She looks half black. She actually look like a relative of mine and we’re all black Creoles over here. Her whole bone structure says black. She does not look like Earl at all.
She could be mixed with Romany gypsy her mother could have other children by other men I think a DNA test would help her find out who is she and who her father side was
She could be Romany gypsy or half Gypsy I think she should have a ancestry DNA test done to find out what her heritage is I would want to know what my heritage is if it was me
@@cjwhite-lawrence4369 I don’t think Daisy was biracial. Her other children don’t show any indication of being mixed in the slightest. Daisy had an affair with a black man and Verda was the result. She should just take a genetic test and be done with it.
Christine does not look white; she looks mixed. Also, it’s not unheard of for white people to have a child who visibly has African features and skin tone if they have African ancestry in their genealogical makeup, whether known or unknown.
I remember seeing this story…Verda should do a dna test so she can possibly connect with her real father’s side of the family. Biracial people can come out looking either more white or more black. I think society “decides” (as if it their right to do so) whether a person can claim blackness. Depending who is deciding, that biracial person will be either too much of one thing and not enough of the other. One must create their own path and seek out their own unique identity between 2 worlds. It’s not an easy journey.
This is my whole life growing up raised by my black side, my mother being black/white passing and my father bring Samoan (never met my samoan side) making me more samoan looking but raised black only. Society sees samoan but my momma told me at a young age that black comes in many colors, i luv momma🖤
I believe I did see her do a test she found her white bio family and she started visiting her white sisters but then they were VERY racist . So she stopped contact with them ..
@@bbpersonalpage1613 …they know she’s not their biological sister. She really doesn’t look anything like them in any way. She needs to find her biological father (which was probably the man passed off as her adopted father because they favored). 🤷🏽♀️
I don’t think her father is the man on her birth certificate. It is customary to list the husband on but the certificates, regardless who is the actual biological father. I mean, my birth certificate father is white but my biological father is black. That doesn’t make me white. I’m mixed and have obvious black features. Similarly, Verda has African American features (unlike her biological sisters) and when her mother noticed, she left her in foster care where she was later adopted out. ETA: I agree with your conclusions completely!!! Another NPE story that is really good is Raceless, by Georgina Lawton. She is British and was raised white but obviously is not white and she discovered and confirmed through DNA testing that she is actually half black. Her mother had an affair and tried to pass Georgina off as a dark skinned Irish throwback.
I was raised in a Hispanic family, and have recently found out that I have a pretty significant amount of African DNA! In fact, it seems like there are more cultures of color (Peruvian, African, Aztec, and several types of Native American) than European in my DNA. I worked with a group of women in upstate NY who insisted I was Black (and thankfully, also insisted on bringing me soul food to try at work) and I always told them I was pretty sure I wasn't. It's awesome that they saw something in me that I didn't even know myself.
Hispanic is not a racial designation, it's only refers to culture and language. A Hispanic person is from Spanish speaking places in the Americas and Latinos are from Latin America and include Spanish, French & Portuguese (Latin languages) speaking Americas. Latinos and/or Hispanics can be any race or of any combination of races. Brazil & Columbia having the 2nd & 4th largest Black population globally, Black people in Brazil are Latinos & the Black people from Columbia are Hispanic and Latino. I say all this to say, you are no less Hispanic because of African DNA. Enslaved Africans were transported across the entire "New World".
Verda looks black, her skin tone, features, etc. My mom was very light complexion, light eyes and sharper features than Verda and identified and was black. Often times people would question my mother ethnicity. It’s sad that Verda is now confused about her ethnicity. My adult children were always asked as children if they were part Asian or biracial. Your daughter hair is absolutely beautiful. My daughter had a lot of beautiful hair too.
23andMe will resolve any confusion Miss Verda has about her parentage. I think her mom stepped out on the man whose name appears on her birth certificate and that her biological father is/was black.
Well, we know that Verda's biological mother was white, but Earl was most likely not her biological father. Wondering if she got a DNA done because that good lady definitely has African ancestry.
My Dad grew up w/ black children. His family is white. When he was a kid, the blacks and whites worked in the fields together. He said, after a long hot day, when they went skinny dipping, "they all looked alike."
My sister interviewed Verda some months ago for an online magazine she does some work for, and sadly, this woman truly believes she is white. We can all see that she is biracial. I can't remember all of the details, but my sister was not allowed to ask or say certain things to Miss Verda, and it was simply because she is in denial about this whole thing. It was both sad, and quite funny at times while my sis was trying to do a serious interview!
This woman is not 100, white. Her features are BLACK. Please, do a dna test. Her mother was cheating on her husband. That's why she was I foster care. Her husband couldn't stand it. She is not white.
Dear Dr Trish, how terribly sad all this business of race is and has always been amongst human beings! Thank you for your careful comparison of these two stories. In Australia, we have a great deal of discussion about people who identify as indigenous. First Nations Australians have suffered terribly over the 200 years of colonization of this country. Many have been removed from their families right to today. What is accepted by them is that if a child is raised in their community and culture and is acknowledged by them as Indigenous, then they are, no matter their appearance. This is hard on those who only discover Indigenous heritage later in life, yet there is immense generosity too in embracing those who ''come home''. This of course is very different from the history of Enslaved African people transported to the Americas as long ago as 500 years ago. I learned that the first such transport occurred in 1510 by the Portuguese. I can only grasp the extent of this with my heart to the suffering of these people, your people. I do my best to keep learning by watching these channels and reflecting on the enormous efforts so many people make towards equality and dignity. Science certainly these days is a friend to firmly establish the Social Construct of race and support the determination of humans of goodwill to remove this cruelty from our behaviour to each other. May we prevail. Best wishes and regards from Julia Nolan
Verda looks bi-racial and looks more Black than white. Her issue isn't about being Black or white, it's about which CULTURE she most identifies with. Culture determines how and why we think and behave as we do. Skin color has more to do with how other people behave towards us. A Black identical twin raised in Melbourne, Australia will have a different cultural makeup than the other twin raised in Chicago. Their similarity is biological but how they think, believe, behave, etc...will be a result of their cultural background. Our emphasis on race is 100% off base. On the other hand, racism is a negative normed EXPERIENCE based on discriminatory race based practices which is something entirely different.
I was raised by a black man and I’m actually very European, I’m the only child my mother had that was not mixed. I will say I had a lot of questions once I was in school because I at the time didn’t know who my biological father was so I only knew my stepfather as my dad. Because of my upbringing I had the chance to see a lot. At age 8 I was officially told who my biological father was. I chose to meet him at age 14, I only visited with him 3 times before his passing at age 38. I was only 19 at the time and met my other biological siblings on his side. It was very overwhelming at first. We are all red headed on my biological father’s side (I always had beautiful curls and still to this day use ethic hair products because they work so well in my hair, probably from the years of my stepdad’s sister teaching me how to care for my hair). I’ve always been interested in my actual heritage so I did have a 23 and me test done. I have less than one percent African (Ghana and Egyptian) and a little over one percent indigenous American (I was told my biological father had Black Foot, the test did confirm that. I’m mostly Dutch, French, Scottish and Irish with a few other ethnicities… 96 percent European).
I listened to the story about Verda, this happening in the early 1940's it must have been difficult for her Mother. It sounds like Verda's life turned out beautiful. Remember the past teaches us something, moving forward let us be thankful & grateful for the future, where can use what we have learnt to make a difference. Thank you for sharing Verda's story. 🙏🏿❤🙏🏿
First, these babies were raised by loving parents. So wonderful. Second, sounds like they were raised in church's with the word of God. They were happy for many many years. Third, responsible people of all races don't want little ones to suffer. Can't we honor and encourage these adoptions. It's so important that kids are given good home's and educated and loved.
