[Rellshare]

If a white guy has a drop of black blood and it shows a little... why is he considered only black?

But why is a black guy, who is half white, considered only black?

Does this have to do with whites being seen as pure white? And other races don't have to be pure?

If you find a non-white ancestor, say, 2,000 years ago, you aren't white? Why? Why doesn't the same apply to other races?

[cauddyVab]

Because it was created by whites to maintain their purity, blacks or any minorities aren't interested in purity and as American society seems to be ruled by whites then only the white one drop rule applies

[Slintreeoost]

I never knew about this one drop rule til i came on here are saw someone mention it.This law is still in place or what or was it abolished ?it sounds a bit crazy to me.

[SoorgoBardy]

If a white guy has a drop of black blood and it shows a little... why is he considered only black?

But why is a black guy, who is half white, considered only black?

Does this have to do with whites being seen as pure white? And other races don't have to be pure?

If you find a non-white ancestor, say, 2,000 years ago, you aren't white? Why? Why doesn't the same apply to other races?

For the most part, it's only in reference to black ancestry. Anyone with recent Native American ancestry is allowed to claim themselves as an Amerindian and receive the rewards for that, but most of the time someone with an Amerindian great-grandparent or Mexican or whatever is still considered white.

Nowadays, white society is more tolerant of mixed people and considers them a gray area rather than the black-and-white way things had been previously. However, most mixed black offspring seem to identify with their black ancestry more than their other-ancestry, as has been the case with, say, Barack Obama, Tiger Woods, Jason Kidd, Alicia Keys, etc.

Who have a varying degree of phenotypes.

I have friends who had no idea Jason Kidd was mulatto until I told them. But when people called him a mixed or white basketball player, when he was younger, he got defensive and didn't like it much at all. He considers himself black.

[DrBrightonone]

IMO, it was originally for economic reasons. It was a way to have a more sizeable slave population. Slaves were very valuable. The more you could produce, and the more prosperous you were considered to be. After emancipation, to keep "blacks" and poor whites from aligning against the planter class, it later evolved into racial hierarchy and segregation that was legally mandated.

By the 50s, it was flipped around more positively when Afro-descended people from white looking to blue-black came together to form a political power base to get segregationist laws and policies off the books. This lasted through the early 70s, when black was beautiful. I grew up in this era.

However, now, with Afro-descended people of various nationalities, the cohesiveness that went along with being "black," which was empowering, has been diluted.

ODR it is not "the law" in the US at the present time. The US Census asks people to self-identify. I expect to see some changes in how people self-identify as there are more Afro-descended people who are from places like Latin America and the Caribbean, who are racially as well as culturally diverse, more US born who are bi- and multiracial, and those (like me) who always self-identified as black (although we were fully aware of mixture in our ancestral pool), because the other parts of us were never acknowledged. I became aware of my full admixture from recent DNA testing.

Personally, I will probably continue to self-identify as "black" until I can figure out a term that best describes what I am. I never did like the term "African American." It is too vague.

This should explain it from a historical perspective http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypodescent

[Stasher11]

If you find a non-white ancestor, say, 2,000 years ago, you aren't white? Why? Why doesn't the same apply to other races?

If a negro has a non black ancestor from 2000 years ago, he's no longer a negro.

It makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

[XarokLasa]

If a white guy has a drop of black blood and it shows a little... why is he considered only black?

But why is a black guy, who is half white, considered only black?

Does this have to do with whites being seen as pure white? And other races don't have to be pure?

If you find a non-white ancestor, say, 2,000 years ago, you aren't white? Why? Why doesn't the same apply to other races?

Exclusion.

In order for a group to be unique they have to exclude people; set a limit to the outside world of who belongs to it and who doesn't. Otherwise there's nothing special about it. This is particularly important if that group is desirable to be a part of.

The current rule of one drop will persist until the socio-economic conditions change. If being 'white' is no longer associated with being rich and privialged, then people will stop asking to be a part of it.

my 2c on it

[Grorointeri]

I never knew about this one drop rule til i came on here are saw someone mention it.This law is still in place or what or was it abolished ?it sounds a bit crazy to me.

Ditto. Not even in the movies.

[TOD4wDTQ]

Exclusion.

In order for a group to be unique they have to exclude people; set a limit to the outside world of who belongs to it and who doesn't. Otherwise there's nothing special about it. This is particularly important if that group is desirable to be a part of.

The current rule of one drop will persist until the socio-economic conditions change. If being 'white' is no longer associated with being rich and privialged, then people will stop asking to be a part of it.

my 2c on it

In a nutshell, that explains it. However, there is no ODR rule that's law in the US at present. It's all about perceptions.

