My mother's family did this. They were Native Americans that escaped from the reservations before Natives were given American citizenship. They moved across states, passed for 'tan' whites, & had their kids put as 'white' on their birth certificates when they were born. When mom was alive she made me promise not to tell anyone until she passed away because she was still afraid the government would do something if they found out. Since she's been gone a long time it doesn't matter I tell. Mom told me the reason they did this was that it was 100% better to be a poor white person than an Indian any day.
My great grandfather did similar. Fought in WW2 as a Wind-Talker. Married a French nurse and settled down in Colorado when he returned to the States to be an English teacher. My family only found out a few years back after some genealogical research cause by DNA tests. My grandmother was about 60% native.
littleolmee That’s horrible. As a white person interested in Native American culture, my heart feels like it’s twisting. Please don’t believe your mother!!
Same here! My mom's native ancestors passed for "Mexican" & married German settlers. Back then it was way better to be considered Mexican rather than Indian. I was shocked to find less than 2% "Iberian" in a DNA test - however 2 of my sisters are RH negative so that might be Basque (Cro-Magnon) which is still sort-of Iberian.
My fathers side of the family had many who passed as white. My father is very light with blue eyes, his younger brother looks like him but darker skinned, same blue eyes. My dad told me that some of his ancestors were freedmen.We live in the south and the ones who passed as white would pretend to be the slave overseer or owner of the ones who didnt so they wouldn't be separated or mistreated. It's a crazy family story
That is an amazing story. I would love to know if it was actually true or not. I imagine after a few generations of slavery in the US, there definitely could be enough mixing. Hollywood should make a movie about this (and I'm sure cast super white people in all the leads 🙄)
@@UnicornsPoopRainbows my father was very detailed about our family history. I used to be sceptical but now that hes done his DNA and a lot of things have matched up, I'm started to lean towards it being true. I do think it would make a good movie haha
And some people act as if biracial or mixed race is something new, not something as old as the whole concept of race. Between love being "blind", concepts of "race" being different in different cultures, the whole master/slave "sexual harassment" thing ( also not new), and raiding, I doubt anyone anywhere is "pure" anything (maybe a few Australian Aborigines?).
I love your presentation, and the reasons for “passing.” I agree passing was done for convenience. My mother told me; “There is no shame in being Black, what is a shame is the way they treat us for being Black.”
My grandma did this. She claimed to be of french decent instead of what she actually was, Ojibwa. She didn't even have a birth certificate until she was in her 20's (of course natives weren't considered American citizens when she was born), then slightly changed her name on it and ethnicity (it was weird to see specific ethnicities like french and Irish on a birth certificate). All it took was a friend of the family claiming it was true. It helped that her step father, who was of European ancestry, legally adopted her and 2 of her sisters. She had graduated top of her college class but couldn't get a job because she was an "Indian". As soon as she became "french" she was hired right away. Funny thing is she married an Algonquin man who was also passing as white, and her sister was raising a herd of bison less then a mile from the school my grandma ran.
The ending is very native American. Herding bison is one step removed from saying "i live off the land" on you census questioner. And i mean that in a positive way
@@MilloSpiegel I got to meet the herd when I was 7. My great aunt lived 4 hours north of me and my parents took us kids up to see where my dad spent his summers (and where my grandma was born and taught school, but we didn't register that at the time. Funny story, my mom's step dad, who was Cherokee from Oklahoma, ended up buying the school house and using it for storage, not knowing it was the place his step daughter's mother in law taught). I only remember a few things from that trip, thinking I was in the mountains (it was hills, but southern Michigan is very flat, so northern Michigan looked like mountains to me lol), meeting my uncle and realizing why my grandma had told me so many legends and bought me Native American porcelain dolls (my uncle walked up with black hair past his waist.), the fact that the house's heat was a wood burning stove and there were all sorts of stuffed animals in her living room (bears, deer, moose, elk, bobcats. All stuff my uncle shot on the farm, slaughtered and stuffed. We had deer for dinner that day. My mom wouldn't let us out of her sight when she realized how many bears were around the property. My uncle said he tried not to shoot them unless they came to close to the house and barn, and even then he only shot them if they kept coming back after being scared off), and that the bison came running out of the trees to come meet me. They were so massive, but so gentle that I could feed them apples out of my hand.
I pass as white too... I'm a mix of black, red Indian and white. My mother is from Surinam where it is absolutely normal to have multi racial ancestry, nobody cares... When they went to the Netherlands my mother started to pass herself off as white. She married a Swiss guy and moved there where she passed herself off as South European. Black people normally see that l'm not white. They never mention it though, not until l myself tell the tale. I never cared who knew, but now l don't volunteer the information anymore, had some weird reactions from "Bakras" as we call them. Don't need that shit in my life.... 😂
Chinese people who stayed in the Philippines during the Spanish period changed their surnames and converted to Catholicism to escape persecution by the Spaniards.
Colin Champollion well Latin American countries aren’t really an “ethnic” group. Like I have a colombian father who is Spanish blood and an Italian-american mother. I look Mediterranean and am first generation Latin American therefore I identify with Latino
I am very happy with how fact based and relatively unbiased these videos are. This is what educational content on TH-cam is supposed to be like. Keep it up! Edit: I like how people are still responding to this two year old comment. I specifically used the word "relatively" because no source is without its biases or mistakes, but compared to a lot of content out here on TH-cam, this is well researched and backed by high quality sources.
AJ Fact based? At 1:15 she says people who were "passing" (a ridiculous term) as white were *"pretending"* to be of european decent. They *were* of european dissent, they weren't pretending. Which is why they could "pass" in the first place because they were actually white people. But white society was too racist to accept them because they had small amounts of black in them. Something some of us seem to insist on carrying on. If you are a majority white you are white not "passing". No reason why you'd be anything else
@@Scoring57 What are you talking about? If their mom is black/father white how on earth are they a majority ANYTHING? Why is passing a ridiculous term? What other term would you use for someone who is one race saying their another? How is any of this not fact based?
When I was a stripper, I'd tell old white guys I was Puerto Rican or Latina because they didn't want black dancers. I'm mixed with black, white, and Filipino. I used to take great pleasure in lying to those men and taking their money.
I ould have expected the opposite as from my 'limited' experiences with such establishments (People watching at clubs like that is an interesting way to kill an hour or two) I've noticed the more a guy looks like 'Santa' the more he craves 'Brown Sugar'... obviously your experience as a Performer, would differ, not to mention the demographics of your Club's city would affect such things too
Some of the younger cowboy types or metal dudes did come in and partake in brown sugar but the old ones (some) were grossed out by black women, like the older businessman.
I'm mixed Black/Indian/Irish. I was told by my friend's mother to take the opportunity to "pass" since she thought I could. I was horrified by it. This was in 2006, I was like 14. They were not trying to hurt me, they were looking out for me. Took me years to understand.
When I arrived in Los Angeles from Jamaica in the 1990's, I was told by an older African American lady, that I could pass. I am of mixed black/ white heritage - and I had lived in Jamaica and learned to love myself as a mixed race person. It was a process, and then to have someone tell me to "deny" a part of myself, was so disheartening to me. Why would I want to say I am something I am not, in order to be acceptable? You either accept me or you don't.
I never knew about that woman who passed as black to commit welfare fraud. It really infuriates me because she is most likely the source of the stereotype of the "black welfare queen," a racist stereotype that is still used today to justify reducing federal funding to social safety net programs 🤬🤬🤬🤬
yeah, its very ironic and frustrating that this awful stereotype was actually based on a white woman who was passing as black...all they people who believe the stereotype sure would feel stupid if they knew the truth though!
During colonial times, jewish families from Portugal were deported to Brazil, to avoid problems this families would hide their heritage in Brazil changing their surnames, creating new ones that wouldn't be reconigzed by the law. Inspired by the nature a bunch of them were the names of plants and animals such as: Carvalho, Oliveira, Pinheiro, Raposo... (Oak, Olive tree, pine tree, fox...)
@@lexi55410 She's certainly a lot more Portuguese than a jew nowadays. Oliveira is simply the third most common family name in Brazil, shown in the names of people of all races.
Same w the Sephardim Jews expelled from Spain, many ended up in the Spanish colonies in the America’s and they even founded cities like Monterrey, Mexico which is the financial capital of Mexico, and many are still descendants of crypto Jews!
theres a lot of jewish immigrants to south america in general bcus canada and the us stopped accepting refugees from europe. this is evident as one of the most famous latino celebs is don francisco, a chilean tv host but his parents were jewish refugees escaping europe during wwii! as the child of mexican immigrants to the us, i also have some minor jewish ancestry as well. latinos are just a mix of everything :)
Thank you for covering this topic! Can you do the origin of people from the Middle East (regardless of skin tone) being considered “white” in the U.S.? Also, why do we still use the terms black/white when describing someone’s race, but we no longer hear people saying red or yellow?
C-light I am wondering about that too. Like, Asians are called Asian but never yellow, Natives are never called redskin, yet Africans are always called black, and Middle Easterners are often called brown.
Margarita M. - That’s interesting. I’ve only heard of “brown” being ascribed to East Indians or Latinos, but never used to identify a specific race. I remember asking, rhetorically, what colour people from the Middle East were (thinking I would make a point), only to be told by someone who was dark-complected and from the M.E. that she marks “white” on the census and other government forms and she considers herself to be white. Go figure. Ever notice that there is no category for those from that region of the world?
I've seen this question pop up in a few other comments, and I also know that at different point in history negative titles like "red" and "yellow" have been applied to racial groups. I wonder if I can pin down the exact origin of the color coding system (although prejudice usually doesn't have the most concrete logic). More soon as I keep searching! -Danielle
Danielle, I am Arab-American and can discuss this with you, if you like. You might look at the book "White by Law" written by a law professor whose name escapes me right now. It discusses the laws that determined if certain racial and ethnic groups were white and how they wobbled back and forth. At this time, people of Middle Eastern/East Asian and North African ancestry are considered white on forms. When we fill out the forms, that is what we check or are even directed to check. HOWEVER, when people whose forms these are fill out the same darn forms for us, a huge percentage of the time, they check OTHER, if it is available. It is a case of us needing to be white for demographical purposes (number count) but still reminded that culturally we are not. There was a discussion about MENA (Middle Eastern/North African) being a census designation for the 2020 census that failed. Many of us supported the new category, while others feared being identified, remembering historical instances where the census was used to target people, the internment of JapaneseAmerican people in WWII the most obvious example.
So great you mentioned passing in the Chinese community. The term passing is often used for “black” passing for white. The history of the Chinese exclusion act and passing for Hispanic and the Chinese population in Mexico is really important but often glossed over. Even in Ethnic studies it’s rarely mentioned. People often see passing as negative but back then it was survival. The reason for passing is often so complicated. So glad you pointed that out
@@pameladevoe4005 a lot of the Asian looking Latin Americans are actually mostly indigenous! But there are also exceptions like what you mentioned where it's because they have some East Asians genes in them. Japanese, Chinese and Filipinos are the most common Asians to have immigrated to Latin America early on for work
@@pameladevoe4005indigenous Americans crossed the land bridge from northern Asia to Alaska; some even consider native Americans to be mongoloid. That’s why they look very similar.
