Elephants are incredible animals. They have complex communication and even communicate through seismic vibrations through the ground via their feet, and they can even recognize the elephant sending the seismic message. Additionally, they have cultural practices, including funeral rituals.
For citations for these claims and more information, here is a blog post of mine (I have ads turned off and don't benefit from my blog in any way).
Yeah, like Italians, the Irish weren't considered White. Whiteness was a concept invented to justify slavery and human exploitation in the New World. It's interesting to see how different races have become accepted as 'White' over time.
A book I highly recommend is White Fragility by Diangelo.