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Further to my initial question and the evidence regarding the benefits or lack thereof and reverting to the concept “in the pursuit of excellence” versus the racial quotas.My statement that there is “overwhelming evidence” of the failure of these measures is/are backed by the following:A. The South African case:In SA we have had Affirmative Action measures in place for about 30 years, initially as a corporate “feel good” system to employ PDI’s [previously disadvantaged individuals] borrowed from the communist block countries. From about 1996 it was legislated and since mid 2000’s it is being enforced via racial quotas in the workforce and sporting codes, with varying success.It has been an unmitigated disaster, to wit:Sporting codes were the first to conform:In 1996 the national soccer team, Bafana Bafana, qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, and won the Cup in it’s first attempt. Without AA or quotas for it’s team composition. Since then Bafana has reverted to 9:2:1:0 e.g. black: white: coloured: Indian as per the population mix. The success has become progressively worse until 2018-2019 season Bafana failed to qualify for Afcon.The tennis has gone the same way with quotas set for regional teams up to the Davis Cup. Support for competitive tennis has disappeared and Team RSA can no longer field a competitive team SA Tennis is bankrupt.The same path has been planned for other codes, but sponsors withdrew their funding and stopped this racial quotas, for the hockey teams, men’s and women’s sides as well as the Netball team [Proteas]The rugby team, Springboks have managed to maintain “pursuit of excellence” and won the WRC in 2019, but the franchise teams, Stormers, Bulls, Sharks, Lions conform to quotas and have failed to complete the play-offs in Super Rugby except for the 2000 to 2009 when the Bulls were successful, without quotas.Due to BEEE [black economic equity enterprises] and AA quotas the work force and college and university entrants have all been totally transformed to the effect that young white students, with money, are relocating to Canada, USA, Britain, Australia, New Zeeland to further their studies.Economically South Africa is now run on strictly adhered racial quotas for all government and semi-government SOE’s [State owned enterprises], read this as AA in full swing.After 26 years of ANC [ruling party] with total AA measures in place we have:1. Government bonds have been classed as “junk status”.2. All state borrowing limits have been exhausted.3. ESKOM [state utility company] is bankrupt [450 bill Rand debt] and RSA have rolling blackouts due to lack of maintenance, new power stations are 6 years behind schedule and 150% over budget , lack of technical knowledge and a staff complement twice an Indian utility. And the current board was retrenched due to lack of oversight, but totally transformed in accordance with AA requirements.4. SAA [state airlines], totally in accordance with AA quotas, is now bankrupt and in “business rescue” [with R59 bill debt] and unable to secure flight insurance.5. PRASA [state rail corporation], is now unable to run a commercial schedule and the board has been replaced by a government task team. But totally in compliance with AA requirements.6. The ANC cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa is strictly in accordance with equity ratio, is presiding over an economy that have not seen growth beyond 1.5% in 10 years. 2019 will be 0.5%7. Around 500 000 whites, coloureds and Indians have left the country for better opportunities.On the socio-economic side AA has failed to arrest black teenage pregnancies, black youth unemployment [48% of u/35 blacks are unemployed] or the population explosion, to wit:South Africa's black African population has grown from 38.5 million people in 2008 to 46.7 million in 2018 (80.9% of the total); the coloured population has grown from 4.4 million people in 2008 to 5.07 million in 2018 (8.8%); and the Indian/Asian population has grown from 1.24 million people to 1.45 million peopleThe school drop-out rate is 50% despite all the special measures in place [1 million grade 1 ends with around 450 00 grade 12]As I said, “an unmitigated disaster of affirmative action”B. Zimbawe North of our borders the ZANU-PF under Mugabe has completely Africanized the society and the economy over the last 15 years. So today:1. 80% are unemployed2. From a net exporter of food, Zim now has to import food and many are living under the breadline.3. 