I wish Danielle had brought up Korla Pandit, born John Roland Redd. He was a black man with racially ambiguous features and straight hair. As a musician he had several different racial identities before promoting himself as the son of an Indian father and European mother. He mostly wore a turban so you never saw his hair texture. The one time, his turban was snatched off in public, his long straight black hair was seen. Korla Pandit till the day he died never admitted his black heritage. He never even told his children whom he had with a white woman. They believe that they are mostly of European and some Indian descent. Anatole Broyard, a black Creole writer and literary critic, kept quiet about his black heritage because he wanted to be seen as a writer rather then a black writer. He was pretty successful writer, and his book reviews were well respected. Some people in the literary scene suspected he was black but never said anything. One writer Chandler Brossard wrote a book inspired by him, about a black man who passes, which pissed off Broyard. Broyard a had a daughter with a Puerto Rican woman, then later married a white woman. He kept his secret from his white wife, but she later found out. A year before he died of cancer, his wife told their children of their father's heritage. When he was alive, his fans often wanted him to put an autobiography but never did, because he didn't want to touch upon his heritage, but kept telling people that it was a work in progress. Lawrence Dennis, mixed race writer who supported fascism. Also his hid heritage. He kept his hair short most of his life, when he was found dead, he had an afro. Freddie Mercury, born an Indian, but he kept quiet about his heritage. He never denied or lied about being Indian, but never mentioned it either. Especially since Rock N Roll music had very little diversity and was mostly white. Black rock musicians stood out, some wouldn't know what to make of an Indian musician in Rock music. Many people thought he was just a white Brit with a year round tan. Some heard that he was Persian (especially due to that Persian Poppinjay comment he made). Some fans thought he was half this half that. When Freddie Mercury passed on, he had his funeral performed by Zoroastrian priests, and we got to see his mother, father, and sister. They have appeared in several Freddie Mercury and Queen documentaries which confirm Freddie's Indian ancestry. A lot of fascinating people who kept their racial heritages a secret. I'm black of Haitian descent. However, most people assume that I'm either Latino, Indian, Arab, or Polynesian. However, I could never find myself lying about my Haitian background, I'm too proud of it. However, I don't judge any of these men for their choices on how they identified themselves.
For the longest time I thought Freddie Mercury was Romanian or Lithuanian or something. I feel like I read he had some kind of connection to an Eastern European heritage but I can't remember how. Did his parents grow up there? Ugh, I'll have to look it up later...
@@SheilaDeBonis , I used to think Freddie Mercury was half British half Iranian/Persian. Got it from some article in the 70s that I read where the author wasn't fully informed. Later another article I read, in the 2000s, gave details about Freddie's heritage. However, we still have people arguing whether Freddie was bisexual, gay, or pansexual.
The book "Black Like Me" is another example: a white man used blackface to discover what being black in the Jim Crow South was really like. (The only time I know of that blackface was used for good.)
@@kdub31086 You might want to read the book - the author was really trying to understand what being black in the South at that time was like. He was also involved in the Civil Rights movement as a white ally and organizer.
Im happy she is putting this out here for people to know , lots blacks had to pass in order get a better life . My uncle , and several of my aunt's had to pass for white in order to attend college . They told me it was dangerous thing if someone found out that they were black .
Randell Parham You can't "pass" if you don't actually belong to that race in the case of black people. Makes no sense to call it "passing" when the person looks that way because they're a majority white. No such thing as "passing". How come there's no "passing for black". Cause black is the dumping ground for every race. Any everyone feels they can claim black because they don't respect what it is to be black
@@Scoring57 you do realize there are black people, who are ethinicly all black, that are just a fairer complexion. My mother is one. I've looked through our entire genealogy and for about 5 or 6 generations there have been nothing but African American people. But my mother could pass if she wanted. People often don't believe she is my mother because of our contrast in color.
aqglitter1 Skip Gates’ research on the origins of African Americans (AAs) has shown that the average AA has just under a quarter European ancestry. Technically we AAs are all “mixed” to some extent. The “one drop” rule - which has no basis in science - is why people who may have had a significant amount of European ancestry still claimed black (or had it imposed upon them). You can be culturally “full black” and genealogically “mixed” at the same time. There are a couple of branches of my family that have more Euro ancestry. One of those descendants passed as white to get a better secretarial job. The story goes that one of our darker-skinned cousins had to make a delivery to the office where she worked and they had to pretend they didn’t know each other. Here’s the thing: She ONLY passed for work...she didn’t disappear into the white world like others did. This happened in the 40s. I met her and her mom when I was a little kid in the 70s. They were both white-appearing and they REALLY disliked white people. Can you imagine why? Toi Derricotte’s The Black Notebooks offers a great look into what it’s like to look white and be black.
I don't know that it would change the complaints of the Republicans. When I've heard this story, her race wasn't even mentioned. It wasn't about how good the individual or her race was at scamming. It was just about the fact that the welfare system is so easily misused, and needs abolishing or reforming. This message, whether true or not, is pretty unaffected by her race.
@@broomemike1 - Don't be naive. Everybody knew what Reagan meant because the stereotype of welfare (and now TANF) has dark skin. The men hustle and con even now, the women pumped out babies for the checks, and none of them worked a day in their lives according to white fantasy.
Yeah, welfare was not a program for Black women. The welfare program and system was for white women only, Black women could not gain access to welfare programs when they were rolled out in the 1950s.
That's how virulent racism is. People who thought themselves white, who looked white, who (as far as they knew) were white, could lose everything because of ONE Black ancestor. It didn't matter if that ancestor arrived in the late 18th Century: the entire family was now Black and thus second- or third-class citizens. Also, every failing of and in that family was attributed to that one Black ancestor. BUT -- the same folks who declared that one Black ancestor degraded all descendants for eternity explained away intelligent, successful, BIPOC by whites in the family tree. They never noticed how they undid their argument, or else had some interesting verbal gymnastics to justify it. During the Civil Rights movement, Blacks extended a welcome to all those who were only considered Black because of a single ancestor generations ago. Not all accepted the invitation, but others did.
@@ThePhoenix3712 - Don't be naive: someone who's half Black is Black in this society. They aren't 'passing.' There are still people who are all about that one drop because we are obsessed with race.
angelmushahf bold statement. On the topic of those who are half-black: Obama? Black. Halsey? White. Alicia Keys? Ambiguous. You are what you look like...
“Passing” is a really common social phenomena with LGBT people. Transgender people who appear cisgender are much less likely to be stopped in a bathroom or discriminated against. Likewise, in the wake of recent bathroom bills, there were some cases of cisgender people being stopped or questioned in bathrooms because they did not match typical gender norms (short haired women, long haired men etc).
I personally know a woman who was mistaken for a man and harassed in a Walmart bathroom. She's not a man. She is a lesbian and dresses in jeans and tee shirts. Bloody hell.
I used to get into the worst fights with my mom over my desire for long hair. I've never been harassed over it, though. Probably because I started growing facial hair pretty early (I first learned to shave in 5th grade and had a full beard by my second year of highschool). Though I do have some fun stories about people approaching me from behind and attempting to flirt with me before they get a look at my face.
I'm a cis-girl that's 5"7 and I have muscles, too. I have long hair (and boobs) but people sometimes debate with me about whether or not I'm actually "female."
Great work, keep it up. You have a knack for describing facts and providing evidence without ruffling the feathers of jumpy onlookers. This is a talent sorely needed in this time, a great pairing to those who go deeper into the issues and may ruffle those feathers. You do it just by being you and doing proper research, presenting things in a plain way. I hope to see more people like you on TH-cam in the future. thanks PBS for funding this gem. Edit: and thanks to the gem Danielle!
The phenomenon occurs today as well. I worked with a woman not too long ago whose husband was passing. She wondered what their son would look like. The son was blond. The amusement came when he would see a Black performer on a television set in a department store, point to him, and shout "granddad." She said the reactions of the other shoppers were hysterical and she never explained that her son's grandfather did indeed look like the actor. You can read a fictionalized account of the issue of passing in "Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!" by Fannie Flagg. She may not get the credit she deserves for treating issues of substance in her primarily lighthearted novels.
@@kathryngeeslin9509 Their son had straight blond hair. On the other hand, my hair (when I had some) was close to kinky and I carried mail during the summer. So my "fro" got progressively blonder as the summer went on. Yes, I was delivering in both white and Black neighborhoods. Nobody thought I was passing - they could tell I was a person with light olive skin and a blond fro.
In my childhood happened even weirdest thing :my relatives didn't consider African American singers like Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Whitney Huston.... and I realized many of those artists were not white only in adulthood.
@@kathryngeeslin9509 white passing people sometimes have straighter hair that they take after their white side of the family. A mixed kid won't always have afro hair like their ancestors.
That's your opinion; and I'm ok with it. However, what I posted was my opinion and it was only stated because I believed she was well-spoken. I would have stated that no matter what her race was. God Bless...
Koal Kottentail I disagree. The definition of articulate is “to speak fluently or coherently”. She is coherent in the message; being able to be understood and easily absorbed by the listener in such a way as they will easily understand her message and learn something. As a teacher you want to speak in a way your students are able to learn the information you’re passing on with relative ease and understanding. The word articulate was specifically crated for a reason such as this. Take it how you like but before you tell me to look up the definition of this word; as a dual history and linguistics major this is what I gathered from the comment “she has worded and phrased her video in a way that I understand and have learned from what she is saying” which is her end goal to be heard and unmistakably understood.
Once I slowed the playback down to 0.75, I agree. She talked so fast it was giving me a headache. After slowing it down I thoroughly enjoyed it. She speaks much slower in later vids, so no worries. Still a great channel. 😎
Rachel Dolezal was the first person I thought of when I clicked play. Thank you for how imformative this is. Definitely shines a light on how laws have changed over the past years and the hardships people had to go through to live in a "Land of the Free"
Alot like how America was founded with a strong belief in God, and our motto is still in God we trust, but people fight tooth and nail to keep religion out of politics. As if our rights aren't known as unalienable rights. Meaning, they come from God. When minorities try to change the inherent culture that forms the foundation of the society they joined, it collapses.
Danielle Bainbridge does this so well! Educating people on subjects that can be very touchy, and triggering to a lot of people, but doing it with such objectivity, and finesse. We need more people like her teaching in all levels of education! This woman needs her own weekly show!
I'm really grateful for this show. As a filmmaker myself I know the time and effort required to create something like this and the fact that someone is making that sacrifice gives me hope that we are working towards a better, more equal future for everyone.
@@mari5258 - In the 1934 original, actress Fredi Washington portrayed adult Peola, a character who spends much of her life passing for white. Ms. Washington was a light-skinned Black woman (so light that she was DARKENED for a role as Paul Robeson's love interest). It isn't until the end that she acknowledges her mother and thus her race.