[HedgeYourBets]

I always though it was based on physical anthropological reasons since when a "white" and "black" person produce a child together, its usually the black traits that will dominate more since they tend to be dominant. So "racially" the person appears black more often then not. Same thing sometimes happens when East Asian person mixes with white.

But really what do you mean by one drop exactly?

If we're using black as a way to define someone racially/physically then its usually what the person's physical appearance suggests.

Case in point I know someone who is "white" and has a "drop" of native american blood in him but I would in no way consider him native based on his physical appearance.

[Liabmeasez]

I always though it was based on physical anthropological reasons since when a "white" and "black" person produce a child together, its usually the black traits that will dominate more since they tend to be dominant. So "racially" the person appears black more often then not. Same thing sometimes happens when East Asian person mixes with white.

But really what do you mean by one drop exactly?

If we're using black as a way to define someone racially/physically then its usually what the person's physical appearance suggests.

Case in point I know someone who is "white" and has a "drop" of native american blood in him but I would in no way consider him native based on his physical appearance.

The one-drop rule was based on genealogy. If you had one single black ancestor, you were considered a "Negro", even if you so looked like Dolph Lundgren.

[icedrakona]

In a nutshell, that explains it. However, there is no ODR rule that's law in the US at present. It's all about perceptions.

It's an identity rather than economic otherwise rich black folk would not identify as black, it works the other way if anything on the other hand Biracial can be vague given how much parentage can vary it loses meaning.
ODR makes for an inclusive community though I get guys hate where it came from.

[PoideAdelereX]

I was watching the new Real Time* with Bill Maher yesterday, and this subject came up.

(the clip may be removed very soon)


One guest suggests that with all these mixed babies, white people should get some credit for that - i.e. I guess he's basically suggesting that the rule of one drop is a bit too harshly applied (which is, let's face it, applied across the board for anything, be it white mixed with - hispanic, asians, black, etc)

But people just laugh at it, and the reaction is "lol, gtfo". So I guess the time isn't quite right for that yet (or ever).

(*episode 2012-05-18)

[Kghikeds]

The one-drop rule was based on genealogy. If you had one single black ancestor, you were considered a "Negro", even if you so looked like Dolph Lundgren.

So this was an actual rule then. Funny never heard of it before. just found it on wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-drop_rule

One never stops learning, not matter how hard they try.

[invasuant]

But really what do you mean by one drop exactly?

Read this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypodescent

[megasprut]

this might be of interest to people on this thread:

http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/br...quotas-0022211

[mtvlover571]

Nowadays, white society is more tolerant of mixed people and considers them a gray area rather than the black-and-white way things had been previously.

Alfieb. What would you say the rate of change is for this? I mean, are we talking 50 years (for a noticible change in people's attitudes to happen) or just a decade back and forth?

The reason I ask is because to me it seems like the definition of "white" in US standards is already extreamly wide. And with the US - being a country with such a massive cultural export - I think these values and perceptions may be spilling over on Europe. To me, white has always ment "germanic" or WASP, but even on these forums a lot of people will accept 'euro' as "white" even for south-europeans etc (no offense to you being cicilian, lol).

But how is the term "white" gradually morphing over there in the US, would you say?

[Ggskbpbz]

It seems there are two different definitions of 'white' in the US. The official government mandated one used for census reasons and the one actual white people use to identify themselves. I put no stock in the census one because as far as I am concerned the government doesn't get to say who is or isn't in my ethnic group. So in the census a lot of people are considered white that actual white people will never see as being white. They can try to alter the meaning of the word all they want but it is not going to affect the reality.

I am not a supporter of the ODR though. Who cares if someone had a non-white ancestor hundreds of years ago or whatever.

[imawlBoli]

ODR as it was defined is no longer in place, legally or socially. Guys who look like Dolph Lundgren, with living family who look the same, get identified as white, even if they had a black ancestor 4 generations ago.

The dividing line between white and black seems to be as much cultural as physical among mixed families, but the physical attributes continue to be an indicator, more than skin tone. West African facial features and afro hair will get a pale skinned blonde haired person labeled black.

I think this is also part of the reason why, as a practical matter, Asian and Native mixed people appear to wash out more quickly than African mixes. This is why a kid like me with slightly chinky eyes and straight blond hair is labeled as white, while a 1/4 African kid with the same skin tone, a slightly wide nose, and a blond afro is "black".

Although I still don't approve of how the US census categorizes people, and especially how law enforcement agencies do. Osama Bin Laden, George Zimmerman, etc. aren't white under anybody's definition, including their own, so why do I continue to see these mugshots of biracial and triracial people labeled white? To juke the crime stats, apparently.

[diplmixxxx]

Most Latin American countries are the opposite. If you have One drop of white blood, you're white, lol.