Shifting the lens on race seeks to challenge narrow perceptions of blackness as both an identity and lived reality. If discrimination has proceeded on the basis of the one drop rule, so too should. In his book evicted 2016, matthew desmond explored the soaring housing prices in american cities. Application of this rule aimed to keep the white population pure and lumped anyone with black blood into one category. Thus, the one drop rule was bornany one possessing even one drop of african blood was black. The view that reality cannot be separated from the way a culture makes sense. Other countries have looked at this rule with a wary eye. State courts have generally upheld the onedrop rule, but some have limited the definition to one thirtysecond or onesixteenth or oneeighth black ancestry, or made other limited exceptions for persons with both indian and black ancestry. Race and multiraciality in brazil and the united states. American attitudes toward the negro, 15501812, was.
The onedrop rule is a social and legal principle of racial classification that was historically. The one drop rule was made law, though primarily in the u. So when i saw and read the synopsis for this book, written by his daughter, bliss broyard, i was curiousespecially about his double life. This practice reflects the traditional one drop rule in the united states that defines someone as black if she or he has at least one drop of black blood. The one drop rule was a social construction that emerged discursively in us history. However, racial whitening specific to brazil also encompasses the perception of individuals as. South, also in other states, in the 20th centurydecades after the civil war, emancipation, and the reconstruction era. A historical colloquial term in the united states for the social classification as black of individuals with any african ancestry. Walter plecker alongside the 1924 racial integrity act, stated that if a person had just one drop of negro blood, he or she would be considered negro. Definition of the one drop rule the one drop rule, an idiosyncrasy of the united states, was based on. The one drop rule is defined as one black ancestor 5 generations back.
The onedrop rule is a social and legal principle of racial classification that was historically prominent in the united states in the 20th century. A caste system existed in the united states and this caste system has been glaringly apparent among blacks and by. This one drop rule has meant that anyone with a visually discernable trace of african, or what. The language was first used by the government in the fourteenth census in 1920 when the color line was redefined by the census bureau. It asserted that any person with even one ancestor of subsaharan african ancestry one drop of black blood 1 2 is considered black negro or colored in historical terms. The one drop rule and modern multiracials sociology of. As my book emphasizes, a major consequence of the onedrop rule has been the. This practice reflects the traditional one drop rule in the united states that defines someone as black if she or he has at least one drop of black blood and that was used in the antebellum south to keep the slave population as large as possible wright, 1993. Racial whitening, or whitening branqueamento, is an ideology that was widely accepted in brazil between 1889 and 1914, as the solution to the negro problem.
What african americans need to realise is that by sticking to the one drop rule as a way to classify race, you are effectively watering down the black race. One drop, bliss broyard tells us, takes its title from the onedrop rule, which classified as black any americans with the tiniest fraction just one drop of black blood. The human stain 2003 is an excellent example of the implications of the one drop rule that only people of african decedent have historically faced in america. James davis is professor emeritus of sociology at illinois state. Ultimately, one drop ends up being an amazing example of how to investigate one s ancestry and grapple with the results. Psychology and sociology urban books, business books and. For instance, sociologists have explained repeatedly that recent illegal. Most americans seem unaware that this definition of blacks is extremely unusual in other countries. The history of the one drop rule is marked by two major interventions by the powerful in jurisprudential thinking. However, the question of black is more of a socioeconomic and political one. The persistent denial of nonafrican roots of african americans and the minority roots of whites is a legacy of such racist ideology. That this is true of both the white and black communities in the united states is no doubt puzzling for people from abroad, but acceptance of the one drop rule known also as hypodescent, the onedrop rule is the idea that anyone with any amount of african heritage is black, regardless of the amount of said heritage, or of other factors such as culture or appearance is widespread, making it.
He is the author of numerous books, including who is black. For readers unfamiliar with the one drop rule, this refers to how u. The onedrop rule as it was applied in the united states dictated that any person with any amount of african ancestry be considered as black regardless of their percentage of black blood. The legacy of the one drop rule is still with us even though it is no longer official policy. The eugenicist madison grant of new york wrote in his book, the passing of the great race 1916.
