http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_drop_rule
The one-drop rule is a historical colloquial term in the United States that holds that a person with any trace of African ancestry is considered black unless having an alternative non-white ancestry which he or she can claim, such as Native American, Asian, Arab, or Australian aboriginal.[1] It developed most strongly out of the binary culture of long years of institutionalized slavery.
This notion of invisible/intangible membership in a "racial" group has seldom been applied to people of Native American ancestry (see Race in the United States for details). The concept has been chiefly applied to those of black African ancestry. As Langston Hughes wrote, "You see, unfortunately, I am not black. There are lots of different kinds of blood in our family. But here in the United States, the word 'Negro' is used to mean anyone who has any Negro blood at all in his veins. In Africa, the word is more pure. It means all Negro, therefore black. I am brown."[2]
During the Black Pride era of the Civil Rights Movement, the stigma associated with sub-Saharan ancestry was turned to a socio-political advantage.[3].............................
Some consequences of the one-drop rule
Mainly because of the one-drop rule, there are many pale-skinned people who are considered black. In many of these instances, the person can actually have more white ancestry than black. There are examples of how this could happen through the generations. During slavery, there could have been a mulatto person, who because of the one-drop rule, was considered black. If they then had a child with a white person, the child would have been one-quarter black, but still considered black. There are numerous people through American history who had more Caucasian than sub-Saharan (Black) heritage, but were generally, or often, considered black. Examples would include Sally Hemings and G.K. Butterfield.
However, such people today are the exception, not the rule. The average person who self-identifies as black in America has at least 53% of their ancestors from sub-Saharan Africa. Only 10% of Americans who self-identify as black are less than 50% sub-Saharan in ancestry.......................................... ..........
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Originally Posted by richw131
LOL? hehehe