Verda was so lucky in her husband and her adoptive parents. Color doesn't matter. Her father exposes Jim Crow. He was a college education and that was the best job he could get. But he raised his daughter well
You've touched on every point I made when I first read Verda's story. When I was a kid we were all called colored. This was because we knew we were mixed. This encompassed not only every representation of black people, but other groups of non-white people. We stood together and were a powerful voice for change. Once again divide and conquer came into play and all of these sub categories were established. This division created a bunch of tiny voices that could be ignored. In the 1960s, both of these women would be colored. Throw in modern day thinking and people don't know how to identify or try to identify as far away from black as possible. Verda's confusion would best be served by getting a DNA test. As for the other woman, she may want to explore her father's family's history, if she hasn't already. She then has to decide if she maintains the culture under which she was raised while embracing a new racial identity, or if she maintains the status quo.
Verda looks so obviously African-American to me. She looks like a lot of light skin Black people. She looks like neither of her birth parents. They both have long pointy noses whereas Verda has a very wide flat nose, like a lot of African Americans. My mother always said if you did not look like one of your parents, that you looked like your daddy. Meaning that your mother had stepped out of her marriage and you looked like your biological father. I can see why the father would leave when she was 5 months old. By then she had probably started looking Black. I can understand why her mother did not try to get her back from Foster Care. Because she knew deep down in her soul that Verda was Black. This meant she had stepped outside of her marriage, with a Black man, and that Verda was only going to continue looking Black the older she became. I don't understand how Verda could possibly believe that she is a product of the two white people named on her birth certificate. She looks absolutely nothing like either one of them.
Actually Verda does look like her biological mother, just not at all nothing like the father listed on the birth certificate. It's obvious especially to Verda's mothers husband, that his wife stepped out on him. Remember the old adage: Momma's baby Papas maybe 😐❕️ Daisy's nose is similar to Verda's with Verda's being a little wider and broader at the tip. I do see Daisy in Verda facially and feature wise, and I guess the rest of Verda is her unknown actual father.
Thank you for this interesting video. No judgement towards others, we are all able to make our own decisions. I just ignore negativity and respect the decisions of others.
Wasn't illegal for a white woman to have a mixed child back then? I seen another story about an interacial couple that married in the 50s and the wife was white. When she had their first son she was placed under arrest and put in jail and the state put the baby in foster care. The husband had a hard time even going to see her. It took them almost 3 years to get their son back.
In New Orleans, we have a long history of Creoles. Creoles are people of any combination of French, Spanish and African with ancestry in the area prior to the War of 1812. Two of our former mayors (Marc Morial and Mitch Landrieu) were both Creoles. One identified as black (Marc) and the other white (Mitch). Both had a black great grandmother. I always found it funny that we all knew their history but they both clung to their chosen race instead of just using the Creole designation that is so common here.
I think Verda needs an ancestry DNA test. I think she is part black. Her mom may have had an affair which prompted the husband to leave her. She doesn't have any of her supposed biological fathers features and her nose is distinctly different from both of her biological parents. I also see a tinge of color there so she may need to do a little more searching. I am sad she was never reunited with her mom and that it didn't work out well with her sisters.
I so agree with you. I think that everyone needs to be proud of who they are. God created and loves all races. My grand children have white, black and native american ancestry. I want them to be proud of all of them.
So it's like she's mixed not white 🤔 it's like her mom cheated because her dad left because she was mixed race I am confused as to why we are saying she is white
You are a product of you environment. If you were reared as a decent, caring, kind respectful person, then that is who you are no matter the color of your skin. Your beautiful red haired daughter is well on her way to being the person I described. Why did we have to try to identify people by color, instead of their qualities?
I was adopted as an infant. In 1955. I found a birth family that didn’t want to know me. I was raised Jewish by my adopted parents. I found out my birth mother wasn’t Jewish and my birth father was. But I couldn’t find my birth father. I have some stories that may prove out that my adoptive mother had a friend whose husband may have been. I was raised Jewish but always felt Christian. I even brought a cross home from a school trip to my mother’s horror. So birth or nature !?!?
We had this debate in college. Our small group was sitting around a table in the library and talking about what it means to be Black. One woman was mixed and the young men from Oakland CA were teasing her for being white. So I asked how she was raised, Black. Then the men told me if I was raised in their neighborhood I could call myself Black. It still resonates with me today. We all agreed the 1 drop thing was stupid.
Mrs. Verda's parents may be listed as white but the parents may have black ancestry. There is another option, Earl wasn't her biological father. How did she never see her own features?
Always interested in what you discuss! These are two fascinating stories, shall look forward to hearing more. My feeling on both of these women’s histories is that they are rooted in a time when things were much more binary where birth origins were concerned mostly as a hangover from the one drop attitudes and when mixed was a much less recognised thing. Either people were white or they weren’t. Now mixed is an easier identification to claim. It isn’t as if people back then could just claim to be white because they were fair. The film you mentioned will be interesting in that respect because of the idea of white passing rather than mixed. In South Africa in the same time scale as these women were children there was an official ‘coloured’ or mixed category, separate from white or black, it still blows my mind that for lack of anywhere else to put them Indian (Asian Indian) people were also called coloured! Colour/race is very messy, but if you have colour/culture then things become a lot easier and maybe also a lot easier to be generous and accepting. Well that what I think. I am mixed with part cultural SE Asian, from my Mum. There’s a long way to go in terms of respect but IMO the discussions you are allowing to happen are a part of that. For instance I can see no real reason except for being inflexible in thinking for why a person couldn’t be mixed but culturally black, or mixed but culturally white. Or brown or anything else. Or a person could even be black but culturally white if brought up that way or vice versa even. Why not, it’s only our minds stopping a kinder more inclusive way of identifying. Thanks for all you do to open all this up.
She looks black. I think her mother had an affair, she was the result. Mother’s husband saw that his wife gave birth to a child that wasn’t his and that likely caused or at least contributed to him choosing to leave the family. It may have caused to question the paternity of the other children as well.
Miss Verda looks like some very light skinned women that I know also. I wish she would do AncestryDNA. I suspect she is 1/4 to 1/8 African but ancestry will tell.
My guess is she’s at least 40% African. My dad had aunts who looked liked that and they considered themselves full Black. I think she looks a lot like my husband’s half aunt who is 1/2 Black.
My ex boyfriend was "White" but had spit curls under that blonde hair around his ears and on the back of his neck. There was a rumor that an ancestor had married a slave. We are still looking for those records.
@@LifewithDrTrishVarner I once met an older woman who looked totally White but she was half Black. She took me to her home and showed me pics of her parents and her sisters. Her dad and sisters were Black. Her mom was White.
Hello from England ! I enjoy watching your videos , thank you for sharing about the film Passing that came out on Netflix yesterday I got to watch it last night
Has Ms. Verda ever taken a DNA test, if not why? I’m sure this would clear up any identity issues she may need to consider. The idea that she is clinging to her ‘whiteness’ without any true consideration of the possibility of her ‘blackness’ is curious since a DNA test will give her absolute resolution. So it does bare to ask the question if she is indeed in denial. Why do we have to read her book to see if she comes to terms with this? I would prefer to read her book to understand her journey towards wholeness, discovering and accepting who she really is. Black folks know black folks. In a single family group you can have the darkest of dark and the lightest of light without a single interracial encounter. I don’t know if its innate or a spiritual gift from God that we recognize our kind, but we are like a ‘black person’ metal detector, we can spot anyone whose undercover 😂🤣😂. Ms. Verda is black, thats why she blended well in the black community she was raised in. Black people come in a variety of hues in color and hair textures, so she fit in well in the culture because thats who black people are, a macabre of DNA secrets that can pop up at any time.