1 million Zim citizens are now in South Africa as economic refugees.4. The currency is worthless.As I said, “an unmitigated disaster of affirmative action”C. Kenyan disaster:“Those without Kenyan citizenship soon became subject to increasing discrimination by the ruling government Jomo Kenyatta. Despite the entrepreneurial success of the community, in 1970, 70% of the economically active Asian population consisted of wage and salary earners, and 30% worked for the civil service. A policy of Africanisation meant many were sacked in favour of black Africans.”19]The Kenyan Immigration Act 1967 required Asians to acquire work permits, whilst a Trade Licensing Act passed in the same year limited the areas of the country in which non-Kenyans could engage in trade.[20]In the late 1960s and early 1970s, faced with a dim future in Africa, many Asians choose to utilize their British passports and settle in the United Kingdom. Consequently, the Asian population in Kenya declined from 179,000 in 1962 to 139,000 in 1969 and to 78,000 in 1979.[21]Asian migrants to the United Kingdom settled mainly in London and Leicester.The economic fallout from this remains un accounted.Following the 1982 Kenyan coup d'état attempt to remove President Moi, many Asian shops and businesses in Nairobi were attacked and pillaged whilst a number of Asian women were said to have been raped by the rioters.[24]Despite fears at the time within the community, it did not result in another exodus of Asians from the country.[25]C. Uganda under : Then Idi Amin disaster:Expulsion of Asians from UgandaIn early August 1972, the President of Uganda, Idi Amin, ordered the expulsion of his country's South Asian minority, giving them 90 days to leave the country.[1]At the time of the expulsion, there were approximately 80,000 individuals of South Asian descent (mostly Gujaratis[2][3]) in Uganda, of whom 23,000 had had their applications for citizenship both processed and accepted.[4]Although the latter were ultimately exempted from the expulsion, many chose to leave voluntarily.[5]The expulsion took place against a backdrop of Indophobia in Uganda, with Amin accusing a minority of the Asian population of disloyalty, non-integration and commercial malpractice, claims Indian leaders disputed.[4]Amin defended the expulsion by arguing that he was "giving Uganda back to ethnic Ugandans".[5]E. The Nigerian results:In 1961 at independence, the north Hausa-Fulani only paid 9% of tax but took 45& of the benefits versus the Yoruba who paid 64& of tax but only 25% benefits. See:The Hausa and Fulani together account for about 33.7% of Nigeria's population according to the CIA World Factbook.[2] Nigeria's other major ethnic groupings are the Yoruba and Igbo. The term is in addition to being socio historical also used as religious-political referring to all the people living in northern Nigeria and profess Islam as their religion.Today this continues w.r.t. social benefits, university entrants and even the national soccer team.And a thousand plus of Nigerians roam the streets of Johannesburg and Cape Town peddling any drug known to man.F. Then in India proper:From 1949 AA was written into their constitution to “assist the Dalitts [untouchables]. Special places were reserved in state departments etc. and universities.This led to the instance where 16 parliamentarians had themselves reclassified as Dalitts, to guarantee their seats in parliament within the 28 seat allocated to Dalitts in parliament.In Gujarat in 1985 275 people died in rioting when the general populace protested against higher additional quotas. In Andra Pradesh similar problems occurred.Currently nobody can remember why AA was introduced.G. Malaysia: at independence in 1957 the population split was 50-50 Malaysia /Chinese .The introduction of the Ketuannan Malayu [Malaysian dominance] policy ensured that by 2018 it has been reduced to 24%. Total AA in favour of the Malaysian population w.r.t. finances, language in government etc.As I said, “an unmitigated disaster of affirmative action”H. Sri Lankan, tragedy: where Tamils 11% and the Sinhales 75% ended in civil war.At independence Tamils were 44 % of doctors, 30% of government posts, 40% of judges, 49 % students in the science faculties.After the official language was changed to Sinhales, a further 300 000 Tamils were repatriated to India.After the civil war it’s unclear what the economic results will be, but:As I said, “an unmitigated disaster of affirmative action”I. USA:Firstly, AA as currently applied in USA is contrary to the US constitution’s “equity statement” as well as the "Civil Right Act" van 1964. Article 703(j), places no obligation on an employer to: "...to grant preferential treatment to any individual or group on account of an imbalance which may exist." Reference Judge William Brennar [1979]. He dismissed the literal interpretation of these words in the case of United Steel Workers of America v Webber.However he did concur that those requirements can be met by: “temporary, voluntary Affirmative Actions”Your own Pres. John F Kennedy of USA made the ("executive order") no 10925 stating that "affirmative action" is required that "...employees are treated during employment without regard to race, colour, creed or national origin.". In other words that a person is not discriminated against.However, I don’t have to tell yous okes where this has ended, with special treatment for any person who can lay claim to Negro/slave/African ancestry.As I said, “an unmitigated disaster of affirmative action”What has it done for the black American?Highest prison population2. Highest single parent lifestyle.3. High dependence on social grants.4. School and college drop-out rates, highest5. Drug use. Highest per capitaAnd so ends my data, you are welcome debate this further.

