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Well, I think a person can be considered the race that they are the most of. This woman's mother's father was black, and her mother was mixed race (assuming black & white mixed). So this woman'smother was mainly black.
No. That's not possible. Her father may have been "black", but he was most likely of predominant European ancestry as was her mixed race mother. They were from a Louisiana Creole family, which is typical of them.
There isn't a way for someone to look white, without being white.
No. That's not possible. Her father may have been "black", but he was most likely of predominant European ancestry as was her mixed race mother. They were from a Louisiana Creole family, which is typical of them.
There isn't a way for someone to look white, without being white.
not even remotely true. I know several biracial people who look white - sometimes they get guessed for Italian or Hispanic, but rarely does someone know right from the start that they are biracial.
And even in the same family, skin tone and physical features can vary wildly. These two girls are 100% biological siblings - non-identical twins.
Those girls are 75% white. So you're prooving my point.
Well, I guess your point is that you still subscribe to the "one drop rule" and that's why you think that these types of percentages are somehow significant?
The fact is that people react to each other based on phenotype, not genotype. If those sisters were not public about their situation with probably most people in their community knowing about their family, one would be treated as a white person and the other as a black person and I'm sure that when they are seen by people who don't know their story, that is exactly what happens.
Or are you trying to make the claim that people look at Maria, the black appearing twin and say "oh, well, she's not really black of course, because she's 75% white"?
No. That's not possible. Her father may have been "black", but he was most likely of predominant European ancestry as was her mixed race mother. They were from a Louisiana Creole family, which is typical of them.
There isn't a way for someone to look white, without being white.
You are correct. Gail's mother was a descendent of 18th century gens de couleur libre (free people of color) of New Orleans, a third distinct racial category that was recognized in Louisiana in the colonial period. They were a mix of African, European, and sometimes Native American ancestry. Many of the women entered into informal marriages with white men, in an organized cultural practice called plaçage. Among that population, the practice was repeated down the generations of women, ultimately resulting in offspring with no visually discernible black ancestry. However, pursuant to the one-drop rule, the law in Louisiana eventually re-categorized them as "black" (or whatever word was being used to designate African ancestry at the time), regardless of their appearance. Since this racial categorization persisted into the latter half of the 20th century, the modern descendants of the free people of color today consider themselves black. Of course, many also look black or mixed-race, because as their ancestors integrated into the wider black society, they married and had children with people with more pronounced African ancestry.
I see the old One Drop Rule is apparently alive and well for some folks. Wow, talk about a one dimensional way of looking at things - and people.
What is it - a curse? Tainted blood? Something special? A club? A mark of superiority? A stain? Sheeze!
Let people be people - why is it so important to some people to categorize folks so rigidly?
I see the legacy of the one-drop rule as something that is largely self-imposed today. After all, there is no longer any legal requirement that a person born of one black and one white parent be considered black, but they typically self-identity that way. Are they not saying to the world that their "blackness" somehow overrides their "whiteness", just as racist laws once did? I am actually heartened by the recent trend among young biracial people to fully embrace both halves of their heritage, and hope to see more of it. People can't really be themselves if for whatever reason, they think that they need to subtly or overtly reject half of their genetic inheritance.
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