I’m so bothered by people being so rude! What gives them the right to make anyone feel less than?! Identity is individual, and none of us have the right to tell someone else how to identify. I think that in both stories, it had to be a shock to learn that biologically they are not the race they thought they were. It’s complicated, and I hope that if it is a struggle for either of these women, they will get some counseling. They are both attractive women, and I wish them well.
The issue I have is she is making a big deal out of falsely be raised as biologically Black while claiming to be fully biologically white. If she turns out to be mixed and wants to biologically identify as white, thats fine, but not when she is falsely representing herself for fame.
Verda looks like my 81+ year old mother who is mixed race with a variety of siblings that are darker than her. She will tell you that she is black, but her outer features say that she is white. I am a product of a mixed-race mother and a black father, and I am back in complexion. You are who you say you are no matter what anyone thinks about!
My kids are mixed. Two of them are obviously black/mixed, one looks perhaps Spanish. They grew up in a very diverse community. The black kids were much bigger bullies, extremely mean, than the white kids and mexican kids who accepted them, even though they were obviously black. But to the black kids, there were not black enough. I don't even know what the heck that means actually since all black people just like all white people are mixed with something. There is no pure race. It is a fallacy. Us, their parents, as well as their black grandparents and cousins are college educated so they did not act "black enough" for some of the kids. And that makes me sad for those black bullies who had to fit into some kind of stereotype in order to be accepted and felt the need to force other people into that stereotype. Even their black parents would call them mean, racist, ignorant names at sporting events at school. It really hurt my kids and caused them alot of trauma that they had to work through. And you know how us moms are when it comes to people hurting your kids. I have worked with people from every continent in the world, all different cultures, colors, races, religions, etc. and people are just people wherever you go. Hopefully, we can get to the point where we can treat each other with respect and teach our children to treat each other with respect.
Interesting discussion. As I’ve mentioned in other videos, I have struggled with these questions myself. White isn’t really a reasonably identity for me. My parents are white (my mother is white but from Latin America) but I don’t look white and no one ever interacts with me as a white person. Usually people assume I am mixed, black or Dominican/Puerto Rican. Thus, it’s hard to say I’m white when it was never believable.
perhaps you aren't white but native and a bunch of other things! your mother could be white passing but with minority of other dna there, and let's assume your father had some small percentage of none white, and it so happened that those resesive genes in particular were passed to you
@@genew5758 agree. I have a skin tone similar to other mixed and light skin black people, type 3c hair with a little 4a in there, thicker lips and a bigger butt that looks more black vs white. I read as black and that’s why it never worked to say I was white or Ashkenazi Jewish (which is what I was supposed to be). To be honest, it’s why it bothers me then people say mixed people aren’t black because many of us will never be accepted as white and to not have a home after going through all of this is so hard. To be “white” was a very lonely experience and when my dna proved I was 40% African, it was a relief to have an answer to why I look the way I do.
@@freedom_is_gold6747 no, she is 100% Polish Jewish. I know this because her sister DNA tested and she came up 100% Ashkenazi Jewish and she matched with me as a full aunt.
@@TheLauren1113 but she looks like her siblings are actually her half-siblings. Just because her sister is 100% Ashkenazi Jewish doesn’t mean Verda is.
I first heard of Verda Byrd several years ago from a YT video. I was intrigued by her story. The overwhelming opinion in the comments was Ms. Verda was visibly mixed with African ancestry. I agree. However, I wouldn't criticize her for how she identifies. I would like to see us get away from the black/white labels and acknowledge all of one's ancestry.
Verda does seem biracial:her hair and features.Being she was Daisy's youngest child (daughter).I think Daisy had Verda with an African American man ,or a mixed man:outside of her marriage .
I'm 22 and found out recently that I had African ancestry! I'd really love to take part in the conversation/hang out you mentioned at the beginning of the video. Do you know when/where that would happen?
That’s awesome. I would love to have you join the discussion. I am planning to have it on Saturday. I will invite a panel to be on video with me and others can watch/engage in the live chat. If you would like to be a part of the panel, please email me at lifewithdrtrish@gmail.com.
Where’s your lost relatives have u found them yet ? I’m missing a set of twins that’s I guess 3 /4 white they should be about 55 now in Cali somewhere I miss my cousins . I wonder do they remember us
I am interested in discussion groups. I watched the movie Passing last year on Netflix. I did not really understand what that term meant back then. I do feel that the black female character was living her most authentic life, despite her possible jealousy of her friend who passed as white. That woman had a very sad ending.
Wow I feel bad that a person told you your daughter was not black because of her red hair. Many people are mixed today. Asian, Black, White, American Indian, Brown Race. In England two biracial people had a set of twins. One was white the other black. Both were pretty babies. These babies will fall in love one day and marry whomever they wish to. What color you are should not matter. You can take pride in your ancestry.
I think, theres a tribe in the UK which does this My cousin married a woman 1st generation who is part germsn/British..my cousin had 2 parents lighter than him. They had twins. One is black presenting with straight hair Her sister is white presenting completely.... It's odd to see them together😁
All identity is , by definition superficial. We are all human beings first. That is why if removed from our birth parents at an early age and placed somewhere else we become that culture, speak that language.
There is hardly a person in the US that doesn't have at least 2 different heritages. I myself am a mutt. I have English, Scottish, Irish, American Indian, Baltic. As I said a mutt. I have two grandchildren. One is pale skin, brown hair, brown eyes the other brown skin, black hair and black eye color. You are whatever culture you were born into or living. Seems pretty simple to me.
I don't get the race crap, I'm Creole from Louisiana and we did our DNA. 30% European 17% native American the rest African American. The slave masters mixed us up first, for profit. Now when other people mix its a problem. Not. We have red hair with freckles in our family, grey eyes/ green eyes every type of hair and from really light skin to dark skin. We are all beautiful and are all the human race We all are black, and very proud. I feel if you have a mom one race and a dad a different race, then you are mixed. If you are 50/50 you can't be whole of just one race. That would be if it's 5 kids in the family, and 3 of them have different dads. This means you are not full siblings. You are half siblings the ones with the same mom and dad are full blood siblings. Some people feel if you were all raise together by the same mom, that you are whole, but you are not. I say let people be who they want to be. A human being Period
It is important that people know their lineage. We need to know who our family is. The problem is racism and people are afraid to identify as black or admit there is any black heritage because the negro throughout history has been taught as being less than. Its horrible. Verda looks like a light skin black in all of her pictures, has black features. My daughter is her skin color and my husband and I ate4 both brown skin.
Met her in a restaurant complimenting her hair (a braided bun in purple, well manicured nails). She is a white woman. We discussed her color, she was seated with her adopted black family. She's a 82-year-old woman with the heart of a 30-year-old. Full of life and a delight to talk with.🫠 I'm thankful I met her on this Thanksgiving Day 2024! 🦃 Out in Oklahoma gambling in a "not so fair" casino. ✨️💖💃
@@LifewithDrTrishVarner In 1943 a white woman would have to be completely nuts to put anyone other than her husband as the father on the birth certificate, let alone a 'Colored" man, as they called people back in the day. I have a lot of correspondence, news clippings and official documents from before 1960, and colored was the usual term, then Negro became popular, then Afro-American followed by Black in the 1960s.
I just saw a picture of your little red-headed daughter yesterday! It was on a podcast featuring you and your husband, "Black People with Red Hair - @Life with Dr. Trish Varner - Professional Genealogist Reacts." Is it a coincidence, or have the You-Tube algorithms figured out my topics of interest? Good luck with your show.
