Most east and south Europeans were considered
non-white in the United States at least until after
World War II. (This view seems to have been common
both among Anglos and among African Americans.)
This would include east European Jews, Italians,
Poles, Greeks, Arabs, etc., etc.
Of course, the whole idea of white has been a
moveable feast over the years.
Benjamin Franklin once weighed in against
German immigrants in Pennsylvania, who he felt
were bent on turning that colony into a Germanic
country. After, he noted, Germans were members
of the "swarthy races." (He went to elaborate that
Anglo-Saxons were the only truly white people
on earth.)
Sincerely,
John Radzilowski