@Juliet Fischer. I’m not certain where you’re getting information about Ms. Fredi Washington. I’m sharing this respectfully as I am related to people (now deceased) who knew her and spoke of her positively. According to them, she was not known for “passing” and openly spoke with pride about being black and the need for diverse roles for African Americans in film. At one point she was an in-law of Adam Clayton Powell and African Americans were aware of her race via black media. Also, both her father and mother did not choose to pass and they were known to have mixed ancestry.
It should also be noted that Homer A. Plessy was 1/16 African American. He passed while on the train, and called attention to himself in order to be thrown off so he could make his case. He had hoped to help make segregation illegal but ended up drinking himself to death once his case made "separate but equal" law. For reference, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president, was also 1/16 African American. Great video!
@@goldwolf0606 Obama was the first black president. Eisenhower was never proven to be any portion of black and that falsehood stems from self-published books that weren't peer reviewed and almost all historians refute/disagree with that claim. I wish people would stop spreading this lie.
When my grandma moved to Mexico from Hungary, she took the name Isais, which sounded more Spanish, but her real name was Estis, which is of Yiddish origin.
Please do a video on middle easterners (Arabs,Jews,Persians) And the complexity of that race issue! We are marked as "white" on the U.S census. I feel the history of why that is,is rather odd and a good story.
Yes, please do a video on Middle Easterners! I'm constantly so confused about my identity as a Central Asian/Persian Jew and have no idea where I fit in, especially since the American racial model was most likely not created with us in mind at all. I heard in the next US census Middle Eastern and North African people will finally have their own category! So that does feel a bit validating, even though I'm sure it'll just be used by the government to keep tabs on us or something.
@@rtmusicvideos431 they actually declined the me/na category... So we will be considered "white" for another decade.. And this is how I view myself I see myself as Caucasian of Palestinian descent. I have white skin with olive toned and obvious semetic features I see myself as "white" as Italians or Greeks are "white". I would think many in my case think similarly?
@@monsutades9999 oh man, did they? That stinks! I think with Middle Eastern people it all depends on the person, how they see themselves and how others see them. There are also Middle Easterners of all different skin colors and facial appearances. Some might identify or just pass as white, and some may not. Some may only pass as white in certain geographic areas but not others. It's a complicated issue.
@@rtmusicvideos431 That's exactly my case People in most cases view me as white and simply think I'm Italian or Greek or something among those lines And sometimes people view me as a light skinned Mexican/Hispanic I've also gotten half white/half Mexican Half asian/half white But people generally assume I'm white so I identify as such because it makes sense yet I have seen middle easterners who don't because they are assumed not white Usually this is the case with Muslims especially females if they wear a hijab because then you can clearly see she's Muslim. I think the west thinks islam≠whiteness
@@monsutades9999 huh weird am palestinian too (hurayy) but i get confused for northern italian or french or english and frequantly as ashkenazi in israel in my birth country, i mean kinda understand it since i am quite tall, my skin is reddish and very white in untanned areas, my hair is brown wavy and very soft, and my facial features are rather european looking. The middle east is very weird indeed
Hum, you missed one very heart felt reason for "passing" (probably Hollywood favorite reason): freedom of friendships/romance/marriage. My grandmother spent most of her life "passing" because of fear of being treated worse or losing esteem in other's eyes. She also lost a number of "beaus" when they found out from a jealous woman from back home about her heritage. Thank God she eventually met my grandfather, who would love her no matter what her heritage was. She still would have taken her secret to her grave if her children hadn't found out as the result of another jealous woman. I'm glad it came out, it makes for an interesting history.
This is a great addition to the conversation! There is some information about this topic in Allyson Hobbs book, but I'm going to see if I can flag a few sources on this from LGBTQ scholars to add to the works cited list or to a fan response coming out in March, since I think it's vital history to discuss. Thanks for bringing this into the comments section. -Danielle
@@philyk.illagan3161 - Pretty much. It's all based on insecurity, and that insecurity comes from a society in which it's still easy to lose status over sexual orientation or gender identity.
Ive never heard of racial passing before this video but its an interesting topic. It sadly highlights the biases and propaganda of the time though it's sad to see just how much modern society still clings to some of those outdated ideas while having our own modern day forms, like with what others have said about gay and trans individuals having to pass as straight.
Zekana0 You should watch a film called “A House Divided” starring a Jennifer Beals. She is half black herself, but looks more like a Southern European lady, she played a southern belle during Reconstruction era who learns from her wealthy landlord father that her black babysitter is actually her mother. Also, there are many films based on real life events about Jewish people in Nazi Germany or occupied countries who passed as German/Dutch/French etc. to avoid persecution.
My fathers side of the family had many who passed as white. My father is very light with blue eyes, his younger brother looks like him but darker skinned, same blue eyes. My dad told me that some of his ancestors were freedmen.We live in the south and the ones who passed as white would pretend to be the slave overseer or owner of the ones who didnt so they wouldn't be separated or mistreated. It's a crazy family story
I'm very grateful to see that somewhere there is a meaningful conversation on this topic. As a woman from a marginalized community, I have had slurs hurled at me and been treated as less than when people see that I am different. It is not always universal. I have found many times that people see what they want to see, but they spend little time actually getting to know a person. When a person meets another person, the first thing that comes to mind should not be what background are they from. It truly does not matter what a person looks like either, at least it doesn't to me.
@@kaylees.7378 to add to that American History is easier to find and reference. Many other counties dont have the same historical records or resources to maintain records like that due to poverty or ramification of previous wars.
My South American (Argentina/Uruguay) family passed as "Sicilian/Italian" they were actually of European, Native American, and African descent. We found a very small amount of Sardinian DNA.
This was very fascinating. I'm Asian but have always been mistaken as Spanish. If I learn how to speak in Spanish I think I can absolutely pass as Latina.
I'm a light skinned African American; for the last 8 years I have lived in a neighborhood of Los Angeles called Koreatown. During that time, 3 people have asked me if I was Asian, 2 of whom were Asian. The second Asian man, when I said, no, I'm African American, exclaimed "But you're so yellow!"
@@darryldunmore5184 are you biracial? You should probably claim mixed race (both races) instead of African American. It seems that it would make more sense, especially considering your phenotype.
Problem is that you just combined Spanish with latina. Latinos aren't Spanish. We have Spanish dna in us which is why we speak Spanish and some of us even look Spanish. Spanish folks are frome europe (right next to France and Portugal) and most of them look like the average white hipster you see at trader Joe's lol. Latinos are more mixed. And spanish comes from Europe not Latin America 🤦♂️
So much applause for this video. The moment when she said "Those in the social minority were BOTH in physical and legal danger from the state" I was hooked. Preach
Shell Chenonceau R. Disraeli, a right-wing British PM in 19th century was a Jewish man, but during his time in the office he claimed to be a Spanish nobleman lol. At the same time he gave lots of speeches about how they should keep immigrants out of England to keep English blood pure. I was in stitches when I read that.
I Hate when people assume that I'm white when I'm afro-latino. I have witnessed when people treat me different than an African American next to me. I've caught myself arguing because of this.
I don’t mean to say you should “like” being mistaken for white . I’m just wondering why they would go so much to say they hate it. I’ve been mistaken for white before but I didn’t get the offended or triggered. I simply corrected the person and moved on with my life.
My great grandmother had light brown hair with blue eyes. I remember her talking about passing for white. She would take advantage of it by going to white supermarkets because of food quality was much better. I'm sure there was more but I was really young when she was talking about it so I don't remember everything.
My mothers parents converted to Anglicanism, when they moved to New Zealand (still a mostly Anglican country today), from Germany. As a child, I a used to question mum about grandma, and whether there was more to the story, since I used to get quite heavily bullied for looking Jewish. She would say things like grandma has darker skin curly dark brown hair and a big nose, because it's her Austrian heritage. Turns out grandma was in fact from a Jewish family, and mum was lying, because we "wouldn't understand".
I never knew I "looked Jewish" until I moved to New York. But I gotta be honest, when I lived in an orthodox neighborhood in Sheepshead Bay, I didn't look that different from the neighbors. After doing some digging, it turns out that 75% of the Spanish names in my family are related to Judaism. I think a lot of us are hidden from the truth to protect us from things we can't even comprehend.
@@dr.christopherdiaz4473 Funny thing was, is my mum married a Fijian man. So it wasn't like we weren't aware of racism as kids. Dad used to be very up front about that issue. I guess she didn't want to answer confusing quetions about why her family was hiding their heritage. Seeing as she maybe didn't have a good enough answer herself.
7:08 In Latin American countries, especially in my native Brazil a mixed person who looked white could be legally registered as white and treated as white. Spaniards, the Portuguese and the French had much softer attitudes towards race than the English. Miscegenation was something alike people moving from lower social class to higher social class - the said individual was still frowned upon but his change in status was recognized.
Margarita, no I am French and I am a "passer" too, we just restructured mixed people to ensure they don't mix with the rest. Don't go imagining things you are not a paRT OF
I am actually white put ppl often think I'm Asian. Heard some asian slurs because of that. We really need to stop with racism and race in general. Everyone is equal we are all one and we all deserve respect and love
They missed one of the GREATEST stories of passing in the USA. Korla Pandit's story is so intriguing I'm still not sure why a movie hasn't been made about it. Look it up, it's absolutely incredible.
The latter part of this video reminds me of Instagram MUA's exchanging the word "passing" for "TRANSFORMATION". Asian transformed into Beyonce. The original concept of BLACKFACE has EVOLVED into BLACKFISHING (or blackPHISHING). Where blackface is derogatory in ways we understand, blackfishing has a more "profitability" factor associated with it. Where the person mimicking a particular race gets props, respect, or monetary value for their imitation, while the mimicked race doesn't readily get that kind of benefit. Modernization of tropes aside.
There should be a disclaimer or edited about Linda Taylor. She wasn’t fully white. She was mixed with black and white and had to pass for white growing up since it was legal in the south (where she lived) to be black. Even though her family (mom’s white side) rejected her for being “black”.
I was told that in my family way back when, had to take the "Mc" off their name to make it less Irish sounding in order to get work. That would be passing wouldn't it? Sad how things were. And still are in a lot of ways.
Remfy the cat: carolanne Mc is predominantly Scottish, actually. Scottish people were treated almost as good as Anglos in America. Surnames starting with O’ and those of distinct Celtic sounding are Irish.
@@margaritam.9118 I said that was what I was told, I do know the original name was McEnnis and then shortened to just Ennis. And we are of Irish descent. Mcs and Macs were of Celtic and Gaelic origins witch were in both Ireland and Scotland.
I’ve heard of this happening before, but interestingly it also goes the opposite way - as an Irish person I see a lot of Americans with a “Mc-“ or “O’” prefix on surnames that are in no way of Gaelic origin (it’s hard to explain but growing up here you can tell - it’s like calling yourself McSmith or O’Cooper, it’s just wrong-sounding) suggesting that somewhere along the line their family wanted to pass as Irish/Scottish either for political or social mobility.
