On 5/20/06, Sarah slimvirgin@gmail.com wrote:
I agree that it's a matter of editorial common sense. If the ethnicity is relevant to the person's notability, it's fine to mention it in the intro. If it's harmless, ditto. But if it's irrelevant and arguably racist, anti-Semitic, or Islamophobic, then it's important not to mention it with unseemly haste. We shouldn't have articles starting with: "John Doe is a British Muslim convicted of child rape," or "Jane Doe is an Afro-American who murdered all four of her husbands." There's no harm in mentioning ethnic background in the bio section, but it shouldn't be used as a stick to beat people with (or to beat their ethnicity with).
"John Allen Muhammad (born John Allen Williams on December 31, 1960) is an American serial killer. Together with his younger partner Lee Boyd Malvo, he carried out the Beltway sniper attacks in an apparent attempt to extort $10 million dollars during his shooting spree."
Not "John Allen Muhammed is a Muslim African-American serial killer".
"Lee Boyd Malvo (alias John Lee Malvo or Malik Malvo) (born February 18, 1985), along with John Allen Muhammad, was arrested on October 24, 2002 in connection with the Beltway sniper attacks. A jury convicted Malvo of capital murder on December 18, 2003, and recommended a sentence of life imprisonment without parole on December 23, 2003,"
Race again not mentioned