The tragic mulatto was a stock character in white American fiction from 1842 till at least 1959. She – most often it was a she – was nearly all white but part of her was black. She would hide or deny her blackness through most of the story but in the end it would catch up with her and her life would end in tragedy.
The most famous tragic mulattoes were Peola in “Imitation of Life” (1934) and Dorothy Dandridge, both on film and off.
Whites do not seem to write about tragic mulattoes much any more, but it still comes up, as in “The Human Stain” (2003). The ideas behind it are still there. Barack Obama, for example, could wind up being read as one by whites: being part white he held such promise, but his blackness proved his undoing.
Even today some whites see biracial people (mulattoes) as having a divided soul: being neither truly black nor truly white, it is hard for them to be at peace with themselves and the world.
In most cases it does not work that way. Because of the One Drop Rule in America a white person who is part black is seen as all black. Blacks will accept him as one of their own but whites will not. To whites his blackness is a stain, a sign that he is not quite right inside. That is why Malcolm X, Barack Obama, Halle Berry, Alicia Keys and other Americans who are partly or even mostly white see themselves as black.
To think they could or would have divided loyalties you would have to be white or be someone who has never found himself at the wrong end of the white American world.
Yet in all the stories the mulatto is torn between the two worlds.
The moral of the tragic mulatto is the One Drop Rule. Trying to pass for white always ends in tragedy. You might fool the world for a while and even yourself, but in the end your one drop of blackness will come out and be your downfall. To be truly white you must be all white.
Tragic mulattoes hate their blackness and all things black. They want to be loved and accepted by whites. They want a white lover. They get one, but it never lasts.
The most famous tragic mulatto was the character Peola in “Imitation of Life” (1934), a film based on the book by Fannie Hurst. Peola became a byword among blacks until the 1970s.
Peola had a black mother but was light enough to pass for white. She was played by Fredi Washington, herself a light-skinned black woman who could have passed for white. Peola hated being black: she wanted to be white. But to do that she would have to turn her back on her own mother. She did. Her mother died of a broken heart. Peola came to the funeral and came to her senses – but it was too late.
See also:
Abagond 
Let’s not forget the 2003 film, The Human Stain.
LikeLike
Here’s the links to the movie Human Stain which is about a man who passed for white in the 50’s whose life is undone after being fired for saying something that’s racist. After his wife died, his life took a tumble. It’s only at the end that his kids found out that he’s Black.
http://www.amazon.com/Human-Stain-Anthony-Hopkins/dp/B0001XAPX8
Steve Sailer’s scathing article:
http://www.vdare.com/sailer/unrealism.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OneDropRule/message/1391
Stephanie B.
LikeLike
It is not often the case for bi-racial over here in the uk. most of them identify themselves as half white. because they are mostly born of white women who object to their children being called black. the one drop rule isn’t really applied because of the distance that the colonies were away from the land of the colonizers
LikeLike
Stephanie – thanks. I would love to see it (“The Human Stain”, that is). I put it in my post.
LikeLike
lifeisannoying – here in America some white parents of mixed children are pushing the idea of “biracial” as something different than plain old black. They found comfort in Tiger Woods coming out as a “Cablinasian”. But here the history they have to fight against runs much deeper.
Colin Powell: “In America, which I love from the depths of my heart and soul, when you look like me, you’re black.”
LikeLike
well i actually found tiger woods comments offensive. nothing wrong with saying “actually my mother is asian” but the way he said it sounded like he was shocked and outraged that he could be “mistaken” for a black man.
that is some serious peola mentality because yes you have your asian mother , but also you have your black a father.
LikeLike
I’m a biracial man in his thirties, and growing up in a predominant black neighborhood wasn’t always great. I got the same negative/positive treatment from black kids and white kids. If I was ever confused about what color I related to better, it was because I didn’t know who hated me more. I guess that is what makes me a “Tragic Mulatto”. We just want to be loved without a reason.
LikeLike
I’m a white mother of two bi-racial (grown) children. It really makes me angry that people are so bigoted and prejudiced about the color of someone’s skin. We ALL came from the same place and ultimately we will All go to the same place. If man hadn’t been so “intelligent” we wouldn’t have this problem. If folks would read their Bibles- they would know that we all came from the same place. Until some fool decided to build a tower that would reach Heaven, that would be the “Tower of Babel”, and as the story goes, God split the people making them different from one another and caused them to speak different languages and go different ways. What’s really amazing is the world hasn’t realized that this is a TEST of mankind and we’re failing it miserably. All the folks who think they need to separate themselves from others just because of the color of skin are going to have to answer for it come judgement day. They get a big fat “F” for failure to “Love others as you would love yourself”. I have taught both of my children to be proud of both of their heritages, and they’ve turned out to be wonderful people, but it’s other people who make their lives difficult. With their selfish and bigoted opinions that they pass down to following generations. Just because they are of mixed heritage their lives are made miserable by those who for some reason think they are superior and that is someting else those people will have to answer for when they stand before the Lord on Judgement Day. We ALL are born the same way, we ALL eat, sleep, live and love the same, and we ALL bleed red blood–so why have people made such an issue of the color of someone’s skin? And who gave them the authority to make that kind of judgement anyway? Like I said that is something that all of these sorry folks will have to answer for. It plainly says in the Bible “judge not lest YOU be judged”…So to all those prejudiced and bigoted people out there, if you read this I hope you feel absolute shame for your mindset, but with the world being the way it is I doubt you would feel anything at all. Me? I’m with the Lord, totally ashamed of the lot of you.