"Mc-" and "O-" are are just a prefix that refers to "son of-". As in McConnell being Son of Connell, being the first of the family lineage was such. "Mc-" is also pronounced as "Mac", the "M" is a "Ma" sound. Another interesting fact is the effect of the War of Roses. A large amount of Catholic families were exiled to Ireland. Which is why "Smithwick" is considered Irish, despite being Middle English in origin. Hell the oldest beer company in Ireland was founded by my distant ancestors.
If I was able to pass during the 20’s 30’s 40’s 50’s and so on, I probably would’ve just to have a better life. It’s sad ppl had to do things like this in order to get ahead. Just horrible ☹️
Hi Margarita, Oh, there was that, but everyone knew that the Noveau Riche were Noveau Riche. What I meant was that people at the turn of the last Century were bypassing the "Public" Schools (actually very exclusive and Private, like Eton and the Universities and just taking Elocution Classes to pick up the RC (received pronunciation), and from there they simply had to find a good tailor and then they could fit right in... they certainly had enough Literature to go on in regards to 'manners'. So, yes, it actually lead to a boom in the Private Investigations Industry as anybody 'new' in London Society had to be investigated to prove their bona fides. The Costume Jewelry Industry actually participated by creating jewelry pieces with 'Fake' small and imperfect 'gems' and 'pearls' in order to look more like what was actually current among the True Society. The Phonies really could look like the Real Thing, while holding to a budget.
@@ebonynaomi1085 I love him to bits! He helped me when I got hit by a car riding my bike in London. The policeman was more interested in taking selfies, but I didn't care. Happened at night in Whitehall, a few hundred yards from Downing Street. I was OK, a couple of cuts and bruises.
In the 1880s, my great-great-great grandmother passed for white. She was light skinned black and married a white man. She passed for white her whole life. Only until I had a DNA test did we learn the truth. Fascinating.
All of my gg grandparents would be accused of passing as Black by today's standards. Your grandmother wasn't passing for white, she was a mixed woman forced to deny most of her heritage and only be Black. We don't think of it this way because we were told our European DNA only comes from rape and slavery when in fact race mixing happened often. Many people were mixed back then. There were communities of mixed race people that existed until they were forced off their land. Our history didn't start in 1870.
Wow this is well done. My abuela always maintained "American" and nothing else when in reality she was Mexican (mixed ancestry) and Spanish (also mixed ancestry).
GREAT! Great job by the lady who did this video (and anyone else who may have had a part in putting this video together). Well researched, well written, and well delivered. Because of this video, this channel just gained a subscriber. I hope this channel's other videos are this good. I going to go watch them...
To be fair anyone could pass as Latino. Latino is just someone who's from Latin America so thet could be anyone, an Asian, Black, Middle Eastern, Native, White...
Hispanic as a "race" is also nonsensical. As it refers to the language and cultures of the ethnically mixed people of the Americas (except the northern portion). The majority of the population is mestizo (Amerindian/European), with almost no interrelation between the Amerindian portion. As people from North Mexico and South Texas/New Mexico have Southern Abraskan (Apache/Navajo) ancestry. Which are an entirely different genetic group from most Ameridian populations. They even migrated in later seperate migration and speak language from an entirely different linguistic group.
@@UnicornsPoopRainbows Really it's just varying admixtures of different groups (Southern European, African, Amerindian). I've known people that are "Latino", yet have 40%+ Amerindian and only 8% Spanish ancestry. The remainder being Italian and North African (Berber). When you're mostly Indian and barely Spanish. Why respect the people/culture who pillaged your ancestors.
Yeah but all we had to do is drop our accent and some of us darken our hair. Not saying Irish didn’t suffer but it was a hell of a lot easier to pass, especially for the second generation.
@@stillhere1425 Of course and I would never compare the suffering of the Irish to the suffering of minorities but I don’t think anyone should have to get rid of their culture for any reason it’s also why I think many Americans don’t even know that they may be of Irish dissent And why there isn’t a larger Irish culture in America although I do love the Irish American culture (which I have been raised in)But along with getting rid of accents they had to get rid of holidays and even Irish foods that they would’ve eaten in the household so their landlord wouldn’t kick them out and they had to deny their ancestry and their homeland but the Irish have come along way and I’m proud to say that I am Irish American I would actually love to see a video about Irish American culture
Warren grew up in Oklahoma where is a very strong Native American area for many generations. And many families do have a a family story of such heritage, such as a great-grandmother. I would not necessarily ascribe evil intentions here.
Brazil never had that one drop rule, we are a colorist country, if you look white you're white, if you don't, bad luck then. We're in fact the very place to pass if you can, since race is pretty much self-determinated and our wide gene pool makes whole families look like one of those college campus multiracial pictures were every person look a different race with different skin color, hair texture and features. At least my very much brazilian family is like that with black aunts, blonde cousins and native grandparents, asian looking uncles etc.
@@joiceraiana let's not forget that a very comun passing in Brazil is Natoce-passing, It's very common to see white or mixed people acting in native Indian holes in media, the same sometimes happens with east asians too. And a bit rearer but still existing is white and white passing people identifying as Pardo in the census. This is quite prevalent in the Northeast.
A pleasant surprise when the presenter came into focus. It's rather refreshing seeing folks presenting on television that could "pass" for your reatives.
My mother's family did this. They were Native Americans that escaped from the reservations before Natives were given American citizenship. They moved across states, passed for 'tan' whites, & had their kids put as 'white' on their birth certificates when they were born. When mom was alive she made me promise not to tell anyone until she passed away because she was still afraid the government would do something if they found out. Since she's been gone a long time it doesn't matter I tell. Mom told me the reason they did this was that it was 100% better to be a poor white person than an Indian any day.
That is heartbreaking
Went to school with someone who's great grandparents did this. Only way for their great grandad to buy a farm.
My great grandfather did similar. Fought in WW2 as a Wind-Talker. Married a French nurse and settled down in Colorado when he returned to the States to be an English teacher. My family only found out a few years back after some genealogical research cause by DNA tests. My grandmother was about 60% native.
littleolmee That’s horrible. As a white person interested in Native American culture, my heart feels like it’s twisting. Please don’t believe your mother!!
Same here! My mom's native ancestors passed for "Mexican" & married German settlers. Back then it was way better to be considered Mexican rather than Indian. I was shocked to find less than 2% "Iberian" in a DNA test - however 2 of my sisters are RH negative so that might be Basque (Cro-Magnon) which is still sort-of Iberian.
My fathers side of the family had many who passed as white. My father is very light with blue eyes, his younger brother looks like him but darker skinned, same blue eyes. My dad told me that some of his ancestors were freedmen.We live in the south and the ones who passed as white would pretend to be the slave overseer or owner of the ones who didnt so they wouldn't be separated or mistreated. It's a crazy family story
That is an amazing story. I would love to know if it was actually true or not. I imagine after a few generations of slavery in the US, there definitely could be enough mixing. Hollywood should make a movie about this (and I'm sure cast super white people in all the leads 🙄)
@@UnicornsPoopRainbows my father was very detailed about our family history. I used to be sceptical but now that hes done his DNA and a lot of things have matched up, I'm started to lean towards it being true. I do think it would make a good movie haha
I would love to read the history of your family!
@@ameenahsf He should write a book!
And some people act as if biracial or mixed race is something new, not something as old as the whole concept of race. Between love being "blind", concepts of "race" being different in different cultures, the whole master/slave "sexual harassment" thing ( also not new), and raiding, I doubt anyone anywhere is "pure" anything (maybe a few Australian Aborigines?).
I love your presentation, and the reasons for “passing.” I agree passing was done for convenience. My mother told me; “There is no shame in being Black, what is a shame is the way they treat us for being Black.”
Oh please
@@loralarose9615 buzz off
@Koriander Yander I disagree that Megan is white-passing; she looks mixed but def not white.
@@92Kandee i think when she has her curly hair she looks mixed but with straight coloured hair she kinda looks white.
Presentation c2001 on Academia.edu `Passing` by Sandra Shevey. You can read it. It`s still up there.
My grandma did this. She claimed to be of french decent instead of what she actually was, Ojibwa. She didn't even have a birth certificate until she was in her 20's (of course natives weren't considered American citizens when she was born), then slightly changed her name on it and ethnicity (it was weird to see specific ethnicities like french and Irish on a birth certificate). All it took was a friend of the family claiming it was true. It helped that her step father, who was of European ancestry, legally adopted her and 2 of her sisters.
She had graduated top of her college class but couldn't get a job because she was an "Indian". As soon as she became "french" she was hired right away.
Funny thing is she married an Algonquin man who was also passing as white, and her sister was raising a herd of bison less then a mile from the school my grandma ran.
The ending is very native American. Herding bison is one step removed from saying "i live off the land" on you census questioner. And i mean that in a positive way
@@MilloSpiegel I got to meet the herd when I was 7. My great aunt lived 4 hours north of me and my parents took us kids up to see where my dad spent his summers (and where my grandma was born and taught school, but we didn't register that at the time. Funny story, my mom's step dad, who was Cherokee from Oklahoma, ended up buying the school house and using it for storage, not knowing it was the place his step daughter's mother in law taught).
I only remember a few things from that trip, thinking I was in the mountains (it was hills, but southern Michigan is very flat, so northern Michigan looked like mountains to me lol), meeting my uncle and realizing why my grandma had told me so many legends and bought me Native American porcelain dolls (my uncle walked up with black hair past his waist.), the fact that the house's heat was a wood burning stove and there were all sorts of stuffed animals in her living room (bears, deer, moose, elk, bobcats. All stuff my uncle shot on the farm, slaughtered and stuffed. We had deer for dinner that day. My mom wouldn't let us out of her sight when she realized how many bears were around the property. My uncle said he tried not to shoot them unless they came to close to the house and barn, and even then he only shot them if they kept coming back after being scared off), and that the bison came running out of the trees to come meet me. They were so massive, but so gentle that I could feed them apples out of my hand.
I pass as white too... I'm a mix of black, red Indian and white. My mother is from Surinam where it is absolutely normal to have multi racial ancestry, nobody cares... When they went to the Netherlands my mother started to pass herself off as white. She married a Swiss guy and moved there where she passed herself off as South European. Black people normally see that l'm not white. They never mention it though, not until l myself tell the tale. I never cared who knew, but now l don't volunteer the information anymore, had some weird reactions from "Bakras" as we call them. Don't need that shit in my life.... 😂
As a white I often pass for black just to get treated decently.
Chinese people who stayed in the Philippines during the Spanish period changed their surnames and converted to Catholicism to escape persecution by the Spaniards.
Such as Cojuangco
@Colin Champollion kinda insensitive though
Colin Champollion well Latin American countries aren’t really an “ethnic” group. Like I have a colombian father who is Spanish blood and an Italian-american mother. I look Mediterranean and am first generation Latin American therefore I identify with Latino
The descendants of Chinese in the Philippines later immigrated to the USA
I am very happy with how fact based and relatively unbiased these videos are. This is what educational content on TH-cam is supposed to be like. Keep it up!