Forbids belief that one drop of black blood makes a person black. The socalled one drop rule, mandating that anyone with any black ancestry no matter how insignificant be viewed as black, did not become widespread until decades later. For later generations of white ethnics, something not constraining but easily expressed, with no risks of stigma and. The one drop rule is unique to the united states and does not appear in any other nation in the world. This practice reflects the traditional one drop rule in the united states that defines someone as black if she or he has at least one drop of black blood, and that was used in the antebellum south to keep the slave population as large as possible wright, 1993. James davis is a retired professor of sociology at illinois state university. Other people in the same or similar situation have not reacted favorably. The one drop rule measured the amount of black blood that black people had in society. For a vigorous critique of this book, see victoria hattam, the 1964 civil. Sociology 355 the meaning of difference part1 flashcards. James davis is professor emeritus of sociology at illinois state university. It followed restoration of white supremacy in the south and the passage of jim crow racial segregation laws.
Todays post ironically concentrates on a group in polk county, ohio who for generations have been white in appearance, but profoundly and proudly black. The onedrop rule developed out of antimiscegenation laws because any offspring of a mixedrace union would be categorized as black. Analogous to racism and sexism, a system of cultural, institutional, and individual discrimination against people with impairments. In the 20th century, it was also associated with the rise of eugenics and ideas of racial purity. Racial tensions and living in a colorblind society 227. This practice reflects the traditional one drop rule in the united states that defines someone as black if she or he has at least one drop of black blood, and that was used in the antebellum south to keep the slave population as large as possible staples, 2005 staples, b. It details the great lengths the main character went through, out of fear of facing discrimination, to avoid having his african heritage revealed. The meaning of race and ethnicity 2012 book archive. James davis this is a very wellwritten book that communicates complex ideas with clarity and interest. Instead of using the category mulattoes, the bureau adopted the one drop rule. Chapter 9 race sociology social science flashcards. In his interview with conley, jennan read describes the differences between arab, an ethnicity, and muslim, a religious categorization. Browse a large library of history books, urban books, great books for africanamericans and more. Now broyard is back in the news with the appearance of this family history and memoir by his daughter.
Historical origins of the onedrop racial rule in the united states. The one drop rule helps explain what about barack obama. The one drop rule was first enacted in tennessee in 1910 and virginia in 1924. Suffix meaning centered around, focused around, taking the perspective of. The encyclopedia of social problems offers an interdisciplinary perspective into many social issues that are a continuing concern in our lives, whether we confront them on a personal, local, regional, national, or global level. The one drop rule became pervasive and courts ruled on it as a principle of law, particularly in the confiscation of property, or in such codified exclusions as denying legal redress to persons of color. Questions about the future, sociology, and the plan of this book. Who is black one nations definition edition 1 by f. Frank was, at most, one fourth black, but to impose social, economic, and political restrictions on people like him, the law applied the one drop rule and said he was black. Books that are by african and native authors or of great interest to our community. The one drop rule, which evolved over the course of the nineteenth century, was not codified as a legal principle until 1910, although a focus on blood and genealogy by the end of the eighteenth century certainly established the basis for it. Featuring the perspectives of 60 contributors representing 25 different countries and countries of origin, and combining candid narratives with simple, yet striking, portraiture, this book provides living testimony to.
In that post we suggested a connection between this case and the one drop rule, an historical justification for racebased slavery in the u. The one drop rule is destructive to african americans. I found it interesting that the author embraced her one drop of african ancestry with little to no distress. Reginald daniel daniels book is a careful and convincingly argued exposition on race and race mixture in the usa and brazil. Ed more general treatments of the biology and sociology of race include. Harvard psychologists have found that the centuriesold onedrop rule assigning minority status to mixedrace individuals appears to live on. Which physical characteristic is considered an important biological adaptation. On average, a person could be, say, 43 percent black and still be visually perceived as white. With more than 600 entries, these two volumes cover all of the major theories, approaches, and contemporary issues in. This is the first comprehensive study of the socalled one drop rule that defines as black any person having at least one black ancestor. The book is part of her larger, multiplatform project called 1ne drop a reference to the onedrop rule from the early 1900s that held that anyone with 2 of african black blood was black.
In this post we elaborate on the history of this rule, how it underscores the social construction of race, and how this rule provides an historical basis for intertwining racial and sexual inequality. Aida hurtado, american journal of sociology davis has given us a brilliant and informative history of the fateful policy commonly called the rule of hypodescent the one drop rule and the impact it has had psychologically, socially, economically, and politically on africanamerican history. Encyclopedia of social problems sage publications inc. Phsychology and sociology urban books, business books.
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