LikeLike
mmmmm, sad sue who are you damning, hopefully not the people on this page because i can not see anything offensive here. we are bigots? lady re-read what everyone has said, nobody is damning you, your parnter or your children, all i see is an frank honest adult conversation. we are discussing the history of people who are biracial and the cultral contexts that they have lived in. you need to calm down and stop looking for offense when there is none there.
LikeLike
sadsue: I agree, there is nothing in the Bible that supports any of this racism. One of the things the Bible taught me is that we are all the same inside, no matter what country or race or time we are from.
LikeLike
I agree that mulattoes hate their blackness and want to be accepted by whites. That is why it is not wise to have biracial children, because they will love one parent, and hate the other. I think we all know which parent that child will hate, no matter how good that parent is to them. I say this because I have seen it happen many times.
LikeLike
While there are tragic mulattoes, it is more an old white stereotype found in fiction than in fact. It says more about how whites think about blackness than anything else.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This may be how it is in the movies, but in the real world its sooooooooo not fair to anyone by saying that white americans reject mulattos and definitly by saying that they see being black as huborus. Myself biracial – although not mulatto – have NEVER found what your article claims is truth in spite of the fact that my mixed heritage is obvious. I’m appalled at how racist these movies are (perhaps yoursevles as well?) … against ANGLOS.
LikeLike
& in response to the wise sage abagond, I have never found in all my mulatto friends this to be true either.
LikeLike
I SO disagree with this. I am biracial, my mother is German and my father is black indian and spanish! People of all races have been mean to me, and nice to me! Blacks are JUST AS RACIST as whites when it comes to biracial people. Especially black women who are jealous because our hair is longer, our skin is lighter, and we don’t look like we just came in from picking fresh cotton! I would never associate myself with blacks or whites.
LikeLike
michele you would never associate yourself with blacks or whites? kind of harsh don’t you think? The only tragic issue i have found is in dating. I get the impression that i am not black enough in my upbringing for black men who probably have a mum that doesn’t remind them of me. I am also open to dating white men but they seem to assume i am something different or not worth dating because i am half black. It would be nice to find a man that just accepts me for who i am.
But i have always had friends of different races & suprisingly i have only ever experienced blatant racism from white people. never from black people. as for jealousy of looks. i have only ever experienced that from white women in the past who have judged me as stuck or perhaps a threat because i am attractive & not white. But black women have been more complimentary & accepting of the way i look. I grew up in a predominately white area with a black dad & white mum. but still looked up to black women such as en-vogue as examples of black role models & didn’t tragically want to be white & i’m proud of my brown skin colour.
LikeLike
Michele has issues. Lots of self-hate issues. You really embody the “tragic mulatto” stereotype that Abagond described above.
LikeLike
@Michele:
“I would never associate myself with blacks or whites.”
Then whom would you associate with since you mentioned you are part black and part white and something else?
LikeLike
The truth is that the only reason mulattoes are accepted by blacks is because, mulattoes are outcasts in the white world and could have been outcast in the black world but the only thing is that blacks are just too happy to be associated with mulattoes coz mulattoes are by far much better than blacks it is like heaven and earth when it comes to looks of course.The whites feel embarassed to identify with mulatoes because it is kind of like a shame deep down in the white man’s soul to have something to do with the negroid race.which has always been looked down upon.i think i got it bang on.
LikeLike
Many of you sound like racists, to be quite honest.
Louise…SadSue actually makes a very valid point. Many people do in fact have very hateful attitudes toward those of mixed race. I’ve actually experienced it myself.
Michele…I agree with you somewhat. Some black people can be very cruel toward light-skinned/biracial folks. I’ve been there. And I would be lying if I said that I feel completely comfortable around most black people. I don’t. However, it is better to judge people on an individual basis. Don’t allow your bad experiences to make you hate everyone of a certain race. Some black women who are secure within themselves WILL accept you as you are. It is only the ones with low self-esteem that will try to pull you down to their level. This is true of all people, no matter what race. I believe that you have been hurt by how people have treated you and this is your way of dealing with it. That makes perfect sense to me, because I’ve never really felt that I could trust anyone. There would always be some comment about my hair or the color of my skin and it was mostly unkind. So deep down, I was pissed at the racism and hate coming from other people. I was pissed at myself for not standing up to it. After all, I cannot help the color of my skin. Neither can you. But lashing out in pain and frustration will not solve the problem. I learned that a few years ago.
Mynameismyname…funny, I didn’t perceive it as “self-hate”. It seems that she has had very painful experiences with both blacks and whites that have colored (no pun intended) her views. It is natural to lash out when one has been hurt. Is it right? No. But it is natural and perfectly understandable if you’ve ever been in that situation. No one wants to associate with people who hurt them. This is a defense mechanism on her part. The way she deals with her feelings is by hurting Black women in return, especially because physical appearance is a sensitive issue in a society that views European features as the most beautiful.
Margaret Sallee…the only one with a problem here is YOU. How dare you say that it is not wise to have biracial children? Who do you think you are? All children are beautiful and special, including biracial children. I hope you don’t have children because you will pass your bigoted attitude down to them. It is pathetic that you have so much venom towards people of mixed heritage, especially innocent children. You need psychological help.
Adams…but black is beautiful too. Unfortunately, many people of African descent have difficulty seeing how beautiful they are.
