"Passing" in a time of DNA ?
As the 50th Anniversary of the 1963 Civil Rights March draws to a close, our white Media revisits its decades-old campaign, pushing "Martin - not - Malcolm". Like the black Rappers of today, they think they can "define" blackness.
I have hazy memories of those summers in the 1940's, in Misery, when our "white" cousins would mysteriously appear for short visits. We knew their names, but were never told where they appeared from. I later learned that they "passed" for white in neighboring states; Iowa, Illinois, and Kansas. Many of the dark-skinned men on our block had wives who were "whiter than Nancy Reagan". Negroes of that day believed that "lighter" skin "improved" the Race.
Fast forward to 2013 and it stands to reason that many, if not most "whites" today might not be able to "pass" the test of "one-drop"; cited by the Taney Supreme Court in Plessey. DNA must keep them up at night; especially "Batista" Cubans in Florida, who dearly desire to be accepted as "white". Even the Tsarnaev boys were "questionable" as to their "whiteness"; according to our "white" Media.
In my decades of moving and establishing residence in many parts of this country, and from my experiences in the military, I learned there are vast differences, in appearance, and in mind-set, among the people we view today as "blacks". It could explain why whites in the 1940's used the term "Colored" to describe us.
"Passing", incidentally, is considered to be "assimilation"; when the practice is applied to white immigrants. They are encouraged to change their names, deny the heritage, and deny their families. Immigrants of color face very different treatment.
We have historically included peoples of "questionable" racial heritage as "white" in many places throughout this country. Classified as "hybrids" or "American Mestizos", they include Creoles, Cajuns, Brass Ankles, Red Bones, Red Legs, Turks, Croatans, Guineas, Melungeons .. the list is long.
As the numbers for "whites" among our population continue to dwindle, the anxiety of Republicans, who have based their politics on "race", since the time of Nixon, becomes more shrill.
Stay Vigilant! Do you really know who you are?
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