If My Ancestor Was White, Am I Still Black? The Nonsense We Believe

The one-drop rule plus self-hatred equals a much-needed discussion

Image by EJBS from Pixabay

The one-drop rule was officially codified in 1910. It was a legal classification of race that said if “any one person has an African ancestor, they are considered Black.” Obviously, with a rule like that, white passing, and even those who were not white passing(Black), were considered Black. That means if you shake your family tree hard enough and a pale person comes tumbling down — congratulations! You’re white!

Now, pull up a seat and let’s get uncomfortable together.

Does any of that make sense to you?

If it does, then once again, congrats. You’ve been fully indoctrinated to racial beliefs that have no basis in reality. Don’t feel bad. We all bought into this at some point in our lives. It takes a Herculean effort to dislodge it from our psyche.

Race is a construct. It is not even an ancient idea. Typically, in ancient times, when the term “race” was used, it denoted a being. For instance,

“Occasional literature of Shakespeare’s time referred to a “race of saints” or “a race of bishops.” By the 18th century, race was widely used for sorting and ranking the peoples in the English colonies —…