I was checking to see which "similar pages" google popped up for this weblog, and found this article from Harvard Magazine, "Roots" and Race. We've tacked this issue before, but I though I'd pass on the interesting statistics dug up on this topic.

n = 170

Ethnic self-identification of Harvard black students

Black American, 57.1%
Afro-Caribbean, 21.2%
African, 13.6%
Bi-ethnic or biracial, 25.9%

Generational status, Black Harvard vs. US aggregates

1st generation, 8%, 6.1%
2nd generation, 41%, 3.3%
3rd generation, 6%, 0.9%
4th+ generation, 45%, 89.7%

Now, I don't much think about these topics anymore, science is much cleaner & exciting. Nevertheless, it is important to remind myself of why I'm a cynic sometimes. You can read the original paper too (note that 50% of the fathers of black Harvard freshmen have advanced degrees, diversity by race, but not SES).