After twelve hours of labor and an emergency C-Section, Wayne and I welcomed a beautiful baby boy. Looking at his perfect little face, hands and feet, we were in love. As we wrapped up our hospital stay, we signed paperwork to obtain his birth certificate, gathered our baby goodies and took our little biracial bundle of joy home.
Tagged from Birth
Several weeks later, as I looked through my hospital documents, you could imagine my surprise to see that my child, born of a white father and a black mother, was identified as ‘Black’ by the State of Louisiana. I was flummoxed. At no point, during my stay at the hospital was his race ever discussed with me or my husband by any hospital staff member. Never had there been any determination from either me nor his dad as to how we wanted to identify his race. It. Just. Was. Regardless of his actual racial heritage, the government determined his race for us. He is considered black. Why did the state and federal government mandate decide to label children of interracial descent as one of minority race only? Because of the archaic one-drop rule, that’s why!
What exactly is the One-Drop rule?
From the mid 1600s to the late twentieth century, certain states determined that laws were needed to monitor and maintain the segregation of racial bloodlines. Thus, laws such as Louisiana Act 46 of 1970, were created. A pertinent piece of the legislation stated:
“In signifying race, a person having one-thirty second or less of Negro blood shall not be deemed, described or designated by any public official in the state of Louisiana as `colored,’ a `mulatto,’ a `black,’ a `negro,’ a `griffe,’ an `Afro-American,’ a `quardroon,’ a `mestizo,’ a `colored person’ or a `person of color.'”
Such laws attempted to quell any interest between people of multiple races; the consequences for violating anti-miscegenation mandates ranged from the illegitimation of the couple’s children to felony charges and a prison sentence. It wasn’t until 1967, when the Lovings, an interracial couple, were jailed for a year for violation of the law, that the Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional and forced 16 states, including Louisiana, to repeal their laws regarding interracial marriage and procreation. Still, laws such as the aforementioned Act 46, were created to ensure that racial lines remained intact.
Throughout American history, state and federal governments used such mandates to clutter the path to racial equality. This law and others like it segmented peoples into minority groups and allowed the ‘superior race’ to maintain priority in the power and social hierarchy. Even when certain laws were abolished, the mentality persists, slowing down our quest for justice. Years later, we are still experiencing just how pervasive systemic racism can be.
Race and the American Educational System
Fast forward to 2018, it is time for Edison’s introduction to ‘big boy school’ and he is so excited! Wayne and I attend Registration Rush and, as we are filling out his paperwork, the question came up regarding his race. I didn’t answer it. Upon turning it in, the teacher gathering the information, said, “Oh, you didn’t fill out the race part. Don’t worry, I’ll do it for you.” I watched as she wrote “AA” (for African American) on the form. I informed her that he was biracial and I wanted both races on his cumulative school record. She seemed thoroughly taken aback. It was as if no parent had made this request before. She allowed me to amend the document but said, “I’ll consider him to be whatever race you want…but the school district may not.” Mind blown! From birth to his initiation into the educational system, his identity was being decided for him. It further highlighted that, although the one-drop laws are technically off the books, the systemic roots of racism run really deep.
In light of the current cultural and political landscape, we have to ask ourselves, why are we still subscribing to this construct? Why are we still allowing these archaic laws to dictate who we are? This construct diminishes the rich heritages represented in the American populous to white, American Indian, Asian and black. Instead of providing space for an individual to self-identify without pressure and create connection through culture, multiracial members of society feel the pressure from the government to make a choice.
Subscribing to the Construct
Here’s the reality of the continuation of adhering to the one-drop rule: it causes a slow eradication of whiteness from the American culture. As race laws always punished those who dared to love, live and procreate interracially, the premise of the mandate is that the white bloodline is so pure that the minority bloodline contaminates and overwhelms its presence. For National Geographic’s 125th anniversary issue, they explored the powerful impact of interracial/multiracial families on the social construct of race. And the projection is that, by 2050, the majority will become the minority. If that is the case, why should any credence be given this social construct at all? Why are we still allowing laws to tell us who we are?
So, where are Wayne and I today, regarding this rule? We denounce it. It is the perpetuation of racism that works to maintain rigid lines between races when the reality is, the color spectrum is just that, a SPECTRUM. People are becoming more and more interested in their cultural history and it is revealing A LOT. They are learning that they aren’t simply ‘white’ but Irish/Arabic/French/Sub-Saharan African. Instead of simply being ‘black’, people are discovering they are actually Guyanese/Scottish/Italian/American Indian. We have determined to embrace our cultures and teach our sons to explore and own ALL of themselves, not just the parts that make American society comfortable. Providing them with full cultural context gives them the opportunity to invest in themselves uniquely. They have the power to identify who they are instead of relying on the chronically toxic American system to do it for them. Why live in narrow race boxes when we can be living in wide-open cultural spaces?