Who is Black? One Nation's Definition and 200 Years of U.S. Census Taking

The Evolution of Identity
The Washington Post

Retell

In Reading Three, The Washington Post shows the United States Census records from 1860-2000, regarding the different racial and ethnic classifications.  Looking at the black population specifically, changes in the name describing this group go through many changes.  Black, Mulatto, Negro and African American are used at different times in these 140 years.  The different names are a result of many things, mostly politics. The Census counted what our society wanted counted.
 
Who Is Black?  One Nation's Definition
F. James Davis

"Now you must understand that this is just a name we have.  I am not black and you are not black either, if you go by the evidence of your eyes….  Anyway, black people are all colors.  White people don't look all the same way, but there are more different kinds of us that there are of them.  Then too, there is a certain stage [at] which you cannot tell who is white and who is black.  Many of the people I see who are thought of as black could just as well be white in their appearance.  Many of the white people I see are black as far as I can tell by the way they look.  Now, that's it for looks. Looks don't mean much.  The things that makes us different is how we think.  What we believe is important, the ways we look at life." (Rosenblum and Travis, 2012, p.56) 

This is the way F. James Davis begins his piece entitled Who Is Black? One Nation's Definition.  It is part of a recorded interview with a ninety year old blind and black anthropologist.  It is, in my opinion, a very appropriate introduction.

This piece examines how a person is determined to be black.  As, the man in the interview states, looks have very little to do with whether or not someone is considered black.  Very "white" looking people are, in some instances, black.  Why?

F. James Davis says it starts with the One-Drop Rule.  This rule started in the South.  It said that any person having even a drop of black blood, was black. It was sometimes called the one black ancestor rule.  This rule was accepted by whites and blacks alike.  An interesting fact Davis bring up is that "individual race designations are purely social and cultural perceptions…" (Rosenblum and Travis, 2012, p.61)   

Interestingly, the one-drop rule does not apply to any other group in American or the world, for that matter.  "It should now be apparent that the definition of a black person as one with any trace at all of black African ancestry is inextricably woven into the history of the United States.  It incorporates beliefs once used to justify slavery and later used to buttress the cast like Jim Crow system of segregation."

Recall/React

This reminds me of the 1984 Miss American Pageant mentioned in reading number two.  I remember that specific pageant.  Growing up in a house of girls with a young mother, pageants were exciting events.  I remember hoping that Vanessa Williams would win.  I also remember arguing with my father about her chances.  He didn't believe she had a chance. Me, being 16, felt she should.  One because my father said she wouldn't, and two because of the unfairness of it.  Why shouldn't she?  She was the prettiest and isn't that what pageant are about?  I also remember people being truly outraged when she did win. I couldn't understand why. Didn't my friends and I lay out in the sun for hours so we could look just like her?  Didn't we get complemented on our beautiful brown tans?  It didn't make any sense to me. It really still does not.  I also remember how thrilled people were when the nude photos of her came out. They had won.  It still makes me sad.

Rethink

I have learned that it isn't the color of a person's skin that makes them black or white for that matter.  It is what people think and accept as truth.  I have learned that the whole idea of black and white was decided on by groups of people and then taught to be truth. This truth is still being taught today.  Not only in words we use to describe people, but how we treat different people, how we interact and react to them. I have made a conscious decision to live my life trying to treat all people, regardless of their skin color, with respect.  I will judge people by their actions instead of outward appearances.  I will try to be aware of what I have been taught and change my thinking.  Hopefully, this change will be modeled in such a way that my children and my students will not just accept what society says is true, but to think deeply about what is actually true.