Edit:
I like how people are still responding to this two year old comment. I specifically used the word "relatively" because no source is without its biases or mistakes, but compared to a lot of content out here on TH-cam, this is well researched and backed by high quality sources.
AJ
Fact based? At 1:15 she says people who were "passing" (a ridiculous term) as white were *"pretending"* to be of european decent. They *were* of european dissent, they weren't pretending. Which is why they could "pass" in the first place because they were actually white people. But white society was too racist to accept them because they had small amounts of black in them. Something some of us seem to insist on carrying on. If you are a majority white you are white not "passing". No reason why you'd be anything else
@@Scoring57 What are you talking about? If their mom is black/father white how on earth are they a majority ANYTHING? Why is passing a ridiculous term? What other term would you use for someone who is one race saying their another? How is any of this not fact based?
@@Scoring57
So how were the mentioned Chinese Hispanic? They weren't.
Passing as Male or straight person has social capital some still lack otherwise.
Scoring57
I think you need to rewatch the video, you seem confused.
Her whole thing is studying how people lied, cheated and stole their place in our society. Libtards are stupid.
When I was a stripper, I'd tell old white guys I was Puerto Rican or Latina because they didn't want black dancers. I'm mixed with black, white, and Filipino. I used to take great pleasure in lying to those men and taking their money.
If you have filipino ancestry, you can consider yourself latina, I guess. hahahahaha
I ould have expected the opposite as from my 'limited' experiences with such establishments (People watching at clubs like that is an interesting way to kill an hour or two) I've noticed the more a guy looks like 'Santa' the more he craves 'Brown Sugar'... obviously your experience as a Performer, would differ, not to mention the demographics of your Club's city would affect such things too
Some of the younger cowboy types or metal dudes did come in and partake in brown sugar but the old ones (some) were grossed out by black women, like the older businessman.
Ugh, creeps. I'm glad you took their money though 💸
Well you're apparently not black but mixed race
I’m lovin the hair with a little blue!
Yeah, and the whole outfit together looks pretty great with it
Blue peek-a-boo highlights are super cute!
I thought that was a part of a necklace for a long minute lmao
I agree. So knowledgeable, well spoken, and stylish.
@mic mccoy wtf is wrong with you? Could you sound like more of a moron?
I'm mixed Black/Indian/Irish. I was told by my friend's mother to take the opportunity to "pass" since she thought I could. I was horrified by it. This was in 2006, I was like 14. They were not trying to hurt me, they were looking out for me. Took me years to understand.
Why would you need to pass in 06?
@@Shay20188right unless they were like immigrants cause immigrants were still passing
When I arrived in Los Angeles from Jamaica in the 1990's, I was told by an older African American lady, that I could pass. I am of mixed black/ white heritage - and I had lived in Jamaica and learned to love myself as a mixed race person. It was a process, and then to have someone tell me to "deny" a part of myself, was so disheartening to me. Why would I want to say I am something I am not, in order to be acceptable? You either accept me or you don't.
So true
I never knew about that woman who passed as black to commit welfare fraud. It really infuriates me because she is most likely the source of the stereotype of the "black welfare queen," a racist stereotype that is still used today to justify reducing federal funding to social safety net programs 🤬🤬🤬🤬
yeah, its very ironic and frustrating that this awful stereotype was actually based on a white woman who was passing as black...all they people who believe the stereotype sure would feel stupid if they knew the truth though!
I don't think that racism is a good excuse for the 70% single mother rate of black women. Nor the 40% rate of black men incarcerated.
Lissy London well technically it is
do you got a job
Corey Levine yup
During colonial times, jewish families from Portugal were deported to Brazil, to avoid problems this families would hide their heritage in Brazil changing their surnames, creating new ones that wouldn't be reconigzed by the law. Inspired by the nature a bunch of them were the names of plants and animals such as: Carvalho, Oliveira, Pinheiro, Raposo... (Oak, Olive tree, pine tree, fox...)
I knew a girl with the surname Oliveira, I thought she was just Portuguese but im guessing she could be a Sephardic Jew?
That's very interesting to know! Thanks for sharing!
@@lexi55410 She's certainly a lot more Portuguese than a jew nowadays. Oliveira is simply the third most common family name in Brazil, shown in the names of people of all races.
Same w the Sephardim Jews expelled from Spain, many ended up in the Spanish colonies in the America’s and they even founded cities like Monterrey, Mexico which is the financial capital of Mexico, and many are still descendants of crypto Jews!
theres a lot of jewish immigrants to south america in general bcus canada and the us stopped accepting refugees from europe. this is evident as one of the most famous latino celebs is don francisco, a chilean tv host but his parents were jewish refugees escaping europe during wwii! as the child of mexican immigrants to the us, i also have some minor jewish ancestry as well. latinos are just a mix of everything :)
Thank you for covering this topic! Can you do the origin of people from the Middle East (regardless of skin tone) being considered “white” in the U.S.? Also, why do we still use the terms black/white when describing someone’s race, but we no longer hear people saying red or yellow?
C-light
I am wondering about that too. Like, Asians are called Asian but never yellow, Natives are never called redskin, yet Africans are always called black, and Middle Easterners are often called brown.
Margarita M. - That’s interesting. I’ve only heard of “brown” being ascribed to East Indians or Latinos, but never used to identify a specific race. I remember asking, rhetorically, what colour people from the Middle East were (thinking I would make a point), only to be told by someone who was dark-complected and from the M.E. that she marks “white” on the census and other government forms and she considers herself to be white. Go figure. Ever notice that there is no category for those from that region of the world?
I've seen this question pop up in a few other comments, and I also know that at different point in history negative titles like "red" and "yellow" have been applied to racial groups. I wonder if I can pin down the exact origin of the color coding system (although prejudice usually doesn't have the most concrete logic). More soon as I keep searching!
-Danielle
Origin Of Everything - Thanks for your interest and diligence, Danielle! Can’t wait to see what you unearth.
Danielle, I am Arab-American and can discuss this with you, if you like. You might look at the book "White by Law" written by a law professor whose name escapes me right now. It discusses the laws that determined if certain racial and ethnic groups were white and how they wobbled back and forth.
At this time, people of Middle Eastern/East Asian and North African ancestry are considered white on forms. When we fill out the forms, that is what we check or are even directed to check. HOWEVER, when people whose forms these are fill out the same darn forms for us, a huge percentage of the time, they check OTHER, if it is available. It is a case of us needing to be white for demographical purposes (number count) but still reminded that culturally we are not.
There was a discussion about MENA (Middle Eastern/North African) being a census designation for the 2020 census that failed. Many of us supported the new category, while others feared being identified, remembering historical instances where the census was used to target people, the internment of JapaneseAmerican people in WWII the most obvious example.
That doll experiment makes me want to cry. Those poor children. I mean, it's all terrible, but that really got me.
@Koriander Yander wtf is your problem
@Koriander Yander she bleaches lol
So great you mentioned passing in the Chinese community. The term passing is often used for “black” passing for white. The history of the Chinese exclusion act and passing for Hispanic and the Chinese population in Mexico is really important but often glossed over. Even in Ethnic studies it’s rarely mentioned. People often see passing as negative but back then it was survival. The reason for passing is often so complicated. So glad you pointed that out
I have wondered why some Mexicans have Asian features to me and you think they’re Asian.
@@pameladevoe4005 a lot of the Asian looking Latin Americans are actually mostly indigenous! But there are also exceptions like what you mentioned where it's because they have some East Asians genes in them. Japanese, Chinese and Filipinos are the most common Asians to have immigrated to Latin America early on for work
@@pameladevoe4005indigenous Americans crossed the land bridge from northern Asia to Alaska; some even consider native Americans to be mongoloid. That’s why they look very similar.
I wish Danielle had brought up Korla Pandit, born John Roland Redd. He was a black man with racially ambiguous features and straight hair. As a musician he had several different racial identities before promoting himself as the son of an Indian father and European mother. He mostly wore a turban so you never saw his hair texture. The one time, his turban was snatched off in public, his long straight black hair was seen. Korla Pandit till the day he died never admitted his black heritage. He never even told his children whom he had with a white woman. They believe that they are mostly of European and some Indian descent.
Anatole Broyard, a black Creole writer and literary critic, kept quiet about his black heritage because he wanted to be seen as a writer rather then a black writer. He was pretty successful writer, and his book reviews were well respected. Some people in the literary scene suspected he was black but never said anything. One writer Chandler Brossard wrote a book inspired by him, about a black man who passes, which pissed off Broyard. Broyard a had a daughter with a Puerto Rican woman, then later married a white woman. He kept his secret from his white wife, but she later found out. A year before he died of cancer, his wife told their children of their father's heritage. When he was alive, his fans often wanted him to put an autobiography but never did, because he didn't want to touch upon his heritage, but kept telling people that it was a work in progress.
Lawrence Dennis, mixed race writer who supported fascism. Also his hid heritage. He kept his hair short most of his life, when he was found dead, he had an afro.
Freddie Mercury, born an Indian, but he kept quiet about his heritage. He never denied or lied about being Indian, but never mentioned it either. Especially since Rock N Roll music had very little diversity and was mostly white. Black rock musicians stood out, some wouldn't know what to make of an Indian musician in Rock music. Many people thought he was just a white Brit with a year round tan. Some heard that he was Persian (especially due to that Persian Poppinjay comment he made). Some fans thought he was half this half that. When Freddie Mercury passed on, he had his funeral performed by Zoroastrian priests, and we got to see his mother, father, and sister. They have appeared in several Freddie Mercury and Queen documentaries which confirm Freddie's Indian ancestry.
A lot of fascinating people who kept their racial heritages a secret.
I'm black of Haitian descent. However, most people assume that I'm either Latino, Indian, Arab, or Polynesian. However, I could never find myself lying about my Haitian background, I'm too proud of it. However, I don't judge any of these men for their choices on how they identified themselves.
I seriously think singer Tom Jones is passing.
For the longest time I thought Freddie Mercury was Romanian or Lithuanian or something. I feel like I read he had some kind of connection to an Eastern European heritage but I can't remember how. Did his parents grow up there? Ugh, I'll have to look it up later...
@@SheilaDeBonis , I used to think Freddie Mercury was half British half Iranian/Persian. Got it from some article in the 70s that I read where the author wasn't fully informed. Later another article I read, in the 2000s, gave details about Freddie's heritage. However, we still have people arguing whether Freddie was bisexual, gay, or pansexual.
Freddie Mercury was Persian, his family just lived in India for generations. Zoroastrians are ethnically Persian.
@@SheilaDeBonis I am curious, what assumption do you have how Lithuanians look like?
The book "Black Like Me" is another example: a white man used blackface to discover what being black in the Jim Crow South was really like. (The only time I know of that blackface was used for good.)
