Race condition
Race conditions arise in software when an application depends on the sequence or timing of processes or threads for it to operate properly. As with electronics, there are critical race conditions that result in invalid execution and bugs. Critical race conditions often happen when the processes or threads depend on some shared state. Operations upon shared states are critical sections that must be mutually exclusive. Failure to obey this rule opens up the possibility of corrupting the shared state.
Judicial aspects of race in the United States
Americans feared that mixed race citizens would be able to reap the benefits of being white and instituted laws to prevent this. Mixed race citizens could legally categorize themselves as white because of their ability to self-report race to the census bureau, the requirement of choosing only one racial category, and the ability of those who were only marginally black to appear white. By 1890 people were required to report any degree of African or Native American ancestry. The idea that a single drop of African or Indian blood qualified someone as officially black or Native American was a generally obeyed legal principle, although the “one-drop” rule was never codified federally. This qualification meant the mixed race individual in question could never obtain the benefits of being white.