[jasonbvr]

All teachers are not necessarily white although there is a large, overwhelming large, majority that are. One of the JET's I know is a black woman from South Africa and one of my fellow ALT's working for our company is a half black American, half Japanese guy from California. Ethnicity is not a strong factor in being hired as an English teacher.

The top priorities are: 1) you are a native English speaker coming from a country where the official language is English 2) you look young and seem like a friendly person 3) you have a bachelors degree from university study

That being said, I have witnessed a few exceptions. I know of English teachers from places like Denmark and Finland that have very strong accents but speak fluently until you start using American slang. The age factor is also flexible based on your experience level, but you will need a bit more qualifications to be hired. The degree is not flexible because this is the one factor that immigration looks at and you will be fined and deported for working without proper visa given to you based on your having a degree.