Its never good
@@kdub31086 You might want to read the book - the author was really trying to understand what being black in the South at that time was like. He was also involved in the Civil Rights movement as a white ally and organizer.
Sarah Watts- Why couldn’t he talk to black people about the experiences of being black? Putting on a cat costume is not the same as being a cat.
@@kdub31086 that's a rather un-nuanced view of the world.
@@dumbsquaredgirl5709 Because talking about a thing isn't the same as experiencing it.
Im happy she is putting this out here for people to know , lots blacks had to pass in order get a better life . My uncle , and several of my aunt's had to pass for white in order to attend college . They told me it was dangerous thing if someone found out that they were black .
Randell Parham
You can't "pass" if you don't actually belong to that race in the case of black people. Makes no sense to call it "passing" when the person looks that way because they're a majority white. No such thing as "passing". How come there's no "passing for black". Cause black is the dumping ground for every race. Any everyone feels they can claim black because they don't respect what it is to be black
@@Scoring57 you do realize there are black people, who are ethinicly all black, that are just a fairer complexion. My mother is one. I've looked through our entire genealogy and for about 5 or 6 generations there have been nothing but African American people. But my mother could pass if she wanted. People often don't believe she is my mother because of our contrast in color.
aqglitter1 Skip Gates’ research on the origins of African Americans (AAs) has shown that the average AA has just under a quarter European ancestry. Technically we AAs are all “mixed” to some extent. The “one drop” rule - which has no basis in science - is why people who may have had a significant amount of European ancestry still claimed black (or had it imposed upon them). You can be culturally “full black” and genealogically “mixed” at the same time.
There are a couple of branches of my family that have more Euro ancestry. One of those descendants passed as white to get a better secretarial job. The story goes that one of our darker-skinned cousins had to make a delivery to the office where she worked and they had to pretend they didn’t know each other. Here’s the thing: She ONLY passed for work...she didn’t disappear into the white world like others did. This happened in the 40s. I met her and her mom when I was a little kid in the 70s. They were both white-appearing and they REALLY disliked white people. Can you imagine why? Toi Derricotte’s The Black Notebooks offers a great look into what it’s like to look white and be black.
Scoring57 this makes no sense
But there are hbcus. There was no need to pass. U could still go to college. They honestly passed for other reasons
Omg!!! I didn’t know that “welfare queen” was white!!! Now that’s some news that needs to be spread!!! Thank you for this!!! I cannot wait!!
I don't know that it would change the complaints of the Republicans. When I've heard this story, her race wasn't even mentioned. It wasn't about how good the individual or her race was at scamming.
It was just about the fact that the welfare system is so easily misused, and needs abolishing or reforming.
This message, whether true or not, is pretty unaffected by her race.
@@broomemike1 - Don't be naive. Everybody knew what Reagan meant because the stereotype of welfare (and now TANF) has dark skin. The men hustle and con even now, the women pumped out babies for the checks, and none of them worked a day in their lives according to white fantasy.
Yeah, welfare was not a program for Black women. The welfare program and system was for white women only, Black women could not gain access to welfare programs when they were rolled out in the 1950s.
Reagan was constantly going on about welfare queens and Black bucks.
@@eshowoman reagan is creepy
I don't support the one drop rule.
That's how virulent racism is. People who thought themselves white, who looked white, who (as far as they knew) were white, could lose everything because of ONE Black ancestor. It didn't matter if that ancestor arrived in the late 18th Century: the entire family was now Black and thus second- or third-class citizens. Also, every failing of and in that family was attributed to that one Black ancestor.
BUT -- the same folks who declared that one Black ancestor degraded all descendants for eternity explained away intelligent, successful, BIPOC by whites in the family tree. They never noticed how they undid their argument, or else had some interesting verbal gymnastics to justify it.
During the Civil Rights movement, Blacks extended a welcome to all those who were only considered Black because of a single ancestor generations ago. Not all accepted the invitation, but others did.
Me neither
@@julietfischer5056 there's black men kids by none black women, their passing for black cause of their image not cause that's their ethnicity
@@ThePhoenix3712 - Don't be naive: someone who's half Black is Black in this society. They aren't 'passing.' There are still people who are all about that one drop because we are obsessed with race.
angelmushahf bold statement. On the topic of those who are half-black: Obama? Black. Halsey? White. Alicia Keys? Ambiguous. You are what you look like...
“Passing” is a really common social phenomena with LGBT people. Transgender people who appear cisgender are much less likely to be stopped in a bathroom or discriminated against. Likewise, in the wake of recent bathroom bills, there were some cases of cisgender people being stopped or questioned in bathrooms because they did not match typical gender norms (short haired women, long haired men etc).
I personally know a woman who was mistaken for a man and harassed in a Walmart bathroom. She's not a man. She is a lesbian and dresses in jeans and tee shirts. Bloody hell.
Eeww who would want to pass as cis?
I used to get into the worst fights with my mom over my desire for long hair. I've never been harassed over it, though. Probably because I started growing facial hair pretty early (I first learned to shave in 5th grade and had a full beard by my second year of highschool). Though I do have some fun stories about people approaching me from behind and attempting to flirt with me before they get a look at my face.
I'm a cis-girl that's 5"7 and I have muscles, too. I have long hair (and boobs) but people sometimes debate with me about whether or not I'm actually "female."
Suvi-Tuuli Allan me for safety reasons I’m not closeted on my sexuality but I am about my gender
Great work, keep it up. You have a knack for describing facts and providing evidence without ruffling the feathers of jumpy onlookers. This is a talent sorely needed in this time, a great pairing to those who go deeper into the issues and may ruffle those feathers. You do it just by being you and doing proper research, presenting things in a plain way. I hope to see more people like you on TH-cam in the future. thanks PBS for funding this gem.
Edit: and thanks to the gem Danielle!
The phenomenon occurs today as well. I worked with a woman not too long ago whose husband was passing. She wondered what their son would look like. The son was blond. The amusement came when he would see a Black performer on a television set in a department store, point to him, and shout "granddad." She said the reactions of the other shoppers were hysterical and she never explained that her son's grandfather did indeed look like the actor.
You can read a fictionalized account of the issue of passing in "Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!" by Fannie Flagg. She may not get the credit she deserves for treating issues of substance in her primarily lighthearted novels.
I love it ! Both your stories. Blonde afro.
@@kathryngeeslin9509 Their son had straight blond hair.
On the other hand, my hair (when I had some) was close to kinky and I carried mail during the summer. So my "fro" got progressively blonder as the summer went on. Yes, I was delivering in both white and Black neighborhoods. Nobody thought I was passing - they could tell I was a person with light olive skin and a blond fro.
In my childhood happened even weirdest thing :my relatives didn't consider African American singers like Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Whitney Huston.... and I realized many of those artists were not white only in adulthood.
Koriander Yander, Megan is NOT white passing... she clearly looks mixed and that’s also what I thought at first.
@@kathryngeeslin9509 white passing people sometimes have straighter hair that they take after their white side of the family. A mixed kid won't always have afro hair like their ancestors.
The young lady who hosts this video is very articulate and did an awesome job!
She is an Ivy League school graduate. What did you expect her to sound like? Precious?
So am I! I was just giving her a compliment.
That's your opinion; and I'm ok with it. However, what I posted was my opinion and it was only stated because I believed she was well-spoken. I would have stated that no matter what her race was. God Bless...
Koal Kottentail I disagree. The definition of articulate is “to speak fluently or coherently”. She is coherent in the message; being able to be understood and easily absorbed by the listener in such a way as they will easily understand her message and learn something. As a teacher you want to speak in a way your students are able to learn the information you’re passing on with relative ease and understanding. The word articulate was specifically crated for a reason such as this. Take it how you like but before you tell me to look up the definition of this word; as a dual history and linguistics major this is what I gathered from the comment “she has worded and phrased her video in a way that I understand and have learned from what she is saying” which is her end goal to be heard and unmistakably understood.
Once I slowed the playback down to 0.75, I agree. She talked so fast it was giving me a headache. After slowing it down I thoroughly enjoyed it. She speaks much slower in later vids, so no worries. Still a great channel. 😎
"Imitation of Life" is a great oldies movie about a girl that can pass for white.
Rachel Dolezal was the first person I thought of when I clicked play. Thank you for how imformative this is. Definitely shines a light on how laws have changed over the past years and the hardships people had to go through to live in a "Land of the Free"
She is not even black passing. 🙄
Alot like how America was founded with a strong belief in God, and our motto is still in God we trust, but people fight tooth and nail to keep religion out of politics. As if our rights aren't known as unalienable rights. Meaning, they come from God.
When minorities try to change the inherent culture that forms the foundation of the society they joined, it collapses.
Shay45 She did more for blacks I bet you and I ever did.
Trinity Stormfall
Separation of church and state
She’s a whole white woman. Are you dumb or did you forget that,
Danielle Bainbridge does this so well! Educating people on subjects that can be very touchy, and triggering to a lot of people, but doing it with such objectivity, and finesse. We need more people like her teaching in all levels of education! This woman needs her own weekly show!
I'm really grateful for this show. As a filmmaker myself I know the time and effort required to create something like this and the fact that someone is making that sacrifice gives me hope that we are working towards a better, more equal future for everyone.
"There is a ton more to cover in this story" but wow, you packed in sooooo much! What a journey in a few short minutes!
I did the doll test with my son. He identified the darkest doll as good and the white doll as bad.
Has anyone here seen
“The Imitation of Life?”
It was played by full white actors though not the best example but not s bad movie
@R M ahh I was talking about the one made in the 60s not the original. Now the original is a classic
@@mari5258 - In the 1934 original, actress Fredi Washington portrayed adult Peola, a character who spends much of her life passing for white. Ms. Washington was a light-skinned Black woman (so light that she was DARKENED for a role as Paul Robeson's love interest). It isn't until the end that she acknowledges her mother and thus her race.
@Juliet Fischer. I’m not certain where you’re getting information about Ms. Fredi Washington. I’m sharing this respectfully as I am related to people (now deceased) who knew her and spoke of her positively. According to them, she was not known for “passing” and openly spoke with pride about being black and the need for diverse roles for African Americans in film. At one point she was an in-law of Adam Clayton Powell and African Americans were aware of her race via black media. Also, both her father and mother did not choose to pass and they were known to have mixed ancestry.
@@DD-rp2qr - I was talking about the character she plays in the movie, Peola. I know that SHE never passed.
It should also be noted that Homer A. Plessy was 1/16 African American. He passed while on the train, and called attention to himself in order to be thrown off so he could make his case. He had hoped to help make segregation illegal but ended up drinking himself to death once his case made "separate but equal" law.
For reference, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president, was also 1/16 African American.
Great video!
Poor soul. That’s actually crushing...
How does one be 1/16th African American?
@@Militant_Twinky_X I guess one of his great grandparents was african american.
So sell out Obama wasn’t the first black president
@@goldwolf0606 Obama was the first black president. Eisenhower was never proven to be any portion of black and that falsehood stems from self-published books that weren't peer reviewed and almost all historians refute/disagree with that claim. I wish people would stop spreading this lie.
