I recently found this photo online. If you know jazz, you probably know who they are, and I think it’s from when they toured together. But one thing I thought of: in the U.S., this is a picture of a white man and a black man. If you don’t know the individuals, would you be able to tell who was who ?
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Some people view race as two boxes. And some see race as a spectrum. You could take a person and in some areas the person would be considered white and in other areas the same person would be considered black.
@MayorOfCrushtown One thing that I discovered was different in the U.S. from traveling to other places. Here, the viewpoint has been boxes for much of our history. There was a time when Latinos, Mexicans, East Indians, people from the Middle East were all classified as "Caucasian". And the one-drop rule has meant black Americans can be virtually any color of the rainbow.
@bijouxbroussard one things holds true....... how a person views themselves is many times quite different to how they are viewed by everyone else. i have seen folks way lighter than me with blue or green eyes declare themselves black. there were probably biracial to some extent. white folks see them as white, black folks see them as white, pretty much everyone else saw them as white. i reckon you can declare yourself whatever you want....... doesnt mean the rest of the world will follow suit.
@MayorOfCrushtown I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the "one-drop rule" which has been a reality, especially in the South, for generations. Minimum 1/32 Black, you’re a black person—regardless of how you look. Many blacks who were light enough to, passed for white, left their families, moved North for better jobs, better treatment overall. And others chose not to "pass" but stayed among everyone else. Of course they have some European ancestry—most African Americans do, in varying amounts. And often it goes back generations, light-complected black people marrying each other, passing down light skin, blue or green eyes, in some cases blond or red hair. And legitimately African American. Vanessa L. Williams is a good example of that. Both of her parents are black.
I posted about this awhile back (upsetting a few people, of course). But it’s another weird fact about U.S. history. DNA testing has "outed" a lot of the descendants of black people who "passed" for white.
@bijouxbroussard oh yeah, definitely familiar with the one drop rule. Not sure who was responsible for that, but, have heard Walter Pleckers name mentioned a few times. I am pretty heavy into geneaology. and like most whites in the south, i have ancestors that probably could have passed or been classified either white or black. Odd that we are talking about this right now, cause I have been working this week in Lumberton. and if you are familiar with Lumbee indians, they are mixed with Native American, black and white to varying degrees. and with them, alot of how you are classified depends on your last name. if you have a Lumbee last name, you get classified as Lumbee. Tri racial groups like Melungeons, Redbones, Brass Ankles have always interested me, due to certain ancestory falling in that category. You originally from Louisiana right ?? If so, I am pretty certain you are more than familiar. You may be way more familiar with it than me. Some in my family, my grandad mainly lived it, I inherited more traits from the other side of my family which was more English/Scots.
@MayorOfCrushtown Yes, I’ve definitely heard of the Melungeons, Redbones and Brass Ankles. And my parents were originally from New Orleans (they moved to California, where I was born). The class system in Louisiana post-slavery was pretty complicated, compared to most of the South, with Créoles de couleur and Noirs libres. But some folks were "passe-blanc" there, too. This was my grandmother, Jewel "Bijou" Broussard. She was black, of two (Creole) black parents, one free, one born into slavery. Because she had light skin she was able to go places, shop for food, etc. in town where some of her darker siblings weren’t allowed.
Reads out about 1 percent. It varies depending on site. African varies between ten percent and one percent and my guess somewhere in the middle. His last name is Goss and that has some Jewish roots. My dads mom has some native roots and some melungeon roots. @bijouxbroussard