Thank you for research amd commentary. Entertainment is so horrible today, it's great to listen to people try to keep our american stories alive. As Americans we are caught up in a world of deception so its nice to give a commentary that does not show bias which is what drives the American narrative and capitalism which is the driving force.
I agree with you. I'm going to have to purchase these books. I've many friends who identified as bio-racial, some thought of themselves as Black and some leaned towards their White side it didn't bother me either way. My son is bio-racial and loves exploring his German side, though he gets along better with his Black relatives. He prefers not to be labeled. Surprisingly enough my husband closely resembled a man that I liked in my early 20's that was bi-racial but identified as Black, to the point that my son saw a picture of him he thought it was his dad. I'm fine with however people want to identify, it doesn't bother me or threaten me, most of friends are culturally diverse and have always been since preschool. It was something that was important to my mom when we were growing up. I had plenty of classmates and friends who had red hair and were Black. It was never a problem. I don't why people have become so caught up with racial things in 2020's. i'm surprised at the turn of events. There seems to be a lo more intolerance now. Thank you for doing this video.
I started life out as an Army brat but I am from the South. When I was on active duty there were times I had to produce my birth certificate to show that I was indeed from the South. People whom I was stationed with said I sounded as if I'm from the upper Midwest. As an over-the-road driver from 1991 to 2018 I would sometimes have to talk to customers on to the telephone to get directions and it got to where I started paying attention to their faces when I spoke the first time. One customer asked me where was the co-driver she spoke to on the phone.😂 A lot of times I got double takes or wide eyes when I started speaking. A friend's sister always said that I sounded White over the phone but I am of mostly African ancestry with a bit of Cherokee from both sides of the family thrown in. AncestryDNA also says there's a tad bit of western Europe my mix. Starting out as an Army brat and not being allowed to speak Ghettoese I believe had a lot to do with the way my siblings and I speak. I've been called half-White for the way I speak but people don't have trouble understanding me when I speak. I also write the way I speak.🤷🏼♂️ I've always considered that there is only one race: human.
No one has the right to tell a parent what they’re child should be identified as. I agree with your perspective on this subject and it’s explained extremely well.
She seems like she has African roots. It’s possible that both her biological parents are indeed white but somewhere down the line there was some mixing and she inherited more African traits than her siblings. It’s not the first time a child by 2 white parents came out that way. What doesn’t come out in the wash will come out in the rinse down the line.
I don't think those are her sisters though I could be wrong. I think it's a case of a mix up at birth. Really she does not look exactly Black to me she looks Southeast Asian. A lot of South East Asians and Pacific Islander people have wide noses. Wide noses are common to but not exclusive to Africans/Black people
I watched a documentary on verda and it actually showed a photo of a black man that could possibly be her biological father due to her mother's infidelity. I believe she is probably biologically mixed if we are talking actual dna and how she appears but she was raised black so I consider her more black than "white " or mixed. I believe she should be classified how she wants to be because that's how she feels. I have a friend who is white and she has mixed kids but she and them don't call themselves biracial or mixed because they relate and appear to be more black plus up until a few years ago biracial wasn't a option on school forms and such so she chose black because of them appearing black. Love your channel btw! I just find genetics and history so interesting.
Who cares what others think about what you should call yourself. It's your life, so live it to the fullest. Your choices don't affect anyone. Be you and be happy.
I think this lady should get a DNA test. What she is racially could be a result of a mixup at the hospital. At least rhe DNA would confirm the racial profile. I doubt her parents are available to test their DNA since her mom is deceased. I didn't notice what you said about the dad being alive or not. If it were me, I wouldn't write a book unless I KNEW for a fact on if I was whatever I thought my race mixture was. Why doesn't she get a DNA test? Interesting. Either babies were mixed up at hospital or Mom had a boyfriend or either rhe mom and/or dad had African and European DNA.
If that was a picture of Verda's siblings, they don't look much different than her when it comes to their color. They don't look caucasian to me or they are very tanned. You bring out some very interesting topics.
I think her sister Sybil looked the most like Verda. Ironically, Sybil was allegedly the one who used the N word, which caused a fallout between Verda and her sisters.
I'm black but when I got my DNA results, it says I'm 64% European. I have traced my family back to 6th Century Denmark. I am distantly related to Meryl Streep, Larry Byrd, Harry Conick Jr, and Stephen Cobert. I was shook. I am black, black, black.
That’s a lot of European DNA . I know some people who have that amount and identity as White. Some are Hispanics and a few Creole or biracial . Also people with that much European DNA usually look something like Drake, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Jasmine Guy or even Leona Lewis but some look like Beyoncé, Lewis Hamilton or Diana Ross. People probably wouldn’t guess you were that European. Are u from South Louisiana?
If that's your real photo, then you need to get a refund. With sincere respect, no way. We are all mixed with African, White, Native and sometimes Chinese. But that's a bit off.
You can see she's part African regardless of who birthed or adopted Verda, what lies were told, how her siblings and birth mother's husband looked, etc.
I think it's hilarious that Verda so readily decided she was white because of a birth certificate, and I find it hard to believe that she really believes that. Just look in the mirror and also see that she was accepted as a Black person throughout her childhood. I wish she would get a DNA test and share the results, but I don't think she really wants to do that because it would conform that she wasn't totally European.
I love genealogy. Most family members have done DNA testing,. Since retiring from teaching at age 65, I have done much research. I am now 73. Being adopted at birth…made things more interesting. African Americans have some interesting challenges. Not all,but some of us. Verda looks like a light skin Black woman. My daughter looks like her with straighter nose….daughter is black.
She looks half black. She actually look like a relative of mine and we’re all black Creoles over here. Her whole bone structure says black. She does not look like Earl at all.
She looks like a light-skinned Black woman.
She's mixed ...with black of course .
She could be mixed with Romany gypsy her mother could have other children by other men I think a DNA test would help her find out who is she and who her father side was
@@spicyhot2552 Samoan, Oceania, Phillipines. There are many options
My grandma is a LA Creole, and Daisy looks just like her. I started to check the Louisiana migration patterns see if anyone went to St. Louis
She doesn't look like her sisters, she's obviously genetically black.
that's what I thought, she really looks Black.
The sister on the far left looks questionable to me
She’s black regardless of what a echo chamber wants to classify her as. America will see her as black.
She could be Romany gypsy or half Gypsy I think she should have a ancestry DNA test done to find out what her heritage is I would want to know what my heritage is if it was me
Right, and I’m guessing that’s why she didn’t come back to her home.
One of her parents was passing. She clearly has some Black in her. Just do a DNA test. This isn’t difficult.
Thanks for the comment.
I agree. I think her mother was passing and that may have been why the husband left.
Exactly she's definitely biracial her younger pictures show it. She's no different than any other mixed person. My family is mixed too
@@cjwhite-lawrence4369
I don’t think Daisy was biracial. Her other children don’t show any indication of being mixed in the slightest. Daisy had an affair with a black man and Verda was the result. She should just take a genetic test and be done with it.
@@KissofHeaven3 She look Dominican.
Christine does not look white; she looks mixed. Also, it’s not unheard of for white people to have a child who visibly has African features and skin tone if they have African ancestry in their genealogical makeup, whether known or unknown.
That is so true!!! There was a plethora of passing going on back then!
The woman looks plain old Black to me
@@catherinesterling1685 She looks black to me as well.
People in South Africa that look white have black ancestors.
@@catherinesterling1685 has her DNA been analyzed
I remember seeing this story…Verda should do a dna test so she can possibly connect with her real father’s side of the family. Biracial people can come out looking either more white or more black. I think society “decides” (as if it their right to do so) whether a person can claim blackness. Depending who is deciding, that biracial person will be either too much of one thing and not enough of the other. One must create their own path and seek out their own unique identity between 2 worlds. It’s not an easy journey.