When my grandma moved to Mexico from Hungary, she took the name Isais, which sounded more Spanish, but her real name was Estis, which is of Yiddish origin.
Seems ironic to me since Isais is derived from a Hebrew name and Estis sounds very Latinate. Hahaha. Weird how that works out.
Omg I'm Hungarian!! Did you learn Hungarian?
I just love listening to her voice, so intelligent and reassuring.
What an amazing history lesson! My paternal great-great-grandmother passed as white, married a white man in 1873, and now this all makes sense.
Please do a video on middle easterners (Arabs,Jews,Persians)
And the complexity of that race issue!
We are marked as "white" on the U.S census.
I feel the history of why that is,is rather odd and a good story.
Yes, please do a video on Middle Easterners! I'm constantly so confused about my identity as a Central Asian/Persian Jew and have no idea where I fit in, especially since the American racial model was most likely not created with us in mind at all. I heard in the next US census Middle Eastern and North African people will finally have their own category! So that does feel a bit validating, even though I'm sure it'll just be used by the government to keep tabs on us or something.
@@rtmusicvideos431 they actually declined the me/na category...
So we will be considered "white" for another decade..
And this is how I view myself
I see myself as Caucasian of Palestinian descent.
I have white skin with olive toned and obvious semetic features
I see myself as "white" as Italians or Greeks are "white".
I would think many in my case think similarly?
@@monsutades9999 oh man, did they? That stinks! I think with Middle Eastern people it all depends on the person, how they see themselves and how others see them. There are also Middle Easterners of all different skin colors and facial appearances. Some might identify or just pass as white, and some may not. Some may only pass as white in certain geographic areas but not others. It's a complicated issue.
@@rtmusicvideos431
That's exactly my case
People in most cases view me as white and simply think I'm Italian or Greek or something among those lines
And sometimes people view me as a light skinned Mexican/Hispanic
I've also gotten half white/half Mexican
Half asian/half white
But people generally assume I'm white so I identify as such because it makes sense yet I have seen middle easterners who don't because they are assumed not white
Usually this is the case with Muslims especially females if they wear a hijab because then you can clearly see she's Muslim.
I think the west thinks islam≠whiteness
@@monsutades9999 huh weird am palestinian too (hurayy) but i get confused for northern italian or french or english and frequantly as ashkenazi in israel in my birth country, i mean kinda understand it since i am quite tall, my skin is reddish and very white in untanned areas, my hair is brown wavy and very soft, and my facial features are rather european looking.
The middle east is very weird indeed
Hum, you missed one very heart felt reason for "passing" (probably Hollywood favorite reason): freedom of friendships/romance/marriage.
My grandmother spent most of her life "passing" because of fear of being treated worse or losing esteem in other's eyes. She also lost a number of "beaus" when they found out from a jealous woman from back home about her heritage. Thank God she eventually met my grandfather, who would love her no matter what her heritage was.
She still would have taken her secret to her grave if her children hadn't found out as the result of another jealous woman. I'm glad it came out, it makes for an interesting history.
Would be interesting to you do other types of passing like straight-passing.
Christopher Smith
I also want to hear more about women who passed as men during history to survive/get a better economical standing, etc.
Apparently, if your peers think you're not straight, no amount of conforming or not conforming to stereotypes will make them think otherwise.
This is a great addition to the conversation! There is some information about this topic in Allyson Hobbs book, but I'm going to see if I can flag a few sources on this from LGBTQ scholars to add to the works cited list or to a fan response coming out in March, since I think it's vital history to discuss. Thanks for bringing this into the comments section.
-Danielle
@@philyk.illagan3161 - Pretty much. It's all based on insecurity, and that insecurity comes from a society in which it's still easy to lose status over sexual orientation or gender identity.
My Arab great grandfather passed as white. It definitely helped that he was 6’7, and people seemed to just not question him.
Hey same here!
What country of origin is he ?
Very interesting when did he migrate to the US
And what do you consider yourself
@@MrHtjet he actually migrated to Mexico, so he most likely stuck out like a sore thumb. I think he was from Libya, but I’m not sure of the year.
@@MrHtjet I consider myself Mexican because I’m mostly that, and it’s also the only culture that stuck in the family.
Arabs were considered white by law. Nothing would have happened to him even if he was unambiguously Arab or people 'discovered' that he was Arab.
How am I JUST finding this channel?!?!
Wow! Another fantastic video. Thank you 😊
white guy: pretends to be black to further his musical career
ariana grande: *taking notes*
OMG LOLOLOL THE FACTS
Ive never heard of racial passing before this video but its an interesting topic. It sadly highlights the biases and propaganda of the time though it's sad to see just how much modern society still clings to some of those outdated ideas while having our own modern day forms, like with what others have said about gay and trans individuals having to pass as straight.
Zekana0
You should watch a film called “A House Divided” starring a Jennifer Beals. She is half black herself, but looks more like a Southern European lady, she played a southern belle during Reconstruction era who learns from her wealthy landlord father that her black babysitter is actually her mother.
Also, there are many films based on real life events about Jewish people in Nazi Germany or occupied countries who passed as German/Dutch/French etc. to avoid persecution.
My fathers side of the family had many who passed as white. My father is very light with blue eyes, his younger brother looks like him but darker skinned, same blue eyes. My dad told me that some of his ancestors were freedmen.We live in the south and the ones who passed as white would pretend to be the slave overseer or owner of the ones who didnt so they wouldn't be separated or mistreated. It's a crazy family story
I'm very grateful to see that somewhere there is a meaningful conversation on this topic. As a woman from a marginalized community, I have had slurs hurled at me and been treated as less than when people see that I am different. It is not always universal. I have found many times that people see what they want to see, but they spend little time actually getting to know a person. When a person meets another person, the first thing that comes to mind should not be what background are they from. It truly does not matter what a person looks like either, at least it doesn't to me.
The most concise American I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. No hyperbole, no sloppy grammar.
I love this channels but I’d like more videos with this topics but not just American history.
Mariana this channel is owned by PBS (an American company) so they will probably only go into American history
@@kaylees.7378 to add to that American History is easier to find and reference. Many other counties dont have the same historical records or resources to maintain records like that due to poverty or ramification of previous wars.
How dare you think that the world and all it's history doesn't revolve around the US?!
PBS is based in America and is strongly affiliated with the America government. As much as I would like it to happen, it’s unlikely.
Marianna- perhaps but please reflect kindly- we Americans desperately need to learn our actual history and not the myths we got at school
My South American (Argentina/Uruguay) family passed as "Sicilian/Italian" they were actually of European, Native American, and African descent. We found a very small amount of Sardinian DNA.
@Koriander Yander she looks black
Wouldn’t have helped them in New Orleans in 1891 😢
This was very fascinating. I'm Asian but have always been mistaken as Spanish. If I learn how to speak in Spanish I think I can absolutely pass as Latina.
I'm a light skinned African American; for the last 8 years I have lived in a neighborhood of Los Angeles called Koreatown. During that time, 3 people have asked me if I was Asian, 2 of whom were Asian. The second Asian man, when I said, no, I'm African American, exclaimed "But you're so yellow!"
@@darryldunmore5184 lol we should join the circus and have people guess our nationality. We would be banking ❤️❤️❤️
@@darryldunmore5184 are you biracial? You should probably claim mixed race (both races) instead of African American. It seems that it would make more sense, especially considering your phenotype.
Problem is that you just combined Spanish with latina. Latinos aren't Spanish. We have Spanish dna in us which is why we speak Spanish and some of us even look Spanish. Spanish folks are frome europe (right next to France and Portugal) and most of them look like the average white hipster you see at trader Joe's lol. Latinos are more mixed. And spanish comes from Europe not Latin America 🤦♂️
Fantastic speaker. She always nails the subject. Very dense and worth a third watch.
So much applause for this video. The moment when she said "Those in the social minority were BOTH in physical and legal danger from the state" I was hooked. Preach
NOSTRADAMUS was a name his Jewish family took on to escape persecution way back in 1500s...they smartly picked a very Catholic sounding name....
Shell Chenonceau
R. Disraeli, a right-wing British PM in 19th century was a Jewish man, but during his time in the office he claimed to be a Spanish nobleman lol.
At the same time he gave lots of speeches about how they should keep immigrants out of England to keep English blood pure. I was in stitches when I read that.
I Hate when people assume that I'm white when I'm afro-latino. I have witnessed when people treat me different than an African American next to me. I've caught myself arguing because of this.
Biology and percentages do matter...
Why do you hate being mistaken for white?
@@meldelgado462 why should she like it?
@@meldelgado462 I was stopped by a cop who put white on my speeding ticket. I don't feel I look white. I found it offensive. I am black.
I don’t mean to say you should “like” being mistaken for white . I’m just wondering why they would go so much to say they hate it. I’ve been mistaken for white before but I didn’t get the offended or triggered. I simply corrected the person and moved on with my life.
My great grandmother had light brown hair with blue eyes. I remember her talking about passing for white. She would take advantage of it by going to white supermarkets because of food quality was much better. I'm sure there was more but I was really young when she was talking about it so I don't remember everything.
Amazing as always, thank you Danielle we will miss you!!
Passing now Is called #blackfishing and many today are guilty (cough cough Kardashian/Jenners)
Exactly, that I was thinking too.
@Telive Qwenton they don't look mixed at all
robin mcgregor you’re late and you sound ridiculous
My mothers parents converted to Anglicanism, when they moved to New Zealand (still a mostly Anglican country today), from Germany. As a child, I a used to question mum about grandma, and whether there was more to the story, since I used to get quite heavily bullied for looking Jewish. She would say things like grandma has darker skin curly dark brown hair and a big nose, because it's her Austrian heritage. Turns out grandma was in fact from a Jewish family, and mum was lying, because we "wouldn't understand".
I never knew I "looked Jewish" until I moved to New York.
But I gotta be honest, when I lived in an orthodox neighborhood in Sheepshead Bay, I didn't look that different from the neighbors.
After doing some digging, it turns out that 75% of the Spanish names in my family are related to Judaism. I think a lot of us are hidden from the truth to protect us from things we can't even comprehend.
@@dr.christopherdiaz4473 Funny thing was, is my mum married a Fijian man. So it wasn't like we weren't aware of racism as kids. Dad used to be very up front about that issue. I guess she didn't want to answer confusing quetions about why her family was hiding their heritage. Seeing as she maybe didn't have a good enough answer herself.
Germany is a Lutheran Country then by the 20th century the UK spread Anglicanism in West Germany
7:08 In Latin American countries, especially in my native Brazil a mixed person who looked white could be legally registered as white and treated as white. Spaniards, the Portuguese and the French had much softer attitudes towards race than the English. Miscegenation was something alike people moving from lower social class to higher social class - the said individual was still frowned upon but his change in status was recognized.
Margarita, no I am French and I am a "passer" too, we just restructured mixed people to ensure they don't mix with the rest. Don't go imagining things you are not a paRT OF
Margarita M. Still racism & created a bunch of people who hate themselves.