LikeLike
I can’t seem to escape this subject.. and God knows I’ve tried. My older sister is bi-racial. I am not (our fathers are different and I’d appreciate any comments about loose black women are left unsaid)I love my sister, she is easily one the most beautiful women I’ve everseen. I could say the same for my best friend, who is not mixed,and other women who are not black or white. It hurts me when I keep hearing all these lie and stereotypes about how “pure blacks” are supposedly jealous and resentful of mixed people because we covet their features or because deep down we believe their whiteness is otherness or somehow better. There is ugliness and beauty in everything. Attractive and “right” is relative. Stop trying to attach such varying concepts to race. It only leads to hate. There is too much of it already. In the 17 yrs of my life I’ve seen enough. I beg you all and the rest of the world to stop.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Emari…I agree that people should simply love one another and treat one another with respect. But that would only happen in an ideal world.
There are gorgeous women of every race and color. It is neither a lie nor a stereotype that “some” darker-skinned individuals are resentful of lighter people, but this is because we live in a society that rarely acknowledges the beauty of black women with natural hair and dark brown skin. All of this IS connected with racism and the historical impact it has made on the world centuries later.
We are all affected by it in one way or another.
LikeLike
My Perspective : I know that the thought a world that excepts all is very far reaching and frankly naive, but hope springs eternal . So i’m going to dream a better dream until I can actually find a way I can do something to work towards it.
Much Love
LikeLike
oops I meant “accepts all”lol
LikeLike
I noticed when biracial people want to be white, that is when they have the most tragic experiences. Its like biracials don’t want to claim they are black. They don’t realize by trying to differentiate themselves from blacks they don’t allow themselves to be accepted by blacks, and they don’t realize they will never be considered white or accepted as being white by white people.
I have seen biracials who you would never know were biracial, unless you saw their white mom/dad. I naturally assumed they were a lightskin black. They were easily accepted by blacks.
Not saying biracials have to claim black.
LikeLike
… so , ‘folks’ … where , do ‘we’ , as a ‘society’ , go-from-here ??
I honestly did not read all of the posts here , although I have read most of them , and I have noticed that there ‘appears’ to be a segment of the ‘posters’ who are under-the-sway , of our ‘world-wide’ ‘religious – indoctrination’ …
” to divide and conquer ” , is an ancient tactic … this has been used historically , to help accomplish the aims of an imperialistic governance , but more intimately , this is done to the human spirit, when we are inculcated from child-birth to believe that we must , ‘ultimately’ , rely on some-one , or , some-‘thing’ , other than , what we create and foment our-selves …
Please , ‘hear my meaning’ … It has been said that , ‘no man(or woman) , is an island’ , and , this is true , I think , although , we , as individuals , ARE , the authors OF OUR REALITIES , and the articulation of this universal truth , and how this will then be related and integrated into a social net-work of individuals , globally , IS THE NEXT PHASE OF OUR EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS . THIS HAS BEGUN .
LikeLike
Tiger Woods: the Y2K9 Tragic Mulatto…
LikeLike
@ My Perspective
I agree with everything that you said, save this comment:
“Margaret Sallee…the only one with a problem here is YOU. How dare you say that it is not wise to have biracial children? Who do you think you are? All children are beautiful and special, including biracial children. I hope you don’t have children because you will pass your bigoted attitude down to them. It is pathetic that you have so much venom towards people of mixed heritage, especially innocent children. You need psychological help. ”
I think this person was just trying to show how hard it is for mixed-race people to belong, and that if they had to do it again, thay may not have chosen that route, so that their children wouldn’t suffer. She doesn’t seem to hate the colour, but the pain that comes with it. However, I think she could have taken precautions to prevent or alleviate any struggles that would occur.
LikeLike
“I think this person was just trying to show how hard it is for mixed-race people to belong, and that if they had to do it again, thay may not have chosen that route, so that their children wouldn’t suffer. She doesn’t seem to hate the colour, but the pain that comes with it. However, I think she could have taken precautions to prevent or alleviate any struggles that would occur.”
Actually Sailee’s statement is a reflection of biracial people’s problems, not an accurate analysis of it. There is an intense dislike for mixed race people by many minorities like her because there is a perception that mixed folks are able to obtain a higher, whiter social status. This resentment is one factor that prevents comfortable integration by multiracials into minority ethnic communities.
As for belonging, it can pose difficulties. However, there definitely seems to be a loosening of Euro-American racial boundaries, so many biracials can find acceptance among whites who would not have found it elsewhere, though not without some difficulties. From what I’ve seen, many whites these days have positive views of multiracial people.
LikeLike
The intense interest that this blog has in differences in color and facial features and how these are related to status exists to some extent throughout the entire population. Thus, monoracial people are in many cases highly conscious of the distinctiveness of mixed race people, even when the latter don’t want them to be. This can have both good and bad consequences for those who are racially mixed.
LikeLike
Michele
Blacks are JUST AS RACIST as whites when it comes to biracial people.Especially black women who are jealous because our hair is longer, our skin is lighter, and we don’t look like we just came in from picking fresh cotton! I would never associate myself with blacks or whites.
Maybe it’s your attitude blacks don’t like. Black women do not have a monopoly on jealousy. Any insecure woman of any race can be jealous. There are black women that come from two black parents who have light skin and long hair, do you think their jealous of you too?
It’s funny that you feel black women as a whole are jealous of you strictly because of your light skin and hair. Why not because you were attractive, smart, or slender? Being darkskinned has never saved me from jealous women.
The picking cotton comment was a insult to yourself because those were your ancestors too who picked cotton. And you probaly don’t look better than the women who had to pick cotton anyway. That comment alone showed your self hate which is indeed tragic.