This is my whole life growing up raised by my black side, my mother being black/white passing and my father bring Samoan (never met my samoan side) making me more samoan looking but raised black only. Society sees samoan but my momma told me at a young age that black comes in many colors, i luv momma🖤
I believe I did see her do a test she found her white bio family and she started visiting her white sisters but then they were VERY racist . So she stopped contact with them ..
@@bbpersonalpage1613 …they know she’s not their biological sister. She really doesn’t look anything like them in any way. She needs to find her biological father (which was probably the man passed off as her adopted father because they favored). 🤷🏽♀️
Like kitt Shapiro, and bob Marley
Kitt eartha kitts daughter presents as white
Marley has his white fathers face
It's 2021 A simple DNA test would clear this up.
I'm sure she doesn't want that, because then she wouldn't be special.
Just looking at her clears it up. This woman is black.Two black parents can have a light skinned child. They're certainly not Caucasian.
Depends on the test. All of the companies test different groups. I would take the results and upload them into GedMatch.
@@lettiegrant9447 She obviously was born to a white woman but her paternity is in doubt when it comes to the man listed on her birth certificate.
I hear she has taken the DNA test that confirmed her as full white. It was a video I watched . Can’t remember what it’s called.
I don’t think her father is the man on her birth certificate. It is customary to list the husband on but the certificates, regardless who is the actual biological father. I mean, my birth certificate father is white but my biological father is black. That doesn’t make me white. I’m mixed and have obvious black features. Similarly, Verda has African American features (unlike her biological sisters) and when her mother noticed, she left her in foster care where she was later adopted out. ETA: I agree with your conclusions completely!!! Another NPE story that is really good is Raceless, by Georgina Lawton. She is British and was raised white but obviously is not white and she discovered and confirmed through DNA testing that she is actually half black. Her mother had an affair and tried to pass Georgina off as a dark skinned Irish throwback.
This woman has black in her blood, she has bold black features and her mother knows who the real father is. People should be thankful for life.
"bold". lmbao.
That is not necessarily true. One parent should have a black grandparent. DNA testing has reveal quite a few white people have African ancestry.
Very bold.😊
That nose tells it all! Her bio dad is probably black. That is the reason they let her be adopted by black parents.
I was raised in a Hispanic family, and have recently found out that I have a pretty significant amount of African DNA! In fact, it seems like there are more cultures of color (Peruvian, African, Aztec, and several types of Native American) than European in my DNA. I worked with a group of women in upstate NY who insisted I was Black (and thankfully, also insisted on bringing me soul food to try at work) and I always told them I was pretty sure I wasn't. It's awesome that they saw something in me that I didn't even know myself.
Yep Verda's mom difinitaly slept with the mail man.
Hispanic is not a racial designation, it's only refers to culture and language. A Hispanic person is from Spanish speaking places in the Americas and Latinos are from Latin America and include Spanish, French & Portuguese (Latin languages) speaking Americas. Latinos and/or Hispanics can be any race or of any combination of races. Brazil & Columbia having the 2nd & 4th largest Black population globally, Black people in Brazil are Latinos & the Black people from Columbia are Hispanic and Latino. I say all this to say, you are no less Hispanic because of African DNA. Enslaved Africans were transported across the entire "New World".
Verda looks black, her skin tone, features, etc. My mom was very light complexion, light eyes and sharper features than Verda and identified and was black. Often times people would question my mother ethnicity. It’s sad that Verda is now confused about her ethnicity.
My adult children were always asked as children if they were part Asian or biracial.
Your daughter hair is absolutely beautiful. My daughter had a lot of beautiful hair too.
I agree. She looks like some of our family members too. Thanks for your comment.
23andMe will resolve any confusion Miss Verda has about her parentage. I think her mom stepped out on the man whose name appears on her birth certificate and that her biological father is/was black.
my mom had much better quality hair, lightish skin and sharp nose and facial features with thin lips.
Well, we know that Verda's biological mother was white, but Earl was most likely not her biological father. Wondering if she got a DNA done because that good lady definitely has African ancestry.
I would love to see a follow up if Verda chooses to get a dna test.
Ikr...
I have a friend that looks exactly like her, except her dad was white, not really excepting her.😢
My Dad grew up w/ black children. His family is white. When he was a kid, the blacks and whites worked in the fields together. He said, after a long hot day, when they went skinny dipping, "they all looked alike."
My sister interviewed Verda some months ago for an online magazine she does some work for, and sadly, this woman truly believes she is white. We can all see that she is biracial. I can't remember all of the details, but my sister was not allowed to ask or say certain things to Miss Verda, and it was simply because she is in denial about this whole thing. It was both sad, and quite funny at times while my sis was trying to do a serious interview!
I was wondering why in the interviews I watched, no one seemed to ask if she thought her dad could be Black. Thank you for sharing.
She's half black and in the time she was born her mom had no choice but to leave her black daughter where she was and keep the white kids.
This woman is not 100, white. Her features are BLACK. Please, do a dna test. Her mother was cheating on her husband. That's why she was I foster care. Her husband couldn't stand it. She is not white.
@@karenwalker1970 She’s at least half white.
@@AmandaFromWisconsin Her daddy black, and her momma probably mixed too.
Dear Dr Trish, how terribly sad all this business of race is and has always been amongst human beings! Thank you for your careful comparison of these two stories.
In Australia, we have a great deal of discussion about people who identify as indigenous. First Nations Australians have suffered terribly over the 200 years of colonization of this country. Many have been removed from their families right to today. What is accepted by them is that if a child is raised in their community and culture and is acknowledged by them as Indigenous, then they are, no matter their appearance. This is hard on those who only discover Indigenous heritage later in life, yet there is immense generosity too in embracing those who ''come home''.
This of course is very different from the history of Enslaved African people transported to the Americas as long ago as 500 years ago. I learned that the first such transport occurred in 1510 by the Portuguese. I can only grasp the extent of this with my heart to the suffering of these people, your people.
I do my best to keep learning by watching these channels and reflecting on the enormous efforts so many people make towards equality and dignity.
Science certainly these days is a friend to firmly establish the Social Construct of race and support the determination of humans of goodwill to remove this cruelty from our behaviour to each other. May we prevail.
Best wishes and regards from Julia Nolan
I agree. Identify how you want. Happened in my Louisiana family. Probably more times than I know.
Dr Trish,
This is the second of your videos that I’ve seen. You are absolutely amazing. Thank you for what you say and for what you’re doing.
I hope she has rediscovered that she is Black by now.
Yeah, I'm scratching my head on this one.
Verda looks bi-racial and looks more Black than white. Her issue isn't about being Black or white, it's about which CULTURE she most identifies with. Culture determines how and why we think and behave as we do. Skin color has more to do with how other people behave towards us. A Black identical twin raised in Melbourne, Australia will have a different cultural makeup than the other twin raised in Chicago. Their similarity is biological but how they think, believe, behave, etc...will be a result of their cultural background. Our emphasis on race is 100% off base. On the other hand, racism is a negative normed EXPERIENCE based on discriminatory race based practices which is something entirely different.
I was raised by a black man and I’m actually very European, I’m the only child my mother had that was not mixed. I will say I had a lot of questions once I was in school because I at the time didn’t know who my biological father was so I only knew my stepfather as my dad. Because of my upbringing I had the chance to see a lot. At age 8 I was officially told who my biological father was. I chose to meet him at age 14, I only visited with him 3 times before his passing at age 38. I was only 19 at the time and met my other biological siblings on his side. It was very overwhelming at first. We are all red headed on my biological father’s side (I always had beautiful curls and still to this day use ethic hair products because they work so well in my hair, probably from the years of my stepdad’s sister teaching me how to care for my hair). I’ve always been interested in my actual heritage so I did have a 23 and me test done. I have less than one percent African (Ghana and Egyptian) and a little over one percent indigenous American (I was told my biological father had Black Foot, the test did confirm that. I’m mostly Dutch, French, Scottish and Irish with a few other ethnicities… 96 percent European).
