Is It Time to Do Away With The ‘One-Drop’ Rule?

Posted in Anthropology, Articles, History, Media Archive, Social Science, United States on 2013-10-26 20:34Z by Steven

Is It Time to Do Away With The ‘One-Drop’ Rule?

Clutch
2013-07-10

Britni Danielle
Los Angeles

Conversations about race in America can lead to never-ending discussions, hurt feelings, and sometimes even breakthroughs. Blame it on our complicated past of slavery, racism, and legalized prejudice, but even approaching a frank discussion about race in this country can seem nearly impossible.

And yet we keep trying.

Recently, I spotted an article over on The Root which stated that Johnny Depp is a direct descendant of Elizabeth Key, a former slave who worked to secure her freedom in 1656…

…While I doubt anyone will rush to claim Depp as black (at least I hope not), how blackness gets defined in America continues to be rooted in antiquated notions of the one-drop rule

…When pondering whether or not we should do away with the one-drop rule, it’s important to remember it was not created by those of African ancestry looking forge a shared kinship or by local/federal governments hoping to properly categorize the populace for the purpose of collecting census data (the terms “Indian,” “mulatto,” and “negro” were well established), but rather the one-drop rule was created to keep the white race “pure.” In short, it was merely another tool aimed at protecting white supremacy in America…

Read the entire article here.

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