There’s No Ideal Location for Anyone - visible or invisible minority.As someone who has lived in two continents in countries big and small, my opinion is that no where on earth is “ideal” for anyone who considers himself a discriminated minority. Unless you are in a situation facing danger or untenable oppression (like gays in the Middle East, Rohinga in Myanmar, Tutsi in post-coup Rwanda), you have to decide which challenges are to be faced or to be avoided. Even “majority appearance” people can be of an invisible (linguistic, religious, orientation…) minority facing discrimination; it may not be as immediate as for visible minorities but can be highly negative (Catholics in N. Ireland and,previously, in England and the US, Koreano-japanese in Japan, Socialists in the McCarthy era, neuro-atypicals in all countries, Shiites in Saudi Arabia, Sunni in post-invasion Iraq, homosexuals in most countries, Flemophones in Wallonia or Francophones in Flanders, the Untouchables in India…).Any answer requires individual responses that are entirely dependent on your situation, your finances, your health status, your adaptability, compatible philosophy to a host community, your culture and your profession and that of your family. It would take research, conversations with immigrants from the considered host, a fact-finding mission and an extended trip of reconnaissance.If you look at at answer of another Quoran, a Black American, who lives in China with his Chinese girlfriend when asked where was the best place for a Black man to live, his reply was telling. Prejudice (making assumptions about a person based on perceived difference) is “normative” in most parts of the world, Africa being no exception, but, depending upon your situation and the specific society, life can be acceptable or better.Race - a non-scientific term that means different things according to country and group.I tailor my general answer based on the assumption the questioner is American from the use of the term “biracial”, currently “coined” lay US jargon very specifically for someone who is half Black and half White (i.e. an appearance-based label - not a genetic classification) and doesn’t refer to a person of other ethnic origins, or even of predominant Black or White ancestry!) e.g. Megan Markle, Barak Obama, Vanessa Williams and Halle Berry. Apart from Mr. Obama father, the “Black” parent of each of the other three probably has European and possibly Indigenous ancestry as well as African.The term “race” is not even mentioned in the Census of many countries from Mexico to France. We know that there is no genetic basis for the labels, yet the US Census retains this obsolete categorization of people despite the genetic surveys done in the last two decades that disprove a categorical scientific basis for the labels.Outside of the US, the more commonly used term for a half-Black-White would be “Mulatto” that has no significant negative connotation in foreign (non-US) usage today. Furthermore, in other countries, the context and connotations associated with the lay term “race” are very different from current US practice; for example, in Europe the term “race” evokes the horrible memory of WWII and the use of the term “Master Race” to mean Germanic/Northern Europeans (a much narrower definition than current American practice); in Asia there was the Japanese “race”, although there is no significant genetic differentiation between northern Asians i.e. WWII era Japanese “race” referred to a country or a culturo/linguistic group.Basic criterion for candidate host country/community- Legal Protections for minorities. A country or society where negative actions guided by prejudice are outlawed.Most democratic countries now have legal systems that outlaw overt actions against minorities. However, especially in young democracies and countries with little history of exposure to multiple types of people may have social behaviors that “lag” legalities. It was only until a few years ago that the US banned visits by HIV sero-positive foreigners, supposedly for “public health” reasons, yet imposed no such outright restrictions on those with infections like hepatitis, TB or even Ebola, Typhoid or Cholera!There are also