Legal definitions of blackness and whiteness
The legal definitions of "Blackness" and "Whiteness" in the United States illustrate the complex and socially constructed nature of racial categories. Throughout U.S. history, individual states have established varying definitions of these terms, reflecting the shifting racial attitudes of the time. While there is no single federal legal definition, the U.S. Census has adapted its racial categories multiple times, influenced by societal norms and practices. Initially, categories included distinctions like "free Black" and "mulatto," but the "one-drop rule" solidified a more restrictive definition, classifying anyone with any African ancestry as Black by the 1920 census.
The methods for collecting racial data have evolved, transitioning from enumerator assessments to self-identification, with significant changes occurring in response to the multiracial movement. Today, the U.S. Census describes White Americans as those originating from Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa, while Black Americans are defined as originating from the Black racial groups of Africa. As societal perceptions of race continue to evolve, the legal definitions of "Blackness" and "Whiteness" remain fluid and subject to ongoing debate, reflecting the complexities of identity in contemporary America.
Legal definitions of blackness and whiteness
The inconsistencies in racial categories throughout US history reveal the inherent social construction of race. The federal government has never legally defined “Whiteness” and “Blackness,” but individual states have done so in myriad ways that have fluctuated with changes in racial attitudes.
The United States Census illustrates the fluidity of racial definitions on a national level. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which constructs the racial options on the census, continues to alter the number and description of these categories. These determinations are influenced by common usage in the population. For example, in 1790, the first US Census divided the population into free White males, free White females, enslaved individuals, and other persons, including free Black Americans and Native Americans residing in or near White settlements.
Throughout most of the nineteenth century, the US census broke African Americans into Black and Mulattomixed-raceracial categories. The 1890 census created the categories of quadroon and octoroonone-quarter and one-eighth Black, respectivelyto distinguish between various Black-White biracial persons. Toward the beginning of the twentieth century, as the “one-drop rule”“one drop” of Black blood made the person Blackbecame entrenched in US society, the census no longer included any mixed-race categories. After 1920, the census classified persons with any African ancestry as Black.
Through 1950, census enumerators determined the racial classification of the individuals they recorded. In 1960, the bureau collected data through a combination of observation, direct interviews, and self-classification. Since the 1970 census, the primary means of collecting data has been through self-administered surveys. Debate over methods of data collection escalated toward the end of the 1990s, with some advocating statistical sampling as a means of obtaining a more accurate count of US residents. Census data collection in the twenty-first century is largely conducted online.
Although the majority of Americans with African heritage also have Native American or White ancestors, there was no significant change in the percentage of Americans racially classified as Black when the census became self-administered. This indicates the internalization of the “one-drop rule” among Americans with African ancestry and may also be attributed to the lack of a multiracial option and census instructions to choose only one racial category. In 1998, the OMB, in response to the requests of the growing multiracial movement, decided to include instructions to “check all that apply” among the racial category options on the 2000 census. This system was used again in later censuses.
No national legal definitions of “White” and “Black” exist in the United States. The race of Americans is determined by the legislation of individual states. The census describes White Americans as those “having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa” and Black or African Americans as those persons “having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.” It is unclear how much longer these categories will exist. The categorization of persons by race and the very concept of race are increasingly challenged throughout all levels of American society. Like racial categories on the census, states’ legal definitions of “Whiteness” and “Blackness” continue to evolve.
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