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Archiver > APG > 2003-11 > 1068317267


From: "Mills" <>
Subject: Re: [APG] Race & Blind Spots
Date: Sat, 8 Nov 2003 12:47:47 -0600
References: <20031107031550.91100.qmail@web21207.mail.yahoo.com> <004901c3a551$72fec8a0$16763e44@win2000a141573> <3FAD30A1.5070903@prodigy.net>


Christine wrote:
> Elizabeth, how appropriate that you gave a Heinz '57 lecture in my home
> town, Pittsburgh.

Yeah, I think that's why it was picked for that conference <g>. Of course,
amid all the pickles Heinz provided for everyone's badges, somebody did ask
if the company considered the title a copyright infringement. They didn't.

>Another reason not to narrow one's search based on such categories is
>that there may be some surprises in your family tree. A person who was
>born Black but passing as white might have incorporated a bigoted
>attitude against Blacks as part of the disguise.

Very true, Christine -- even though I quibble with that word "passing,"
which is a hangover from the old "one drop" days. Most Americans are a
mixture of various ethnic origins. For convenience, social expediency, or
whatever, most people tend to choose one of those ethnicities for their
self-image or legal identification. Everyone should have that right. And
those in the past who refused to have a label forced upon them that did not
fit their appearance should not be considered "passing," as though they were
committing a fraud. IMO.

On the other hand, you are quite right that because of societal prejudices,
some did feel the best way to avoid being forced back into a persecuted
minority was to adopt the bigotry of the dominant society--a trait that also
held true for some Irish in Boston, some Italians in New York, some French
in "Anglo" Louisiana, some Indians in Georgia, and others in just about
every ethnic group that suffered second-class status. It's no wonder
genealogists have so much difficulty with so many lines!

Elizabeth


---------
Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG
Author, *Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian*
Editor/Author, *Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers,
Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians*



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