I listened to the story about Verda, this happening in the early 1940's it must have been difficult for her Mother. It sounds like Verda's life turned out beautiful. Remember the past teaches us something, moving forward let us be thankful & grateful for the future, where can use what we have learnt to make a difference. Thank you for sharing Verda's story.
🙏🏿❤🙏🏿
She has African facial features. The nose and lips. I don't believe that she's totally white.
Oh, she’s definitely not purely white.
Her features just look "tropical" not necessarily Black. Wide noses are also found in Asia/Pacific Islander people. What is her DNA profile?
Me too
Musica Flowerchild, do you think she realizes that, considering she identified as African American most of her life?
@@mrhimselfalone7657 She kinda looks like the Rock's mother a little bit
First, these babies were raised by loving parents. So wonderful.
Second, sounds like they were raised in church's with the word of God. They were happy for many many years.
Third, responsible people of all races don't want little ones to suffer. Can't we honor and encourage these adoptions. It's so important that kids are given good home's and educated and loved.
Verda was so lucky in her husband and her adoptive parents. Color doesn't matter.
Her father exposes Jim Crow. He was a college education and that was the best job he could get. But he raised his daughter well
I think any man would have a problem if they thought their wife cheated on them
You've touched on every point I made when I first read Verda's story. When I was a kid we were all called colored. This was because we knew we were mixed. This encompassed not only every representation of black people, but other groups of non-white people. We stood together and were a powerful voice for change. Once again divide and conquer came into play and all of these sub categories were established. This division created a bunch of tiny voices that could be ignored. In the 1960s, both of these women would be colored. Throw in modern day thinking and people don't know how to identify or try to identify as far away from black as possible. Verda's confusion would best be served by getting a DNA test. As for the other woman, she may want to explore her father's family's history, if she hasn't already. She then has to decide if she maintains the culture under which she was raised while embracing a new racial identity, or if she maintains the status quo.
She is mixed.
Your daughter is BEAUTIFUL!!! 💖 her 🔴 hair!!!!!!!! GORGEOUS she is. 💥🧡
She is definitely black. Somebody is lying.
Thanks for commenting.
Verda looks so obviously African-American to me. She looks like a lot of light skin Black people. She looks like neither of her birth parents. They both have long pointy noses whereas Verda has a very wide flat nose, like a lot of African Americans. My mother always said if you did not look like one of your parents, that you looked like your daddy. Meaning that your mother had stepped out of her marriage and you looked like your biological father. I can see why the father would leave when she was 5 months old. By then she had probably started looking Black. I can understand why her mother did not try to get her back from Foster Care. Because she knew deep down in her soul that Verda was Black. This meant she had stepped outside of her marriage, with a Black man, and that Verda was only going to continue looking Black the older she became. I don't understand how Verda could possibly believe that she is a product of the two white people named on her birth certificate. She looks absolutely nothing like either one of them.
WIDE, isn't FLAT🤔
Actually Verda does look like her biological mother, just not at all nothing like the father listed on the birth certificate. It's obvious especially to Verda's mothers husband, that his wife stepped out on him.
Remember the old adage: Momma's baby Papas maybe 😐❕️
Daisy's nose is similar to Verda's with Verda's being a little wider and broader at the tip. I do see Daisy in Verda facially and feature
wise, and I guess the rest of Verda is her unknown actual father.
Thank you for this interesting video. No judgement towards others, we are all able to make our own decisions. I just ignore negativity and respect the decisions of others.
I recently found your channel and I respect you already. Cheers!
Wasn't illegal for a white woman to have a mixed child back then? I seen another story about an interacial couple that married in the 50s and the wife was white. When she had their first son she was placed under arrest and put in jail and the state put the baby in foster care. The husband had a hard time even going to see her. It took them almost 3 years to get their son back.
I think she should have took a ancestry dna test too before she came out with her book. Then write about that
In New Orleans, we have a long history of Creoles. Creoles are people of any combination of French, Spanish and African with ancestry in the area prior to the War of 1812. Two of our former mayors (Marc Morial and Mitch Landrieu) were both Creoles. One identified as black (Marc) and the other white (Mitch). Both had a black great grandmother. I always found it funny that we all knew their history but they both clung to their chosen race instead of just using the Creole designation that is so common here.
I think Verda needs an ancestry DNA test. I think she is part black. Her mom may have had an affair which prompted the husband to leave her. She doesn't have any of her supposed biological fathers features and her nose is distinctly different from both of her biological parents. I also see a tinge of color there so she may need to do a little more searching. I am sad she was never reunited with her mom and that it didn't work out well with her sisters.
I so agree with you. I think that everyone needs to be proud of who they are. God created and loves all races. My grand children have white, black and native american ancestry. I want them to be proud of all of them.
Without a doubt god bless you and your family 🙏🙏 hope for the best and positive vibes for you and your family god bless 🙏🙏 you have a beautiful family
So it's like she's mixed not white 🤔 it's like her mom cheated because her dad left because she was mixed race I am confused as to why we are saying she is white
You are a product of you environment. If you were reared as a decent, caring, kind respectful person, then that is who you are no matter the color of your skin. Your beautiful red haired daughter is well on her way to being the person I described. Why did we have to try to identify people by color, instead of their qualities?
I was adopted as an infant. In 1955. I found a birth family that didn’t want to know me. I was raised Jewish by my adopted parents. I found out my birth mother wasn’t Jewish and my birth father was. But I couldn’t find my birth father. I have some stories that may prove out that my adoptive mother had a friend whose husband may have been. I was raised Jewish but always felt Christian. I even brought a cross home from a school trip to my mother’s horror. So birth or nature !?!?
We had this debate in college. Our small group was sitting around a table in the library and talking about what it means to be Black. One woman was mixed and the young men from Oakland CA were teasing her for being white. So I asked how she was raised, Black. Then the men told me if I was raised in their neighborhood I could call myself Black. It still resonates with me today. We all agreed the 1 drop thing was stupid.
Thanks for sharing!
I think people who are mixed are so pretty.We have a lot of Creoles near NOLA.
New subscribers here I love your content …. As I am of Irish descent … I must say Mrs verda is definitely of mixed race … such a beautiful lady
Mrs. Verda's parents may be listed as white but the parents may have black ancestry. There is another option, Earl wasn't her biological father. How did she never see her own features?
Always interested in what you discuss! These are two fascinating stories, shall look forward to hearing more. My feeling on both of these women’s histories is that they are rooted in a time when things were much more binary where birth origins were concerned mostly as a hangover from the one drop attitudes and when mixed was a much less recognised thing. Either people were white or they weren’t. Now mixed is an easier identification to claim. It isn’t as if people back then could just claim to be white because they were fair. The film you mentioned will be interesting in that respect because of the idea of white passing rather than mixed. In South Africa in the same time scale as these women were children there was an official ‘coloured’ or mixed category, separate from white or black, it still blows my mind that for lack of anywhere else to put them Indian (Asian Indian) people were also called coloured! Colour/race is very messy, but if you have colour/culture then things become a lot easier and maybe also a lot easier to be generous and accepting. Well that what I think. I am mixed with part cultural SE Asian, from my Mum. There’s a long way to go in terms of respect but IMO the discussions you are allowing to happen are a part of that. For instance I can see no real reason except for being inflexible in thinking for why a person couldn’t be mixed but culturally black, or mixed but culturally white. Or brown or anything else. Or a person could even be black but culturally white if brought up that way or vice versa even. Why not, it’s only our minds stopping a kinder more inclusive way of identifying. Thanks for all you do to open all this up.