I hope in the future you can learn to love yourself.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ain’t nothing tragic about this mulatto, except maybe the shit I had to go through before I could feel comfortable with myself. And even then, it’s generally up to me how I respond to the world, there’s going to be people who have problems with so-called “race mixing”, even though humans have been in homo sapiens form for over a hundred thousand years and have been doing it the whole time.
I am not looking for acceptance the way I did when I was younger and felt unloved. I’m just looking for a voice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m a white woman who grew up in a neighborhood where whites were the minority. If you were white or Asian, you were generally considered to be a nerd and were made fun of constantly. In order to be “cool” you had to be black or Latina. My best friends in elementary were a biracial girl, an Indian boy, and an African girl who had just come from Kenya. I can’t speak for all white folk, but I do not reject people because of their race. Instead, I find people of all colors to be both beautiful and intriguing. Maybe fascination is a type of racism on its own, but I have always wanted mulatto kids. I think they have a higher likelihood to be attractive than monorace individuals. I don’t know where you guys grew up, but in my neighborhood mulattos were usually quite popular. I don’t understand racism from either perspective, but I can tell you that I have been the victim of racism many times in my life, and I still don’t hate the various races who have mistreated me. I am able to recognize that each individual is responsible for his or her own actions, and that the behavior of one individual should never be reflected onto that individual’s race, neighborhood, country, or religion as if it were representative. (Also, to you beautiful mulattoes who think white guys don’t ask you out because they are racist, I think you may want to consider that they might be worried that you are out of their league, either because you are too cool or because you are too hot. Most of the white guys I know have a fetish for both mulattoes and Asian girls.)
LikeLike
We don’t look like we came in from looking like we pick fresh cotton!
Well pardon me, Michelle, what exactly do “you” look like. Do you look like the offspring that came from massa when he raped the slave picking the cotton or do you look like the concubines/mistresses that whites procured at the quadroon ball? No you like the slaves that worked in the house, I suppose? I will give it to them though.Sure, they got more shade from the sun but they still got the hand-me-downs? I’m done and that was wrong! But you were too and you brought slavery up! I didn’t.
LikeLike
To the anonymous poster that wrote behind, with that said, I think you make some good points. Biracial people are beautiful and talented. They do not diserve the things that they go through. It would just be good that the ones that do-the ones that do- stop hating their black side and worshiping their white side!
LikeLike
Also, I want to say that “some” biracials should keep in mind that fullerblooded blacks have been hurt by them as well!In fact, it seems to have been my observation that “some” of the main biracial people complaining about racism by fuller blooded blacks have been guilty of being racist themselves toward fuller blooded blacks!Some of them have either displayed jealousy or looked down on fuller blooded blacks for their features as well-kinky hair, thick noses, and thick lips.I do concede that “sometimes” people are “jealous-very jealous in fact” of you because of your features; and many of you are not bad looking-you are pretty/handsome. But sometimes, some biracial people are too quick to assume that everybody is jealous of your looks/you.Or that everyone envies you. “Sometimes” that is just you projecting your own thoughts on darkskinned blacks! Some biracial been as racist of darker-skinned blacks as whites have been yourselves. None of this excuses biracials but colorism goes both ways and hurt is a two way street!
LikeLike
Being darkskinned has never saved me from jealous women.
Me neither LOL!! Colorism is a fact of life so we have all been hurt!! On top of this, somebody is going to have something dumb to say about you no matter who you are! All these folks don’t have to have a good reason either.It’s sad but that’s how it is right now!In fact sometimes, it could be you/you might be the person talking about someone else!
LikeLike
I seen both ends of this story. My nephews are biracial BM/WM. When we lived in an apartment complex prodominately black. This little 6 six year old black girl comes up to me and ask what race he is? I asked her what race she’s thought he was? She said he’s white I can tell. I said no he’s mixed but she kept insisting he’s white! She like” He’s white. No he’s white” like she refused to except his blackness as authetic. Now at this point I realize. I argue with a six year old who doesn’t know anything but I had to wonder what had she been taught about life thus far to make her have such a attitude.
On the flip size. I are next do neighbors at the time where this single aruba’white woman in her early 30’s with these biracial children. Two little boys and a girl about 14. She believed she was the finest thing walking and was always talking about how much prettier she was then the other darker girls and boys. I remember make fun her one day about liking this boy. (I know she didn’t like him I just wanted to see what she say._ She said she would date midnight.
LikeLike
I thought about this a lot and in my experience the biracials who seem to hate half of themselves the most are the one who don’t match with the parent of there gender. For instance the biracial girl with the white mothers. I see that most of all.
LikeLike
What is this? Biracial?? Racial? Quarterracial?
Half dark, semi dark, quarter dark, light dark, dark, dark light, dark brown, less dark brown, just brown brown, just brown, brown, lighter brown, brown light, brown ultra light, almost not brown, dark olive, just olive brown, just olive, olive and greek salad, what the h… ??
What is behind this intense need to categorize people into strange sets and then give them some meanings? I mean, we humans come in all shades and sizes.
Even though I personally don’t care about your color or mine, this is very interesting. What makes people categorize themselves by the color of their skin? Is is something that comes from the surrounding society or enviroment? Is it inherit in american culture to try to make order by defining people by the tone of their skin?
Really weird, but interesting.
LikeLike
“What is behind this intense need to categorize people into strange sets and then give them some meanings? I mean, we humans come in all shades and sizes.
Even though I personally don’t care about your color or mine, this is very interesting. What makes people categorize themselves by the color of their skin? Is is something that comes from the surrounding society or enviroment? Is it inherit in american culture to try to make order by defining people by the tone of their skin?”