variations in a given country from zone to zone, so generalization is not applicable. Australians may encounter ridicule at their accents in parts of English society; homosexuals have less protection in some US States, counties or cities than others; Indo-Britons are possibly more equitably treated in London than in a the rest of England…Finally, the more educated one is, the more likely one is able to negotiate less than ideal situations.Practical Guidance. One cannot easily measure the degree of negative prejudice facing minorities but there are other indicators of acceptance of individual differences. Here are some possible factors to “choose” potential places on a country, region or city level:Secular democratic political system (i.e. not a theocracy, monarchy, tribal or other society where one group is favored)High diversity index including the “races” that concern you. e.g. Despite the ranking of India and many African nations as being highly diverse -but the type of diversity is usually cultural than of visible differences. So, focus on those where there is a history (probably only recent) of mixing between visually and culturally distinct people.Socio-economic harmony i.e. a buoyant economy with low unemployment and relative equity between groupsPeaceful society for at least 50 yearsLeaders in government, law and professions reflect the population mixYour willingness and ability to assimilate into another culture and, possibly, acquire another language.COUNTRY GUIDESTrinidad & Tobago. Perhaps the oldest of cosmopolitan societies in the Western Hemisphere, this tiny twin island nation is at the most southern location of the Caribbean; some 20 km separate Trinidad from Venezuela. However, US flights to Trinidad, despite being the longest to the Caribbean, are often among the least costly. Non-stops to South Florida are as low as $255 RT (versus $800–1200 to equidistant Caracas) and there are non-stop flights from Houston and New York as well.Despite its Spanish colonial past, it has been Anglophone since the 19th Century under British colonial influence with currently a +99% literacy rate (higher than the US’ rate).Although Black groups (33+%) are frequently encountered in the capital, Port-of-Spain, the largest ethnic group are of Indian subcontinent ancestry (35+%). The next largest group are “mixed” (24%) i.e. not identified with any specific ethnicity or religion. The rest are lumped together statistically. Indigenous ancestry is now part of the genome of the above groups but most had been eliminated by disease or killing.Have a look at the current line up of TT Ministers Government Ministers; the names (that are not always a reliable guide of a person’s ancestry in Trinidad) have English, Scottish, Hindu, Muslim, French, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese origins; the skin tone varies from beige to dark brown.All are Anglophone and, unless they were sent to private schools, followed the same educational curricula based on UK standards. As in France, all schools are secular in all subjects except Religious Instruction. St. Mary’s College, the prominent Catholic College founded by a French Order and subsequently taken over by an Irish Order, includes non-Catholic students and staff; the Catholics have Catholic religious instruction class while the non-Catholics play! There have not recently been schools that use other languages (Hindu, Chinese, Spanish etc.) since about 1950’s; the country is too small to support multiple curricula. The wealthy had the option of sending teenagers to university in other countries (e.g. Lebanon, France, India, the US, Canada, UK for for the most part; few went to Latin American universities due to lack of Spanish fluency).No longer a colony, it has been a democracy since independence over 60 years. Its citizens are very literate (Two citizens of this young micro-state won Nobel Prizes in Literature), educated in standard UK English; They would understand you and can speak in standard English; however, it will take a few years to learn to understand local vernacular.Trinidadians are the “chameleons” of the Caribbean, Growing up in coexisting religions and cultures, a Trinidadian is usually laid back and very adaptable. This small nation of 1.3 million in the Caribbean has no ethnic or religious majority, a single British-based public education system and a significant population of no identifiable “race”. Although it is “a developing nation”, it is the country with the highest GNI per capital in the Americas after the US, Canada and The Bahamas. The place has perhaps the most numerous public holidays in the Western Hemisphere as they include Christian, Muslim and Hindu traditions. There are also clandestine migrants fleeing Venezuela recently.I will exclude Tobago (Robinson Crusoe’s island in reputation) that was predominantly