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Joined: 26 Nov 2004 {Posts: 5213 } Location: Palm Coast, FL
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Posted: Sun 28 Nov 2004 01:52 Post subject: Welcome to History of the One-Drop Rule |
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History of the One-Drop Rule
This forum traces the origin and unfolding of the notion of invisible Blackness by discussing travelers’ accounts, diaries, fiction literature, advertisements for runaway slaves, and a database of 300 court cases held from 1770 to 1990 to resolve on which side of the color line you belonged. The concept, a “White-looking Black person,” arose in the 1830s North after the Nat Turner incident. This idea of invisible Blackness or “one-drop rule” then spread slowly through the South, reaching Louisiana shortly after 1900. The one-drop rule then triumphed and became nationwide consensus in a series of court decisions that ostracized many White families to the Black side of the color line, apparently as punishment either for associating with or for defending Blacks during the Jim Crow wave of terror.
In order to familiarize yourself with the issues discussed in this section, you may wish to read the Frequently Asked Questions.
You might also want to read the following essays: |
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