The color of whiteness and the paradox of diversity

Abstract

Stevie Wonder's "Ebony and Ivory" notwithstanding, literally speaking, there are neither White nor Black people in the world. If you see a person whose skin color is white, you will most likely call an ambulance. There are people in the world whose skin color approximates black, but for the most part "Black" people are some shade of brown. "White" people are some shade of pink. So why is it so common, in the United States anyway, to refer to people as "White" and "Black"?.