One-drop rule
The one-drop rule is a racial classification system that dictates that any person with even a single ancestor of Black ancestry is to be identified as Black, both legally and socially. Rooted in the southern United States before the Civil War, the rule evolved over time and became more rigidly enforced following the war, reflecting societal attitudes aimed at preserving a notion of "racial purity." Although initially, some mixed-race individuals who appeared White were accepted as such, these attitudes shifted, particularly after the 1896 Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, which solidified the one-drop rule as a standard legal definition of race. Despite the Supreme Court's 1967 ruling against laws prohibiting mixed-race marriages, the one-drop rule continued to influence social dynamics and racial identification for many years. Its implications extended beyond Black Americans, affecting Native Americans and other racial groups as well. The rule highlights complex social tensions regarding identity and belonging, illustrating how race is often defined in relation to power and societal norms. Overall, the one-drop rule remains a significant concept in understanding America's historical and ongoing discussions about race and ethnicity.
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One-drop rule
The one-drop rule is a definition of race that says that a person with any known amount of Black ancestry is to be legally and socially classified as Black. Although there is no “pure” race, some people believe otherwise and want to keep the dominant group racially “pure” and delegate all “impure” people to the subordinate or stigmatized group.
The one-drop rule originated in the southern United States before the Civil War (1861–1865) but had not been rigidly conceptualized, and a few Black-White mixed-race individuals (who physically appeared White) were accepted as White by the dominant White culture. White attitudes became more rigid during the Civil War, and the one-drop rule became strictly enforced and largely accepted throughout the United States. In 1896, the United States Supreme Court (in Plessy v. Ferguson) approved the one-drop rule as a legal definition by defining it as “common knowledge.” Although state laws against mixed-race marriages (miscegenation) were declared illegal by the Supreme Court in 1967, the one-drop rule still applied in some states well into the late twentieth century. Socially, some White individuals supported the rule to maintain “White racial purity,” and some Black individuals supported it to keep from losing members of their group to the dominant White group. The one-drop rule is not unique to Black Americans. Radical, racist laws and practices targeted Native Americans and other racial groups for decades.
Bibliography
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Bradt, Steve. "'One-Drop Rule' Persists." Harvard Gazette, 9 Dec. 2010, news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/12/one-drop-rule-persists. Accessed 10 Oct 2024.
Danielle, Britni. "Is It Time to Do Away with the 'One-Drop' Rule?" Clutch. Sutton New Media, 10 July 2013.
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