One-drop rule

{{race}}
The '''one-drop rule''' is a term referring to racist rules in the [[Jim Crow]] laws that classified as black anyone with any [[Africa]]n ancestry 
(so every single human being)
. These laws were all passed in the era between 1910 (when [[Tennessee]] passed the first one) and 1931 (in [[Oklahoma]]). Regardless of one's appearance, any African parentage meant you were legally considered a black person for the purposes of [[segregation]].<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/mixed/onedrop.html The One-Drop Rule Defined]</ref> Similar rules applied to [[Native American]] ancestry, though less strictly as many prominent families claimed descent from [[Pocahontas]].  

In non-American usage, this concept is referred to as '''hypodescent''', or the idea that any mixing of social classes means the progeny belong to the lower class.<ref>[http://www.mixedracestudies.org/?p=86 hypodescent]</ref>  

In previous eras, many prominent lawmakers had pushed back against this type of law, knowing well that nearly every prominent family had some African ancestry, but as this memory retreated, family myths erased such fears.<ref>Daniel J. Sharfstein, [https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1405&context=faculty-publications Crossing the Color Line: Racial Migration and the One-Drop Rule, 1600-1860], Vanderbilt University Law School, 2007, p. 642.</ref>

These rules were declared unconstitutional as part of [[Loving v. Virginia]], which also ruled miscegenation laws unconstitutional.<ref>[http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/loving.html LOVING v. VIRGINIA]</ref>

==Cultural perspective==
While no longer a current legal concept, the underlying attitude is sadly still prevalent in American culture. For example, [[Barack Obama]] is widely considered to be, and self-identifies as, [[African-American]] (or "black"), even though he has equal African and European ancestry. [[Colin Powell]]'s ancestry includes "[[England|English]], [[Ireland|Irish]], [[Scotland|Scotch]], probably Arawa Indian, and a [[Judaism|Jewish]] strain"<ref>http://ethnicelebs.com/colin-powell</ref> and even has a Scottish coat of arms.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/may/12/usa.world</ref> This attitude is different from [[South Africa]] for example, where people of mixed ancestry are considered {{wpl|coloureds}} and not {{wpl|Bantu peoples in South Africa|black}}, which is used for people of primarily African heritage.<ref>http://www.arogundade.com/is-barack-obama-black-or-mixed-race.html</ref>

Some white supremacists also believe a person of European descent with a certain percentage of racial ancestry shouldn't be considered white. For example, they might think a person who is mostly European but has 5% of African ancestry isn't a white person, and thus should be deported, [[Eugenics|sterilized or killed]] to maintain [[Ethnostate|white hegemony]].

==External links==
*[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/mixed/onedrop.html Mixed Race America- Who Is Black?] 

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{stub|racism}}
[[Category:Law]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:White supremacy]]

Categories: Law, Racism, White supremacy