She looks black. I think her mother had an affair, she was the result. Mother’s husband saw that his wife gave birth to a child that wasn’t his and that likely caused or at least contributed to him choosing to leave the family. It may have caused to question the paternity of the other children as well.
My grandmother look as light as her but she might be mixed with something to bad she passed over a year ago and I guess we will never know
Miss Verda looks like some very light skinned women that I know also. I wish she would do AncestryDNA. I suspect she is 1/4 to 1/8 African but ancestry will tell.
My guess is she’s at least 40% African. My dad had aunts who looked liked that and they considered themselves full Black. I think she looks a lot like my husband’s half aunt who is 1/2 Black.
My ex boyfriend was "White" but had spit curls under that blonde hair around his ears and on the back of his neck. There was a rumor that an ancestor had married a slave. We are still looking for those records.
@@LifewithDrTrishVarner I once met an older woman who looked totally White but she was half Black. She took me to her home and showed me pics of her parents and her sisters. Her dad and sisters were Black. Her mom was White.
1/2 Black! Her mum cheated.
Why would her sister be so hateful towards her, they have the same mother, she is their biological relative, good thing she is well grounded .
Thanks for the comment.
Thank you Mrs. Verda for sharing your Story.
She looks part black. She should get DNA with her supposed full siblings! Hopefully they're still alive.
It's easy to see that Verda's momma made her with a black or brown man. That's why her momma gave her up and kept her a secret.
Hello from England ! I enjoy watching your videos , thank you for sharing about the film Passing that came out on Netflix yesterday I got to watch it last night
This woman clearly has African American heritage. A DNA test would clear this up instantly.
Has Ms. Verda ever taken a DNA test, if not why? I’m sure this would clear up any identity issues she may need to consider. The idea that she is clinging to her ‘whiteness’ without any true consideration of the possibility of her ‘blackness’ is curious since a DNA test will give her absolute resolution. So it does bare to ask the question if she is indeed in denial. Why do we have to read her book to see if she comes to terms with this? I would prefer to read her book to understand her journey towards wholeness, discovering and accepting who she really is.
Black folks know black folks. In a single family group you can have the darkest of dark and the lightest of light without a single interracial encounter. I don’t know if its innate or a spiritual gift from God that we recognize our kind, but we are like a ‘black person’ metal detector, we can spot anyone whose undercover 😂🤣😂.
Ms. Verda is black, thats why she blended well in the black community she was raised in. Black people come in a variety of hues in color and hair textures, so she fit in well in the culture because thats who black people are, a macabre of DNA secrets that can pop up at any time.
I’m so bothered by people being so rude! What gives them the right to make anyone feel less than?! Identity is individual, and none of us have the right to tell someone else how to identify. I think that in both stories, it had to be a shock to learn that biologically they are not the race they thought they were. It’s complicated, and I hope that if it is a struggle for either of these women, they will get some counseling. They are both attractive women, and I wish them well.
The issue I have is she is making a big deal out of falsely be raised as biologically Black while claiming to be fully biologically white. If she turns out to be mixed and wants to biologically identify as white, thats fine, but not when she is falsely representing herself for fame.
Verda looks like my 81+ year old mother who is mixed race with a variety of siblings that are darker than her. She will tell you that she is black, but her outer features say that she is white. I am a product of a mixed-race mother and a black father, and I am back in complexion. You are who you say you are no matter what anyone thinks about!
My kids are mixed. Two of them are obviously black/mixed, one looks perhaps Spanish. They grew up in a very diverse community. The black kids were much bigger bullies, extremely mean, than the white kids and mexican kids who accepted them, even though they were obviously black. But to the black kids, there were not black enough. I don't even know what the heck that means actually since all black people just like all white people are mixed with something. There is no pure race. It is a fallacy. Us, their parents, as well as their black grandparents and cousins are college educated so they did not act "black enough" for some of the kids. And that makes me sad for those black bullies who had to fit into some kind of stereotype in order to be accepted and felt the need to force other people into that stereotype. Even their black parents would call them mean, racist, ignorant names at sporting events at school. It really hurt my kids and caused them alot of trauma that they had to work through. And you know how us moms are when it comes to people hurting your kids. I have worked with people from every continent in the world, all different cultures, colors, races, religions, etc. and people are just people wherever you go. Hopefully, we can get to the point where we can treat each other with respect and teach our children to treat each other with respect.
Interesting discussion. As I’ve mentioned in other videos, I have struggled with these questions myself. White isn’t really a reasonably identity for me. My parents are white (my mother is white but from Latin America) but I don’t look white and no one ever interacts with me as a white person. Usually people assume I am mixed, black or Dominican/Puerto Rican. Thus, it’s hard to say I’m white when it was never believable.
You'll probably never be considered white if you have a darker skin tone.
perhaps you aren't white but native and a bunch of other things! your mother could be white passing but with minority of other dna there, and let's assume your father had some small percentage of none white, and it so happened that those resesive genes in particular were passed to you
@@genew5758 agree. I have a skin tone similar to other mixed and light skin black people, type 3c hair with a little 4a in there, thicker lips and a bigger butt that looks more black vs white. I read as black and that’s why it never worked to say I was white or Ashkenazi Jewish (which is what I was supposed to be). To be honest, it’s why it bothers me then people say mixed people aren’t black because many of us will never be accepted as white and to not have a home after going through all of this is so hard. To be “white” was a very lonely experience and when my dna proved I was 40% African, it was a relief to have an answer to why I look the way I do.
@@freedom_is_gold6747 no, she is 100% Polish Jewish. I know this because her sister DNA tested and she came up 100% Ashkenazi Jewish and she matched with me as a full aunt.
@@TheLauren1113 but she looks like her siblings are actually her half-siblings. Just because her sister is 100% Ashkenazi Jewish doesn’t mean Verda is.
Your daughter is beautiful! I love her red hair! 🥰🥰🥰
I first heard of Verda Byrd several years ago from a YT video. I was intrigued by her story. The overwhelming opinion in the comments was Ms. Verda was visibly mixed with African ancestry. I agree. However, I wouldn't criticize her for how she identifies. I would like to see us get away from the black/white labels and acknowledge all of one's ancestry.
Exactly what I just said. This is America and the longer your family is here the more likely different cultures will be added to your family
I truly enjoyed the stories ☺
Verda does seem biracial:her hair and features.Being she was Daisy's youngest child (daughter).I think Daisy had Verda with an African American man ,or a mixed man:outside of her marriage .
I'm 22 and found out recently that I had African ancestry! I'd really love to take part in the conversation/hang out you mentioned at the beginning of the video. Do you know when/where that would happen?
That’s awesome. I would love to have you join the discussion. I am planning to have it on Saturday. I will invite a panel to be on video with me and others can watch/engage in the live chat. If you would like to be a part of the panel, please email me at lifewithdrtrish@gmail.com.
@@LifewithDrTrishVarner I just sent you an email! Have a nice day :)
Where’s your lost relatives have u found them yet ? I’m missing a set of twins that’s I guess 3 /4 white they should be about 55 now in Cali somewhere I miss my cousins . I wonder do they remember us
I am interested in discussion groups. I watched the movie Passing last year on Netflix. I did not really understand what that term meant back then. I do feel that the black female character was living her most authentic life, despite her possible jealousy of her friend who passed as white. That woman had a very sad ending.
Thank you that was excellent!