Black with a slave trade under the Dutch and then the British prior to its political union with Trinidad much later.The highly diverse but harmonious (relatively) microsociety of Trinidad is unique in the Americas and dates back two centuries of very diverse immigration and coexisting cultures and religions. Without much gold, the island of Trinidad had been a sparsely-populated Spanish colony (attached, in theory, to the Vice-royalty of New Granada with capital in Bogota) until the dawn of the 19th Century when GB took control in 1787, annexing it in 1803. Under the British, the slave trade was almost immediately outlawed in 1807 i.e. no slaves were brought to Trinidad from Africa under British rule. The Black ancestors of Trinidad were either Free Coloured or slaves from the region, including the Catholic Francophones enticed by the last Spanish governor and tolerated by the early British colonial administration in order to develop the agricultural sector.The upheavals in France and Haiti induced some New World Francophones (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Guiana, Acadia, Louisiana) to move to Trinidad, where, as a result, most of the population spoke a French patois when the British arrived, a confusing situation since the administrators the British encountered were of Spanish origin! Most of the names main towns and landmarks in Trinidad are of Spanish or Indigenous origin (Puerto de Espana or Port of Spain, San Fernando, San Juan) but there are also place names of French origin, and a few of Hindu origin. It’s a bit like California or New Mexico, Spanish place-names but an Anglophone population, but the local vernacular having a strong Francophone patois intonation and lexicon influence.The lack of labor when the British took over encouraged more global waves of immigration from intra-Commonwealth e.g. from India, China/Hong Kong, the Middle East (Lebanon and Syria, with regions at times a British “protectorate”), Madeira and Europe in the 19th Century. The first groups brought as indentured labor were predominantly male who didn’t keep it in their pants, and parallel mixed ancestry families now exist; someone who looks “Black” may also have Asian or Indian or White forebears. Most people with family over 3 generations in the island probably have mixed ancestry. Even Nikki Minaj, labelled as “Black” in the US, is, in fact simply Trinidadian with various ancestry including African and Indian; she could do a DNA test but, to be honest, IT DOESN’T MATTER to Trinidadians where families can look like this:Canada. Like other large, mainly White Anglophone nations, Canada did have a “Whites Only” and then “White Preference” immigration history. However, that all changed in the 1950’s/60’s when immigration moved towards a “skills based” system. Today, fully 19% of Canada’s residents were born in another country. Besides immigration from Anglophone nations in the Caribbean, the US, Guyana and the UK, the most common origins of immigrants are from…the most populous nations on earth (duh!) i.e. China and India. Quebec also has a favorable policy to Francophones so Francophone North African Arabs, Caribbeans, Europeans and West Africans Blacks are also found in Canada. In a remarkably short period (60 years), Canada has achieved a societal integration that begins with the 2nd generation feeling “Canadian” more than any other label. The main cultural “divide” is between Franco-Quebec and Anglo-Canada - but it is a cultural not an ethnic issue; the Indigenous population, few in number, now have one vast Arctic Territory (Nanavut) but there are reservations within the Provinces.A Sino-Hawaiian-English Canadian - Keanu Reeves (Labelled as “White” in the US)Afro-American/Jewish Canadian. Drake (Labelled as “Black” in the US)Leadership has included, a PM immigrant from the UK, an Anglo-Quebecker PM, a turban-wearing Sikh head of party, a Hong Kong-born Governor General, a Haitian-born Governor General etc.Recent Governor Generals in Canada, representing the Head of State, Queen ElizabethPanamaAlthough thought of as a “Latin” nation. Panama has been an international crossroads since the opening of the Panama Canal over a century ago.The US engineered the creation of the country now known as “Panama” (The US “supported”, with Navy in Panama harbor, secession from Gran Colombia from whom it failed to obtain a perpetual lease to the Canal) and imposed a constitution that allows the US unilateral military intervention. Instead of annexing Panama as it did Puerto Rico, the US avoided having to grant Panama’s inhabitants US citizenship by creating the legal anomaly of the “Canal Zone”, an extraterritorial part of the US located around the Canal. The Zone only ended when Jimmy Carter rescinded the perpetual “lease” but the US retained unilateral right, enshrined in Panama law, to intervene