Categorizing by color is not just an American thing of course. I personally think it has the same origins as the practice of dividing people by ethnicity or religion (which is more common in Europe and other parts of the Old World). Humans have a tribal mentality inherited from their ancestors and that makes it very easy for them to draw sharp distinctions among themselves based on these characteristics.
LikeLike
I agree that biracial people typically don’t have a “divided soul.” They usually do have clear ethnic preferences, but not always for the black side. There is a social division that runs through the biracials. Those who are visually interpreted as being black (like Halle Berry or Obama) tend to identify that way (but not always) because that’s how society treats them. However, those who are on the lighter end of the “mulatto” spectrum can and do assimilate into the white social sphere, even when their full ancestry is publicly known. Genetic studies of admixture within the white American population suggests that this has been occuring continuously throughout American history. Some laugh at the “quadroon” designation, but it is socially significant because this often represents the minimum level of whiteness necessary for being socially accepted as a white American. The “tragic mulatto” stereotype is indeed a farce, perpetuated (like “passing for white”) to stigmatize light mulattoes and discourage them from embracing their European roots.
LikeLike
LOL, fresh from picking cotton…Mean!
LikeLike
Adam. U really nd some talking 2. Black mothers of mulatta will never reject them, even in those days ,when it did them no gud, ds i cant tell 4 white women. 4get d whole jealousy frm blacks, if u’re biracial. Sometimes, biracial pple are so stuck up-if luk down on me i bet u i wil return d favour.
LikeLike
Ha! Now a woman will claim to be black just because her man is black… Swoopbangs and corn rows in a blonde head…
LikeLike
I’m so glad that society hasn’t made me feel inferior within myself. Not for lack of trying obviously. I love having the best of both worlds. I have one soul (my life source). I love my skin color. So do a lot of whites by the way. Society woud still like to have one color ppl held in higher regard than another. But the fact remains (liked or not), that the human race is the only race amongst mankind. Regardless of national origin.
LikeLike
Margarette Sallee… That’s a very stupid thing to say. And very unfounded. I love both of my parents. Always have and always will. Some people are so stupid
LikeLike
Do you people realize how long this has been going on in America ? There are whole clans of Afro-descended people claiming to be lost Native American tribes. Where I’m from(Upper NC and Southwest Va.) light skinned people are just a part of the fabric. No African Americans really care about people who have mulatto FEATURES because sometimes they just happen to have a less than mulatto parent who IS and IDENTIFIES with his/her African American culture. To be biased towards a person because they appear somewhat mixed would be to discriminate some of your own family members. I hail from a town notorious ly known for “high yellows” with “good hair”, even some of the very dark people can have straight hair. Stokes county, Rockingham, Wilkes county NC, and Henry, Patrick, Carroll, Pittsylvania, Surry Va are all intertwined with these families such as the Hairstons and Goins. Many claim to be Native American tribes, but DNA projects let the cat out of the bag. Cherokees went ballistic when they sought federal recognition and revealed to all the world that these were nothing but remnants of runaway slaves and White indentured servants. They established colonies to seperate themselves from the ordinary “Negroes” and migrated to places where no one knew their racial history. These people such as the Lumbee Indians and the Melungeon people of Tennessee were actually the product of mulattoes who kept whitening their bloodlines until they thought they got the n-word out ! I guess it really does catch up to them huh ? That old one drop.
LikeLike
How does that make since in the one drop rule?
LikeLike
My mother is biracial and my father is caucasian… I dont know where I stand and dont think I fit in anywhere. People say that you are what your father is, but the One Drop Rule condtradicts everything.. What do I do?
LikeLike
Mariah
My mother is biracial and my father is caucasian… I dont know where I stand and dont think I fit in anywhere. People say that you are what your father is, but the One Drop Rule condtradicts everything.. What do I do?
—————————————————————————————————-
Ask the critical question:
“Am I a white person?”
LikeLike
@ Mariah
You don’t have to chose one. You are who you are.
LikeLike
Actually Mariah, if we are going by science and biology (and not Western patriarchy)…a person’s lineage will always be traced back to her/his maternal side through what is called Mitochondrial DNA. In all essence, your knowledge base and a great deal of your genotype comes from Mommy.
Hope this helps a little 😉
LikeLike
King
@ Mariah
You don’t have to chose one. You are who you are
———————————————————————————–
Unfortunately, once that noose goes around your neck, you are whom ever they say you are.
If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice; the choice to have someone else decide for you.
Do you feel lucky?
LikeLike
@Mariah,
Thwack is basically wrong. You NEVER have to succumb to what they say you are. But, you should consider how you want to identify yourself (even if it is just for the moment — should your situation be different a minute later you can choose to redefine that). So, Thwack is *partially* correct. People will make decisions for you, but he is wrong that you are whomever they say you are.
Indeed, you decide that.
For reference, please review the Bill of Rights postulated by Maria P. P. Root about 20 years ago.
Click to access BillOfRights.pdf
LikeLike
abagond
Even today some whites see biracial people (mulattoes) as having a divided soul: being neither truly black nor truly white, it is hard for them to be at peace with themselves and the world.
———————————————————————————————————
First of all, since we get our language from the white supremacists, the very word “mulatto” refers is rooted in a sub standard inferior product; the mule.
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse is is often sterile.
MIScegenation is another example of how the white supremacists embed the racism in the language so that even when you speak perfect English, you still help support, expand and maintain white supremacy. The prefix MIS is used to assign negative status to an act or thing; MIStake, MISuse,MISbehave…
but I digress. I suspect mullatoes are tragic because they are often first and formost “trick babies”; i.e, born out of wedlock under some kind of prostitutional circumstances. They often are bastard children.