This story was crazy!!! People are off the hook!!!
I am actually white put ppl often think I'm Asian. Heard some asian slurs because of that. We really need to stop with racism and race in general. Everyone is equal we are all one and we all deserve respect and love
They missed one of the GREATEST stories of passing in the USA. Korla Pandit's story is so intriguing I'm still not sure why a movie hasn't been made about it. Look it up, it's absolutely incredible.
The latter part of this video reminds me of Instagram MUA's exchanging the word "passing" for "TRANSFORMATION". Asian transformed into Beyonce.
The original concept of BLACKFACE has EVOLVED into BLACKFISHING (or blackPHISHING).
Where blackface is derogatory in ways we understand, blackfishing has a more "profitability" factor associated with it. Where the person mimicking a particular race gets props, respect, or monetary value for their imitation, while the mimicked race doesn't readily get that kind of benefit. Modernization of tropes aside.
I really like this channel. She conveys the information in a way that keeps me engaged with the topic.
I love how unbiased and educational this is. Keep up the good work!!
PBS always makes me feel smart! And she makes me feel smarter! Such a good series!
I have to say that Danielle - if she is not already, should be a teacher. She is very, very good.
There should be a disclaimer or edited about Linda Taylor. She wasn’t fully white. She was mixed with black and white and had to pass for white growing up since it was legal in the south (where she lived) to be black. Even though her family (mom’s white side) rejected her for being “black”.
😉💯😉
I was told that in my family way back when, had to take the "Mc" off their name to make it less Irish sounding in order to get work. That would be passing wouldn't it? Sad how things were. And still are in a lot of ways.
Remfy the cat: carolanne
Mc is predominantly Scottish, actually. Scottish people were treated almost as good as Anglos in America.
Surnames starting with O’ and those of distinct Celtic sounding are Irish.
@@margaritam.9118 I said that was what I was told, I do know the original name was McEnnis and then shortened to just Ennis. And we are of Irish descent. Mcs and Macs were of Celtic and
Gaelic origins witch were in both Ireland and Scotland.
I know a fair few Irish Mc's
I’ve heard of this happening before, but interestingly it also goes the opposite way - as an Irish person I see a lot of Americans with a “Mc-“ or “O’” prefix on surnames that are in no way of Gaelic origin (it’s hard to explain but growing up here you can tell - it’s like calling yourself McSmith or O’Cooper, it’s just wrong-sounding) suggesting that somewhere along the line their family wanted to pass as Irish/Scottish either for political or social mobility.
"Mc-" and "O-" are are just a prefix that refers to "son of-". As in McConnell being Son of Connell, being the first of the family lineage was such. "Mc-" is also pronounced as "Mac", the "M" is a "Ma" sound.
Another interesting fact is the effect of the War of Roses. A large amount of Catholic families were exiled to Ireland. Which is why "Smithwick" is considered Irish, despite being Middle English in origin. Hell the oldest beer company in Ireland was founded by my distant ancestors.
The people who disliked this are still passing.
Danielle is a great speaker
“At various points in time…” since time inmemorial and it’s never stopped.
If I was able to pass during the 20’s 30’s 40’s 50’s and so on, I probably would’ve just to have a better life. It’s sad ppl had to do things like this in order to get ahead. Just horrible ☹️
Hi Danielle, Hi Everybody, In England there was Class Passing and I think the Hereditary Upper Crust is still bittching about it.
Leo Volont
Do you mean nouveau riche people buying themselves titles?
Hi Margarita,
Oh, there was that, but everyone knew that the Noveau Riche were Noveau Riche. What I meant was that people at the turn of the last Century were bypassing the "Public" Schools (actually very exclusive and Private, like Eton and the Universities and just taking Elocution Classes to pick up the RC (received pronunciation), and from there they simply had to find a good tailor and then they could fit right in... they certainly had enough Literature to go on in regards to 'manners'. So, yes, it actually lead to a boom in the Private Investigations Industry as anybody 'new' in London Society had to be investigated to prove their bona fides. The Costume Jewelry Industry actually participated by creating jewelry pieces with 'Fake' small and imperfect 'gems' and 'pearls' in order to look more like what was actually current among the True Society. The Phonies really could look like the Real Thing, while holding to a budget.
I seriously think uk Welsh singer Tom Jones is passing. He looks mixed.
@@ebonynaomi1085 I love him to bits! He helped me when I got hit by a car riding my bike in London. The policeman was more interested in taking selfies, but I didn't care. Happened at night in Whitehall, a few hundred yards from Downing Street. I was OK, a couple of cuts and bruises.
@@ebonynaomi1085 - You'd be surprised how many Brits look like they're mixed. Dark hair and dark eyes can do that.
In the 1880s, my great-great-great grandmother passed for white. She was light skinned black and married a white man. She passed for white her whole life. Only until I had a DNA test did we learn the truth. Fascinating.
All of my gg grandparents would be accused of passing as Black by today's standards. Your grandmother wasn't passing for white, she was a mixed woman forced to deny most of her heritage and only be Black.
We don't think of it this way because we were told our European DNA only comes from rape and slavery when in fact race mixing happened often. Many people were mixed back then. There were communities of mixed race people that existed until they were forced off their land. Our history didn't start in 1870.
You express the topic so beautifully, excellently and compellingly that you've increased my desire to learn. Thank you so much!
Someone on Ancestry told me that my grandfathers mixed family moved from Florida to Washington for that very reason.
Thanks... This is sooooo interesting!
Especially the 'reverse racial passing'...
So much information in only 11 minutes.
Well passing will always be rare because in order to really do it you'd have to cut off everyone from your past
Biggest "benefit": not being murdered
Wow this is well done. My abuela always maintained "American" and nothing else when in reality she was Mexican (mixed ancestry) and Spanish (also mixed ancestry).
GREAT! Great job by the lady who did this video (and anyone else who may have had a part in putting this video together). Well researched, well written, and well delivered. Because of this video, this channel just gained a subscriber. I hope this channel's other videos are this good. I going to go watch them...
I've heard stories about European people passing as Latinos to win scholarships.
To be fair anyone could pass as Latino. Latino is just someone who's from Latin America so thet could be anyone, an Asian, Black, Middle Eastern, Native, White...
Hispanic as a "race" is also nonsensical. As it refers to the language and cultures of the ethnically mixed people of the Americas (except the northern portion). The majority of the population is mestizo (Amerindian/European), with almost no interrelation between the Amerindian portion. As people from North Mexico and South Texas/New Mexico have Southern Abraskan (Apache/Navajo) ancestry. Which are an entirely different genetic group from most Ameridian populations. They even migrated in later seperate migration and speak language from an entirely different linguistic group.
Lol anyone can
Let's see... Latinos are from Latin America... Which was colonized by.... EUROPEANS! Latinos actually come in all sizes, colors, and hair textures.
@@UnicornsPoopRainbows Really it's just varying admixtures of different groups (Southern European, African, Amerindian). I've known people that are "Latino", yet have 40%+ Amerindian and only 8% Spanish ancestry. The remainder being Italian and North African (Berber).
When you're mostly Indian and barely Spanish. Why respect the people/culture who pillaged your ancestors.
People don’t talk enough about how the Irish had to abandon their culture to assimilate into America and to be given the same chances as everyone else
Yeah but all we had to do is drop our accent and some of us darken our hair. Not saying Irish didn’t suffer but it was a hell of a lot easier to pass, especially for the second generation.
@@stillhere1425 Of course and I would never compare the suffering of the Irish to the suffering of minorities but I don’t think anyone should have to get rid of their culture for any reason it’s also why I think many Americans don’t even know that they may be of Irish dissent And why there isn’t a larger Irish culture in America although I do love the Irish American culture (which I have been raised in)But along with getting rid of accents they had to get rid of holidays and even Irish foods that they would’ve eaten in the household so their landlord wouldn’t kick them out and they had to deny their ancestry and their homeland but the Irish have come along way and I’m proud to say that I am Irish American I would actually love to see a video about Irish American culture
@@declanbaglin8727 My ancestors were English and Irish too! They came over to the USA right before the American Civil War
@@punkrockjoanofarc awesome am Irish and Danish my great grandparents were from Denmark and my Irish family came During the potato famine
@@stillhere1425 why darken the hair??
Iron Eyes Cody mustve been Elizabeth Warrens “Cherokee” ancestor 😂
I scanned this entire thread looking for a comment about Warren trying to pass as Native. I wonder why she did not mention her in the video.
Warren grew up in Oklahoma where is a very strong Native American area for many generations. And many families do have a a family story of such heritage, such as a great-grandmother. I would not necessarily ascribe evil intentions here.
BLESS YOU FOR STAYING OBJECTIVE AND KEEPING A STRAIGHT FACE WHILE EXPLAINING THIS HEINOUS HISTORY 🙏🏼🙏🏼 you’re amazing
this is crazy. great video
I need to figure out how to pass as a very tall woman, rather than a short women in heels.....excellent video, thank you!
That might be the only time I've ever heard my last name in history outside of Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Brianna Beecher I’m pretty sure that was her husband they mentioned.
@@martakhry302 that was my first guess as well but I wasn't sure.
Really great and educational video
This was really informative! I love that you have subtitles so i can stop and take notes. Your style of teaching is really captivating
my moms uncle did this. he passed and left the family. broke my great grandmothers heart…
I just can't help but think about the implications of passing in a multiracial country with deep institutionalized racism as Brasil, where I'm from.
Brazil never had that one drop rule, we are a colorist country, if you look white you're white, if you don't, bad luck then.
We're in fact the very place to pass if you can, since race is pretty much self-determinated and our wide gene pool makes whole families look like one of those college campus multiracial pictures were every person look a different race with different skin color, hair texture and features. At least my very much brazilian family is like that with black aunts, blonde cousins and native grandparents, asian looking uncles etc.
@@joiceraiana let's not forget that a very comun passing in Brazil is Natoce-passing, It's very common to see white or mixed people acting in native Indian holes in media, the same sometimes happens with east asians too. And a bit rearer but still existing is white and white passing people identifying as Pardo in the census. This is quite prevalent in the Northeast.
My grandmother and her aunts could pass.. They choose not to.. Ty grandmother
who says you can't improve your mind and educate yourself on the internet?
I am very impressed by your amazing presenting skills!!
This is really great.
Dang girl I'm distracted by your beauty in this video... But learned a lot from you too
The passing story of Korla Pandit
Was very interesting.
I'm pretty sure I could pass as Neanderthal myself, but have yet to figure how I could benefit from it.
Unless a remake of 'Korg, 70,000 BC' makes it big, you could be out of luck.
You can seduce an archeologist or an anthropologist.... (ironic)
@Panda Pup Omg😭
A pleasant surprise when the presenter came into focus. It's rather refreshing seeing folks presenting on television that could "pass" for your reatives.
I LOVE your very well researched, and well delivered social commentary - historical perspectives for ALL to learn.