if it sees fit.The creation of the Canal has made Panama into an international exchange port. There have been waves of immigration from Anglo-Caribbean islands, Chinese in the import-export business and, more recently, economic “refugees” and expatriates from Latin America to Russia and Europe. English is often spoken in the capital as a 2nd language. The US dollar is the national currency.USAThe USA was among the last Western nations to outlaw slavery (71 years after France and 30 years after the UK); Spain abolished slavery in most colonies in the 18th Century except in the Caribbean until the late 19th Century. The US was also the last major democracy to fully abolish legal discrimination against minorities (1 century after France) with the passage of the Civil Rights Act 1964, and the wounds are still fresh (many Black Americans have a great grand parent who was a slave or even parents who were legally excluded from some communities, businesses, zones or beaches) and de facto segregation exists today in this vast country; there is wide variation in acceptance of what had been called “miscegenation”.My belief is that discrimination rears its ugly head more overtly and more frequently when in less well off/educated groups. It is a very variable phenomenon depending on geography and socio-economic grouping.Black immigrants from the Caribbean, Africa or the UK in the last two generations were “selected” on some skill set or education criterion; families of this group earn more than the average White American family! Colin Powell and Eric Holder are both 2nd generation Caribbean-Americans. Barak Obama is half Kenyan. The Dean of Howard University is from Trinidad. Senator Kamala Harris is the offspring of a Jamaican Stanford professor and an Indian cancer researcher. Even in other professions, Sidney Poitier (Bahamian American), Harry Belafonte (Jamaican parents), Cicely Tyson (born in Grenadines), Malcom X (Grenadian mother), Stokely Carmichael (Civil Right leader - from Caribbean), Lenny Kravitz (Jewish-Bahamian American).It is clear that it is possible to be Black or “biracial” (as most Dominicans and many Hispanic West Indians are) and have a relatively happy life in the US, even if it varies by region and can be very challenging.Due to a liberal immigration policy towards Europeans until the mid 20th Century, most “White” Americans have non-British ancestry, a fact often unsuspected as US law permits unlimited modification of family names, so a very English last name is no evidence of any English ancestors!The US is large place. What you face in one location may be very different in another. What you face as a university professor is different from the experience of a fast food employee. In general, the closer to the Atlantic or Pacific and further north one is, the more “liberal-minded” are Americans. One indication of the geography states color-coded with the earliest to overturn “anti-miscegenation” laws is the predominance of the Northeast, North Central and North West regions, and the persistance of them in the South until only 1967!UKFor the longest time, the English felt above and apart from non-English whether from the “Colonies” or the “Continent”. The aristocracy is still an element in its societal structure where those who are descendants of previously bloodthirsty or politically ruthless leaders (i.e. “nobles”) are, by accident of birth, labelled or have access to certain privileges of society. (Notice that I omit Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland, also traditionally regarded as “lesser” by some English).However, the decolonization of the British Empire after WWII has led to waves of immigrants from former colonies.One large contingent that is now responsible for the largest visible/religious minority today stems from prior intra-Empire migration from the Indian Subcontinent to African colonies in the 19th Century. As African independantism arose, multi-generational Indo-Africans were “asked” to leave. Many were able to move to the UK with British Colonial passports - since they had no legal right or desire to move to India. There were also Indian migrants to the Caribbean and British Guyana in the 19th Century, but they are New Worlders in identity - not Indian.There were also many immigrants from the Caribbean and Guyana.Above: Sam Mendes, Academy Awardee filmmaker, Lusitano-Black-Trinidadian/Jewish Englishman. Labelled as “White”.Then, late in the 20th Century, well-educated immigrants from Hong Kong, China and India also favored the UK. Intra-EU migration led to millions from Eastern Europe adding to the UK labor pool; fully 25% of UK doctors are foreign-born.Discrimination in the UK is largely, outside of populist incidents, subtle and, often unrecognized, more frequently targeted against the most recent visible minorities of Indian ancestry (called “Asian” in the UK) that include Muslims of Pakistani origin (like the current mayor of London). As in the US, there is a prior history of discrimination including to “non visible minorities” i.e. Jews and Irish Catholics that preceded the Colonial era.Despite the elite British classes’ exposure to the world, there is a characteristically English (NOT BRITISH) insularity and exceptionalism that’s probably parallel (but more attenuated) to that of Japan, another insular society. Both Scottish and N. Irish populations want to remain in the EU as do Greater Londoners, but England voted for Brexit in significant majority.There is also “noble title” favoritism, superficially indicated by accent, i.e. someone with a title is automatically part of higher classes, regardless of economic wealth. Many very successful Britons are forever shunned by snobbish circles and choose expatriation (Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor, Robin Leach, the Osbornes, Sting etc.); since they were not “to the Manor born” they are forever labelled as “plebs” by a dying segment of snobbish aristocracy. Sir Roger Moore, from the same origins as Sir Michael Caine (i.e. East London) “acquired” an RP accent that he used in public thereafter. Even Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John or Sting, from non-aristocratic “backgrounds” would not be considered part of “high class society” despite their wealth, fame and influence outside of the UK. Although Sir Elton now affects a standard English accent, it is “classless” devoid of the hoity-toity inflections of the the Royal Family and affiliated; the late Dame Thatcher, herself a modest shopkeeper’s daughter from Nottingham, realized that she had to acquire the accent of the “upper class” in her quest to get ahead.Among the current generation of non-aristocracy, mixed-race marriages are a common occurrence. Times are changing; among the aristocracy-oriented part of society, the integration of mixed-race Megan Markle is a revolution, set in motion by Princess Diana, who died while linked to an Egyptian playboy, Dodi Al Fayed, whose father owned Harrods.Nonetheless, Black and other visible minorities in the UK can be very educated and successful. A disproportional number of American-sounding Black actors in US media are, in fact, British trained actors and singers. Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 years a slave), Idris Elba (next James Bond?), Cynthia Erivo, Sir Ben Kingsley (Indo-Anglo), David Harewood (Supergirl), Winston Duke (Blank Panther).FranceFrance is another former European colonial power whose immigration has been fueled from former colonies, with a large source from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia (the Maghreb), a religious and, at times, visible minority in what is now a strictly secular nation. The difference with the UK are several:France is a secular republic with no official recognition of “aristocracy”. Gone are the days when one could only get ahead by marrying into the aristocratic, connected “200 familles”.France is largely, today, a meritocracy with, at its apex, competitive assessment education systems of the Grandes Ecoles, to which anyone can aspire.Unlike the UK, there is no “to the Manor born” “upper class” French accent. Due to universal public education, mobility and mass media, many minority languages (Breton, Basque, Corsican, Alsatian, Provencal, Languedocien/Catalan…) have been forced into near extinction. However, in the quest for “equality”, the acquisition of a national, educated French accent has become attainable to all.Whereas the UK has been insular with little immigration from the Middle Ages until the latter 20th Century, French has centuries of continuously integrating immigrants as it is a continental crossroads; today, it has the greatest variety of last names in the world, exceeding those in much more populous China, the US, Brazil or India.Visible minorities, even foreign born, have been present at the highest levels of leadership and culture from the early 19th Century, increasingly current.Alexandre Dumas, the most read French author (Count of Monte Christo) was the son of a Black immigrant from the Caribbean. (early 19th Century)Severiano Heredia, a Black Cuban immigrant, was elected to be the equivalen to today’s Mayor of Paris in 1873 and subsequently was a member of Parliament and a Minister.Leon Blum. A Jewish prime minister in 1936 during the rise of Nazi-ism.The Academie Francaise, regulator of French language, includes a number of foreign-born Frenchmen (from Haiti, China, UK, Luxemburg…)Turkey-born (Izmir) Edouard Balladur and Polish-born Pierre Beregovoy were Prime MinistersMinisters in President Hollande’s government included people born in Nigeria, Korea, Morocco.The now disgraced former head of Renault-Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, is