White people attempt to confused the phenomenon by making it more complex than it really is.
LikeLike
@ Thwack
The “trick baby” moniker was probably more appropriate when the vast majority of biracial babies were born to Black women. Due to BW economic situation back in the day, just plain ole’ rape, and the fact that even if a WM wanted to he couldn’t marry a BW or announce proudly to the world that she was his woman. Today most biracials are born to WW. Some of them are still “trick babies” but most of them are born out of relationships, however brief those relationships may be. Black men are proud to have WW as mates and sexual partners and I have met quite a few that are very proud to have biracial children.
The thing that makes biracials soul heavy is that when they are part Black WP and others insist that they are all Black. This shuts them out of a lot of society and they end up paying the socio-economic tax that comes with being “Black”. This is hard when they have been raised by WW in predominantly White neighborhoods seeing others not saddled with this “burden” ( the tax). They also hear and absorb close up and personal racist views of BP and don’ t feel they should have to be viewed in that light. They are,after all, half White.
LikeLiked by 2 people
@Jada,
I disagree! Seriously the term “trick baby” was appropriate? If many of the biracial children born to Black women in the past were via rape of white men then lets call it for what is…
sheer violence on the part of irresponible white men thus leaving the Black women and their offspring from such violence victims.
ok?
LikeLike
Jadapoo1
They are,after all, half White.
——————————————————————-.—————
Don’t be silly, either you are a white person or you are not.
Even Jews know that.
LikeLike
Edward of Woodstock is known as “The Black Prince” and yes he was a bad*ss. He had his own command at 16 and helped deliver the severe beatdown on the French at Crecy with his dad
Anyway, Im always suspicious when white people pretend not to know why certain historical figures took or were called “black”. For Edward I think it was a code word among the royalty that he was “mixed”; and it wasn’t a pejorative.
It was and still is well known among European royalty that if they keep marrying each other, they quickly get into the “shallow end of the gene pool” and start to have “problems.”
It was and still is well known that an occasional injection of “palace guard blood” could work wonders for the royal line. I suspect this is the real reason Edward of Woodstock was known as the Black Prince.
And possibly the reason Lady Di was killed in a “car crash”.
And don’t forget queen Sophia Charlotte.
LikeLike
@phoebeprunelle
Sorry, but I do know quite a few biracial children that were born from their mother tricking with White men and others. If you don’t want to acknowledge that there are all kinds of BW out there from CEO’s to prostitutes then you aren’t being honest. There all kinds of people in this world and BW are no less diverse. I think a lot of BW were raped, but not all of them. I could have separated the situations better, but I dashed off the reply pretty quick.
Where I grew up there were biracial people that were part of my life, older usually, and more often than not they were a product of tricking, not rape.
They grew up with my dad. It was well known that they were trick babies. I used to go to school with biracial children and they too were the products of tricking. I think because of the color line, the place ( a small southern town) and the socio economic situation (black people poor/oppressed /seen as less than) it was hard for BW and men of other races to come together under more positive circumstances.
I had a cousin who was a product of rape though. She was an unacknowledged member of a pretty prominent family in town. She was in her 50’s. But she was an outlier. The vast majority of Biracials I have known born to BW were trick babies. My experience cannot be extrapolated to everyone, but it is my experience all the same, and I mean no disrespect to to BW, but they are not all saints and they’re not all sinners, and they’re not always the victim.
LikeLike
Link please.
LikeLike
@Jada, “tricking” has nothing to do with this topic IMHO…nor is it about diverse/alternative lifestyles of BW. But then again, why can’t people (ALL people) just deal with the FACT that the vast majority of biracial children born to BW during enslavement, reconstruction, etc. were the product of white male rape/irresponsibility? It’s as if people want to give white men a pass.
The tragic mulatto moniker was just that in historical times. A biracial Black girl who was the product of her white father forcing her Black mother, thus leaving her in a vulnerable life situation to navigate on her one day…
But you said the magic words–Where I grew up. See, that isn’t universal, nor does it erase the numerous accounts [which are documented] of BW being the victims of interracial rape and bearing children who pay the price both socially and emotionally.
Somehow i still think this line of reasoning from anyone is to not deal with the Black women’s true histories under a white supremacists system.
LikeLike
Also,
Abagond mentioned that the tragic mulatto is a way that white people see Blackness, and for that i would like to challenge that.
I think the tragic mulatto is honestly a way some biracial people (particularly those of one Black parent and one white parent) see themselves. Notice i said some…
With that said i am not criticizing nor am i condeming any biracial person who struggles with identity–hell–the vast majority of Black/Black parent people struggle with racial identity. I am rather coming from a place of empathy rather than concern or policing.
I personally am friends with another young woman who is a self described “mulatto.” This is what she chooses to write on applications and other important documents. Her mother is Black and her father is white and she mainly identifies with white people. She has even admitted that she feels unjustified hatred towards monoracial Blacks from time to time. Why am i her friend? Well, deep down she acknowledges her Blackness and that the world interprets her outer appearance as that of a Black woman, but she is truly conflicted on these issues. She was not a “trick baby” [whatever the hell that means anyway] nor a rape baby–she was born in 1982…a time where white men were free to express their attraction to BW, but her parents eventually split.
