a POD of no earlier than December 31, 1900, create a radically different racial system in the US by 2016. For instance, I'd be interested in one where people of Chinese origin are considered to be in the same racial category as people of French and German origin (legally and socially), but Jews of eastern European origin are, for the most part, considered to be in a very different racial category (again: legally and socially). Bonus points for interesting alternate civil rights movements and affirmative action programs.