a Lebano-Nigerian-Brazilian immigrant to France.CubaAlthough most Cuban-Americans self-identify as “White”, there are many Black Cubans and almost all Cubans possibly have mixed ancestry. Slavery was only officially abolished in Cuba in 1887 but mixed-race Cubans are not exceptional by any means.IrelandIreland, for centuries a vassal state to England, suffered from periods of impoverishment and emigration; there are now more people claiming Irish ancestry outside of Ireland. From possible more than 8 million inhabitants in the early 19th Century (cf 12 million in England), Ireland suffered population loss down to 2.8 million in 1962!EU membership dramatically changed the makeup of Ireland’s population. With EU structural funds flowing into Ireland, its tax advantages and use of English, Ireland has become a popular business location for foreign multinationals and, more recently, benefitted from companies relocating from England due to Brexit.Today, as in Canada, fully 21% of Ireland’s residents were born outside of Ireland, with recent waves from Eastern Europe. The Irish faced centuries of discrimination from the English and so probably are sensitive to avoid being perpetrators. Its current PM is half Indian (and gay) so Ireland can be considered a very open-minded place today. It’s workforce, media and culture is intertwined with that of the UK, with which it has a Common Passport agreement that abolished border control with N. Ireland, the remnant of the UK hold over the island.“Bi-racial” Irish PM with his parentsIrish PM, Leo Varadkar, with his husband, an MDBeneluxThe Netherlands was also a global colonial power (Indonesia, Dutch Antilles, Surinam and southern Africa). As a result there are Dutchmen of various hues.Belgium, although a small colonial power, had the Congo and its Francophone zones also have had immigrants from former French colonies.Luxemburg is tiny and expensive with perhaps more foreigners than locals! Here is a picture of the Luxemburger PM, Xavier Bettel, and his husband.Australia and New ZealandEnding a Whites Only (British preference) immigration only in 1966 in Australia, a reversal of immigration sources to nearly neighbors has occurred since 1975 in Australia and 1987 in New Zealand. the two Austral Anglophone nations now have nearly 30% of its residents born in a foreign nation!With a skills-based immigration policy, well-educated Chinese, Indians and Philippinos are the largest recent sources of immigrants to Australia, whereas beforehand, unskilled British immigrants were almost automatically granted immigration status. There has been relatively little disharmony vis a vis these educated immigrants but racist politics has become visible.However, there are very few Blacks and the non-White immigration phenomenon is even more recent than that of Canada, the UK and France. The economy of Australia seems buoyant but only time will tell if such a high proportion of immigrants are integrated in the long term, especially if there is a downturn.Like the US and Canada, most of the resident population has non-native ancestry. NZ is a bit different in that it “allowed” Pacific Islander immigration for labor even during the White preference and today about 10% of the genome of NZ are Pacific Islander.Portugal (suggested entry) - ? BrazilPortugal was the 4th major European colonial power with Brazil, southern African (Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde…) and small establishments in India and Asia, notably Macao. Portuguese missionaries in Japan are rumored to have been a source of the Japanese expression for thanks, “arigato”, apparently a phonetic reflection of “obrigado”. Most Portuguese speakers live in Brazil as only 10 million people live in Portugal today.Largely due to economic pressures, there has been waves of 20th Century emigration from Portugal to other parts of Europe and the New World before it had become part of the EU. Today, Portugal faces a demographic downward spiral and encourages immigration but only about 5% of residents are foreign born.The major foreign-born resident groups include Brazil, Lusitanophone African nations and, in the last generation, Eastern Europe. Portugal is also a destination for N. European retirees but many are snowbirds and don’t turn up on official resident statistics.Since many Brazilian have African ancestry, “mulattoes” (“biracial” to Americans) are a common sight in Portugal. The country welcomes well to do immigrants but jobs are not easy to find.A very recent phenomenon is that of young British entrepreneurs fleeing the UK ahead of Brexit, setting up shop in shared workspaces in Lisbon. Many young Portuguese speak good English and one can get buy better than in other Southern European nations. Portugal is the only Continental nation that shares the timezone of the UK.