Also, these conversations tend to bring out the favorable bias towards BM/ww relationships and their children. If i had to take a guess it would be because people interpret these unions as more “genuine” simply because they are happening at a time where Black men and white women have free will to express their interests in one another, however, a simple look in history will show that the first free families of color in America where in fact the product of Black men and ww relationships…and Black men did marry and have children freely with white women during American history [the lynching narrative limits Black people from acknowledging the true history about this]…
LikeLike
King
Link please.
————————————————————————————————-
You want the link to prove Edward of Woodstock was “mixed” or the one that demonstrates white people pretend to not know why a white person is called “black?”
Because they are both the same link.
LikeLike
@phoebeprunelle,
I’m not talking about slavery times. I’m talking about in my lifetime and my father’s lifetime. Slavery is not the era I’m referring to. BP in General had no right to self determination during slavery, so they couldn’t “trick” even if they wanted to. Did you even read any of my comments?
It’s OBVIOUS I’m talking abou modern times, not slavery, and thank you for the definition of tragic mulatto, but I already know it. Abagond’s boards often veer off into subject matter that is relevant even if it’s not directly on topic. The tragic mulatto trope exists even to this day. Not only during the era of slavery. Furthermore if you read my last comment you probably read where I said:
My experience cannot be extrapolated to everyone, but it is my experience all the same.
So your comment about “when I grew up” is just not needed. The fact was already conceded that my experience cannot be drawn out to others and therefore is not “universal”.
Peace…
LikeLike
@Jada,
Fair enough…
You did say the following:
but then you said:
The vast majority of biracial children born to Black women in the U.S. was under a violent and brutal system[enslavement] that more often than not subjected their bodies to sexual violence–therefore “trick baby” comments strips Black women of their right to be seen as true victims in these dynamics…
but like you say–you already knew most of this.
Peace to you as well sis.
LikeLike
The thing that makes biracials soul heavy is that when they are part Black WP and others insist that they are all Black. This shuts them out of a lot of society and they end up paying the socio-economic tax that comes with being “Black”.
This is hardly the fault of a majority of BP or, a minority of WP. This is the a legacy that has been handed down for centuries where ‘race matters’. As far as what the commenters on here write, it seems that BP expecting someone from a mixed background to acknowledge their ‘blackness’ does little to shut them out of society – it seems that BP are not all that powerful for this to be effective.
This is hard when they have been raised by WW in predominantly White neighborhoods seeing others not saddled with this “burden” ( the tax).
Dont you think it is irresponsible to have a child with someone of a different race/culture and not at least try to expose that child to some of that? Also, who are they hearing these negative views of BP from? It is the duty of the parent raising the child to ensure that a ‘balanced’ view is given – despite what may have happened in their own situation.
They also hear and absorb close up and personal racist views of BP and don’ t feel they should have to be viewed in that light. They are,after all, half White
Sorry if I am wrong here but instead of condeming the racist views of BP that the WP are perpetuating in the example you give, you think that the ‘bi racial’ people reject this because they shouldnt be viewed in this way as ‘they are after all half white?’ In your comment, I sense no condemnation about the racist views towards blacks, merely upset at the incovenience and unpleasantness that bi racial people would have to hear stuff about the ‘other half’ of themselves.
LikeLike
I didn’t read the other commenters, but the films “Imitation of Life” “Pinky” and Halle Berry’s character in Alex Haley’s “Queen” come to my mind. I plan on reading Nella Larson’s “Passing” the Quadroon and Octroon ball have always fascinated me.
LikeLike
OK, I want to try this again, previous comments in moderation. When I think of this term “tragic mulatto” I think of the made for television “Alex Haley’s “Queen” Haley Berry did a good job in this role. Her character was very tragic. This was Alex’s Haley’s great great grandmother. The film “Imatation of Life” Lana Turner, the late Juanita Moore, and Susan Kohner . circa 1959. “P****y, circa 1949, all three actresses Jeanne Crain, Ethel Barrymore, Ethel Waters were nominated for Academy Awards. I enjoyed these films. I plan to read Nella Larson’s “Passing.”
LikeLike
Plan to watch the “Human Stain”
LikeLike
I dont know anything about Fredi Washington so looked her up. It is quite relevant to this thread
“I have never tried to pass for white and never had any desire, I am proud of my race. In ‘Imitation of Life’, I was showing how a girl might feel under the circumstances but I am not showing how I felt.”
&
“I am an American citizen and by God, we all have inalienable rights and wherever those rights are tampered with, there is nothing left to do but fight…and I fight. How many people do you think there are in this country who do not have mixed blood, there’s very few if any, what makes us who we are, are our culture and experience. No matter how white I look, on the inside I feel black. There are many whites who are mixed blood, but still go by white, why such a big deal if I go as Negro, because people can’t believe that I am proud to be a Negro and not white. To prove I don’t buy white superiority I chose to be a Negro
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredi_Washington)
LikeLike
@Omnipresent: Thanks for that. It was enlightening.
LikeLike
@Omnipresent
Thanks for sharing Ms. Washington’s information. From the Wiki link you shared, I also found the below quote profound.
“You see I’m a mighty proud gal and I can’t for the life of me, find any valid reason why anyone should lie about their origin or anything else for that matter. Frankly, I do not ascribe to the stupid theory of white supremacy and to try to hide the fact that I am a Negro for economic or any other reasons, if I do I would be agreeing to be a Negro makes me inferior and that I have swallowed whole hog all of the propaganda dished out by our fascist-minded white citizens.”
LikeLike
bygodsloveandgrace
Yes, I saw that part too – Without having read anything but this article I can tell that much of what she had to say would be good and probably hard to choose from. Glad that hopefully it will reach a wider audience with this blog.
