Dear Readers: The issue of marking the right racial identity box on forms has caused quite a stir. I tried to define black and give our country's definition of a black American. As usual, there are those who think I don't think.

From Phiikappaphi: In response to your definitions of biracial people usually being labeled black, I felt I must respond. I am biracial. My father is a white Puerto Rican descended from Spain. My mother is African-American. My grandmother is half white. I have brothers and sisters with blonde hair and blue eyes, while I have dark hair, eyes and a perpetual tan. I do not subscribe to any race but the human race.

No one has the "right" to tell me who and what I am or must be. I define that for myself. By defining me as black, one refuses to acknowledge the other facets of my being, which are just as much a part of me.

I love every "race" that is a part of me, and on forms I routinely check the box "other" and write HUMAN race beside it.

From Karen: As the white mother of biracial children, the forms with limited racial choices just don't work. My children know they are biracial. How can I choose one ethnicity over the other? They are equally both.

I believe your answer implies the concerned grandmother should check "black." I think you are wrong. The child is just as much white as she is black.

I would refuse to check either one and let the school know why.

From Lucille: I am black and my husband is white. Our child is as white as her father and she does not want to be listed as black. All of her friends are white and most of her school is white. When I am near my daughter's friends, she never introduces me to any of them. I once overheard her telling someone my given name. What got to me most was the fact she never said I was her mother.

She has never said it, I am not ignorant, and I know she is ashamed of me because of my color. I think it would be shameful to list her as black because she is white inside and out.

From Gordon: Since the school's record system does not include the appropriate choice for displaying the girl's correct ethnicity, I would advise leaving it blank. It is not the duty of the grandmother to correct a poorly worded form. If someone challenges her, she could use that occasion to tell the school to give people better choices.

From Hastings: I am mixed with Native American, Dutch, Irish, Spanish, German and a touch of black. I look white, but I always mark "American" in the place that lists "other."

From Jody: If the girl is half white and half black, why do you say it's a lie to list her as white? If you really wanted to be accurate, she should be listed as a "zebra."

From Rubin: I am listed as Hispanic because I am brown. My mother comes from Mexico and my father from Ireland. I do not have a Hispanic surname, yet I am considered Hispanic because of my skin color. Black and white parents produce brown children. What is wrong with listing all brown children as Hispanic? I think that would solve the problem.

List people by the actual color of the skin; forget about where they came from — case closed.

To find out more about Larry Meeks, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.