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.
Treatment of slaves in the United States
In New Orleans where the Code Noir held sway under French and Spanish rule, people of mixed race were defined as mulatto: one half white, half black; quadroon: three quarters white, one quarter black; octoroon: seven-eights white, one eighth black. The Code Noir proscribed marriage between those of mixed race and full blooded, or "slave" blacks.  This undoubtedly formed the base of the well known color discrimination within the black community, known as colorism, where in the Black community, lighter skinned black women are preferred by black men over darker skinned black females. In the Quarter lighter skinned blacks had a higher social position and constituted a higher percentage of the free black population.