Layla Quinones
SSA101.1807
Prof. Straughn-Williams
October 20, 2008
Race- Questions 4-7
Articles: “Who is Black” by F. James Davis and “Race-Making in the Mississippi of the
North” by Thomas Biolsi
4- What is the One Drop Rule and how has it structured American Society?
The One Drop Rule is an unreasonable way that the United States uses to classify
who is of African American decent. Due to miscegenation of blacks and other races
creating racial hybrid children, the government needed a way to be able to classify people
who were of black decent and others who were not for social and economic
discriminatory purposes. The One Drop Rule declared that people who had any trace of
African blood, no matter the color of their skin, were classified as black and
discriminated against. This structured American society and its way of thinking because
African Americans were stereotyped in a negative way and did not receive the same
treatment in society as white people were. This rule was a way to identify who was of the
under class and who was not in order to give “white privileges” to those who were not
black. It prevented the blacks from doing things that were seen as unfit for African
Americans to do such as owning land, getting an equal opportunities and the same type of
education as provided for the white people. This structured American society in the sense
that those classified as white had a greater chance to become successful over those who
were classified as black. Despite the “equality” given to American citizens in modern
times, the One Drop rule is still a form of identifying black descendants who are not
given the same privileges as those without any black ancestors.
5- Compare the Racial Hybrid Status Lower than Both Parents to the Status Higher than
Either Parent Group. What conclusions can you make about as a result of your
comparison?
The Racial Hybrid Status that is lower than both parent groups is basically the
opposite of the Racial Hybrid Status that is higher than either parent group. The Racially
Hybrid Status that is lower than both parent groups is when a person is born through
miscegenation and is classified as separate and inferior to that of either of their parents’
races. Complementary to this status, is the racially hybrid status that is classified as
separate and superior to that of their parents’ races. When I compare the two statuses and
the examples given in the article “Who Is Black?” by F. James Davis, I can tell that there
must be a significant event or change that effects the social structure of a society in order
for there to be a change in social status for racially hybrid people. For instance, the major
changes described in both status’ cases are that of a war, rebellion or revolution. This can
affect the social structure of a society therefore, changing the position of certain races in a
social hierarchy.
6- How have blacks and Native Americans been racialized in the United States?
Native Americans and blacks have been racialized in a very negative way in the
United States. Native Americans have been racialized in a quantitive sense given that if
they have more white ancestry than they have Native American, they are classified as
white. This is in deep contrast to the black population whom are identified as black by the
One Drop Rule that states that if people have any black ancestry, they are considered
black. This can be explained by the United States’ need for land and laborers. Although
the Native Americans are given certain benefits, such as not paying taxes and exceptions
to many U.S. laws, they are separated from the overall population of the United States.
They were not given the right to vote, nor recognized as U.S. citizens, and they were
restricted to living on their designated reservations. Due to the government’s growing
need for fertile land, Native Americans with more white ancestry than black, are
identified as white therefore making them ineligible for the benefits that were previously
given to those classified as Native Americans. As a result, the “white” Native Americans
are being forced to leave their reservations and become U.S. citizens in oreder to pay
taxes for the government. This leaves their designated reservations free for the
government’s use. On the other hand, the government identifies blacks by the One Drop
Rule. This rule was created so that the government could have a clear population for
labor workers. This prevented black people, even those who did not look black at all, to
own land or move upward in social status. This made it easier for the government to
discriminate against blacks and harder for the black people to obtain educations, own
land, and move upward in the social class ladder.
7- What role has the government played in creating and perpetuating the racial structure
in the US?
The United States government is absolutely responsible for creating the racial
structure in the U.S. From the beginning of settlement in the U.S., race has been a major
factor in determining the social status of an individual. The government has created
policies such as the One Drop Rule that identifies black people over white people. This
rule has prevented many people from moving from the lower class to the upper class and
has made it harder for those who are not white to obtain an education and own land in the
US. In this way the government has set a “standard” for the upper class over the lower
class or; the whites over non-whites. In the U.S., it is harder to succeed as a non-white
person than it is to succeed as a white person due to the prejudice ideas of those in the
upper-class, conveniently made up of a mostly white population. The government has set
almost invisible “boundaries” for non-whites so that they can control the power of the
government and restrict power to mostly white people. This gives way to the social
ladder of our country that is made up of whites at the top, blacks at the bottom, and
racially mixed as well as non-black and non-white people in the middle. Ultimately, the
social structure in the US was created and is kept alive by the government and their
mostly white representatives.