LikeLike
When asked why she didn’t “pass” for white: “Because I’m honest and because you don’t have to be white to be good” Fredi Washington.
LikeLike
Wonderful Fredi Washington quotes!
LikeLike
@Omnipresent.
Understandable since she provided a plethora of interesting quotes to choose from. I especially appreciated her candid views on race and being comfortable with who she is. Imagine living in the 1920s during the emerging Harlem Renaissance. That must have been something.
@mary..
When asked why she didn’t “pass” for white: “Because I’m honest and because you don’t have to be white to be good” Fredi Washington.
———————————————————————————————–
Ms. W was definitely direct!
LikeLike
@ bygodsloveandgrace: I am amazed by that as well. That she was so secure in her being and who she was. She could have very well went with those movie executives who suggested that she pass for white, they promised to make her bigger than the leading white screen actresses of that time. But she choose to embrace her blackness. I never heard of her up until this afternoon. Much respect to her.
LikeLike
*chose*^^^^^^^^^
LikeLike
Imitation of Life is one of my all time favorite movies. Wow, what a powerful quote from Fredi Washington. Great to know that she was among the individuals that were proud of their heritage (every side). I have family members like her and I can appreciate the honesty of a story like Fredi Washington both the fictional character and her reality.
LikeLike
Growing up, I had lots and lots of known family members who could have ‘passed’ for white (and, according to my aDNA test result, lots of unknown ones as well. Many of my “DNA cousins”, though — or the ones who took this test anyway — are unmixed whites; Others have trace amounts of African; East Asian and/or Native American ancestry. There are only a few of these “cousins” who are predominantly Black or Native American. Surprise, surprise).
From family lore, none of my known relative seem to have passed as white on a permanent basis, though a few apparently “passed” for employment purposes on occasion. Most of them were the product not of rape or prostitution but of multigenerational mixing on all sides of the family tree, as most of my known lineages were listed as “mulatto” or “M” by the time of the 1880 US federal Census (“Mulatto” typically meant some discernible mixture of Black & white; Irish and partially white Native American individuals, though, were sometimes caught up in that category as well).
This all said, my fair-skinned relatives, including my own mother, were all well aware that they were white in appearance, and some were quite “colorstruck” because of this (which also includes my own mother).
I have come to suspect that some of them might have had less than noble reasons for going as Black or “Negro”, which, in some cases, might simply have been easier and, in some ways, might have been quite rewarding as well (the “big fish in a little pond” scenario, if anyone gets my drift).
[Note: I reference what I know or suspect of my own known relatives only in the above comment, and not fair-skinned, mixed race individuas who are unknown to me.]
LikeLike
Clotel; “The Presidents Daughter” The first African American novel. William Wells Brown,published his successful slave narrative, Narrative of Wiliam Wells Brown, a Fugitive Slave, in 1847. Published in London in1853 and inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s rumored relationship with his slave Sally Hemmings,Clotel traces several generations of racially mixed women linked to Thomas Jefferson. Brown whose father and grandfather were white, established the tragic mulatto as arch type. Historically the tragic mulatto has been a female who is tormented by being neither black nor white.
LikeLike
In 1859 Harriet E. Wilson Like William Wells Brown used the tragic mulatto theme in her novel “Our Nig” she presented interracial marriage. “Our Nig” mirrored Harriet Wilson’s life. Harriet Wilson a mulatto woman from New Hampshire published a novel hoping to earn each money simply to survive. “Our Nig” or Sketches From The Life Of A Free Black.
LikeLike
I don’t think Halle Berry hates her blackness, She said her mother made sure that she and her sister knew they were black. She said her mother didn’t play that.
LikeLike
The movie “Belle” Inspired by the life of Dido Belle Lindsey was very good. I highly recommend it. Gugu Mbatha Raw is just lovely and great cast and great performances. How Belle was an influence in getting slavery abolished in England in the 1700’s. I can’t say enough good things about this film of a mulatto woman who has issues of gender and race coming against here during this time. I learned a lot from this film.
LikeLike
@ Mary, it sounds like a good film. Thank you for telling.
Wow, this is probably one of the few mainly English/UK-produced films about African slavery in recent years.
Apart “12 Years a Slave” (which I haven’t seen and don’t want to), the last time a film touched on its horrors was “Mansfield Park”. The reference — only a short one — in the film was not even in the book, but it told something that is usually missed out of dramas like this.
Mansfield Park, a great house in Jane Austen’s England, is the home of our heroine. One day, the master of the house has to travel to Antigua to fix problems on his plantation. Later, the heroine (in the film) finds a sketchbook which graphically details what happens on slave plantations on the Caribbean island.
Tom’s Sketchbook: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Maxxfd8b7sw)
LikeLike
@ Bulaink : Thanks for the link. But you should see 12 years a Slave. It’s a very gripping film.
LikeLike
How about you talk to a mulatto? Blacks don’t accept us either…
LikeLike
Michel do have issues light skin and long hair sweet heart your blk side picked cotton no blk female on here picked cotton just cause u light skinned with long hair doesn’t make u beautiful by your comments u ugly on the inside whites will never accept you.
LikeLike
I really feel sorry for people who allow others to dictate how they feel about themselves. My father was Black, my mother was Native American/Black I took after my father as far as skin tone (dark) with my mother’s Indian features, Indian and African hair (two grades) but not once have I ever cared to explain to anyone about my heritages(until now). I am a Black Woman and I am proud of both my parents and could give a flip about what others think!!
LikeLike