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From: "Connie Bradbury" <>
Subject: Re: [APG] Race & Blind Spots
Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2003 10:59:45 -0900
References: <20031107031550.91100.qmail@web21207.mail.yahoo.com> <004901c3a551$72fec8a0$16763e44@win2000a141573> <3FAD30A1.5070903@prodigy.net> <000201c3a629$af92cf90$16763e44@win2000a141573> <1068333649.3fad7a51c7164@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu>


I have seen photos of one of my grandmother's sisters-in-law, who is very
dark. I asked if she was Indian and was told she was black Dutch. I was a
child and accepted the answer. Now, I don't have a clue.

Connie

----- Original Message -----
From: "Gladys Friedman Paulin" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2003 2:20 PM
Subject: Re: [APG] Race & Blind Spots


> All,
> My maternal grandparents marriage certificate lists my grandfather's
"color"
> as Black, but my grandmother's as "coton"! It was prepared by an
immigrant
> rabbi for recent immigrants from Poland and Latvia. I joke that it means
> grandpa wore a black suit and grandma must have had a cotton or satin
dress
> (The 'c' is pronounce 's' in Russian.)
>
> However, my grandfather was dark complected and a photo of one of his
sister's
> looks very much like her skin is of the black race. We believe that there
is
> a possibility of a Spanish/North African Jewish ancestor in this line.
Like
> other semitic peoples, many Caucasian Jews have been of dark complexion.
>
> When we started filling out forms for affirmative action in the 1960's,
> personnel offices were advised to classify employees based on visual
> appearance. One of my coworkers whose parents immigrated from India was
> horrifed and livid that she had been classified as Black! After that,
some of
> us wouldm always check 'other' under Race and fill in the word "human"
> Worked like a charm.
> Gladys
> Gladys Friedman Paulin, CGRS
> Winter Springs, FL
> --------------------------------
> CGRS, Certified Genealogical Records Specialist, is a Service Mark of the
> Board for Certification of Genealogists and used under license by Board-
> certified persons who meet program standards and periodic rigorous
> evaluations.
>
>
>
>
> Quoting Mills <>:
>
> > 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*
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ==== APG Mailing List ====
> > The Association of Professional Genealogists
> > http://www.apgen.org/publications/apg-l/index.html
> >
> >
>
>
> ==== APG Mailing List ====
> The Association of Professional Genealogists
> http://www.apgen.org/publications/apg-l/index.html
>
>

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