You have a awesome channel!!!!☮️💟
Verda clearly is biracial lol, she was the only child given up for adoption , and the birth father left the family after she was born
Wow I feel bad that a person told you your daughter was not black because of her red hair. Many people are mixed today. Asian, Black, White, American Indian, Brown Race. In England two biracial people had a set of twins. One was white the other black. Both were pretty babies. These babies will fall in love one day and marry whomever they wish to. What color you are should not matter. You can take pride in your ancestry.
I think, theres a tribe in the UK which does this
My cousin married a woman 1st generation who is part germsn/British..my cousin had 2 parents lighter than him.
They had twins.
One is black presenting with straight hair
Her sister is white presenting completely....
It's odd to see them together😁
All identity is , by definition superficial. We are all human beings first. That is why if removed from our birth parents at an early age and placed somewhere else we become that culture, speak that language.
There is hardly a person in the US that doesn't have at least 2 different heritages. I myself am a mutt. I have English, Scottish, Irish, American Indian, Baltic. As I said a mutt. I have two grandchildren. One is pale skin, brown hair, brown eyes the other brown skin, black hair and black eye color. You are whatever culture you were born into or living. Seems pretty simple to me.
I don't get the race crap, I'm Creole from Louisiana and we did our DNA. 30% European 17% native American the rest African American. The slave masters mixed us up first, for profit. Now when other people mix its a problem. Not. We have red hair with freckles in our family, grey eyes/ green eyes every type of hair and from really light skin to dark skin. We are all beautiful and are all the human race
We all are black, and very proud. I feel if you have a mom one race and a dad a different race, then you are mixed. If you are 50/50 you can't be whole of just one race. That would be if it's 5 kids in the family, and 3 of them have different dads. This means you are not full siblings. You are half siblings the ones with the same mom and dad are full blood siblings. Some people feel if you were all raise together by the same mom, that you are whole, but you are not. I say let people be who they want to be. A human being Period
It is important that people know their lineage. We need to know who our family is. The problem is racism and people are afraid to identify as black or admit there is any black heritage because the negro throughout history has been taught as being less than. Its horrible. Verda looks like a light skin black in all of her pictures, has black features. My daughter is her skin color and my husband and I ate4 both brown skin.
I'm so sorry that 😢 people have treated Christine and Verda bad.
I am going to read both and would love to have a discussion about these situations
Met her in a restaurant complimenting her hair (a braided bun in purple, well manicured nails). She is a white woman. We discussed her color, she was seated with her adopted black family. She's a 82-year-old woman with the heart of a 30-year-old. Full of life and a delight to talk with.🫠 I'm thankful I met her on this Thanksgiving Day 2024! 🦃 Out in Oklahoma gambling in a "not so fair" casino. ✨️💖💃
I think it is all in the way you were raised! Wow Zi want to grt the Verda Book.
She looks mixed IMO not white 🤷♂️
I think so too. Her birth parents are listed as white in her adoption records though.
@@LifewithDrTrishVarner In 1943 a white woman would have to be completely nuts to put anyone other than her husband as the father on the birth certificate, let alone a 'Colored" man, as they called people back in the day.
I have a lot of correspondence, news clippings and official documents from before 1960, and colored was the usual term, then Negro became popular, then Afro-American followed by Black in the 1960s.
How did they let a white girl be adopted by a black family in those days
Where I grew up we called ourselves halfbreeds, so the word "mixed" sounds weird to me. Interesting how words can have such a strong impact on us.
I just saw a picture of your little red-headed daughter yesterday! It was on a podcast featuring you and your husband, "Black People with Red Hair - @Life with Dr. Trish Varner - Professional Genealogist Reacts." Is it a coincidence, or have the You-Tube algorithms figured out my topics of interest? Good luck with your show.
Thank you for research amd commentary. Entertainment is so horrible today, it's great to listen to people try to keep our american stories alive. As Americans we are caught up in a world of deception so its nice to give a commentary that does not show bias which is what drives the American narrative and capitalism which is the driving force.
That was a excellent episode
This lady is clearly Black which is why she probably was put up for adoption
Dr. Trish varner your daughter is beautiful love your daughter red hair
Thank you!
I agree with you. I'm going to have to purchase these books. I've many friends who identified as bio-racial, some thought of themselves as Black and some leaned towards their White side it didn't bother me either way. My son is bio-racial and loves exploring his German side, though he gets along better with his Black relatives. He prefers not to be labeled. Surprisingly enough my husband closely resembled a man that I liked in my early 20's that was bi-racial but identified as Black, to the point that my son saw a picture of him he thought it was his dad. I'm fine with however people want to identify, it doesn't bother me or threaten me, most of friends are culturally diverse and have always been since preschool. It was something that was important to my mom when we were growing up. I had plenty of classmates and friends who had red hair and were Black. It was never a problem. I don't why people have become so caught up with racial things in 2020's. i'm surprised at the turn of events. There seems to be a lo more intolerance now. Thank you for doing this video.
I started life out as an Army brat but I am from the South. When I was on active duty there were times I had to produce my birth certificate to show that I was indeed from the South. People whom I was stationed with said I sounded as if I'm from the upper Midwest. As an over-the-road driver from 1991 to 2018 I would sometimes have to talk to customers on to the telephone to get directions and it got to where I started paying attention to their faces when I spoke the first time. One customer asked me where was the co-driver she spoke to on the phone.😂 A lot of times I got double takes or wide eyes when I started speaking. A friend's sister always said that I sounded White over the phone but I am of mostly African ancestry with a bit of Cherokee from both sides of the family thrown in. AncestryDNA also says there's a tad bit of western Europe my mix. Starting out as an Army brat and not being allowed to speak Ghettoese I believe had a lot to do with the way my siblings and I speak.
I've been called half-White for the way I speak but people don't have trouble understanding me when I speak. I also write the way I speak.🤷🏼♂️ I've always considered that there is only one race: human.
No one has the right to tell a parent what they’re child should be identified as. I agree with your perspective on this subject and it’s explained extremely well.
She seems like she has African roots. It’s possible that both her biological parents are indeed white but somewhere down the line there was some mixing and she inherited more African traits than her siblings. It’s not the first time a child by 2 white parents came out that way. What doesn’t come out in the wash will come out in the rinse down the line.
I don't think those are her sisters though I could be wrong. I think it's a case of a mix up at birth. Really she does not look exactly Black to me she looks Southeast Asian. A lot of South East Asians and Pacific Islander people have wide noses. Wide noses are common to but not exclusive to Africans/Black people
@@mrhimselfalone7657 Pretty sure they are her half sisters.
Thanks for the comment!
...just see how some (infidelity) parents can mess-up their children's lives. It's obvious she doesn't look like her siblings... She's biracial.
Thanks for the comment.
Verda is a bi-racial woman like many other Bi-racial people! I feel there should be a category where people can choose hi-tech if they want to.
I watched a documentary on verda and it actually showed a photo of a black man that could possibly be her biological father due to her mother's infidelity. I believe she is probably biologically mixed if we are talking actual dna and how she appears but she was raised black so I consider her more black than "white " or mixed. I believe she should be classified how she wants to be because that's how she feels. I have a friend who is white and she has mixed kids but she and them don't call themselves biracial or mixed because they relate and appear to be more black plus up until a few years ago biracial wasn't a option on school forms and such so she chose black because of them appearing black. Love your channel btw! I just find genetics and history so interesting.
Good story and thoughts.
Who cares what others think about what you should call yourself. It's your life, so live it to the fullest. Your choices don't affect anyone. Be you and be happy.
@@patriciajones6771 But you DO have those same issues. You just call them something else. There is definitely colorism in the Caribbean Islands.
I think her bio mom may have been passing, or possibly there was an affair.
I think this lady should get a DNA test. What she is racially could be a result of a mixup at the hospital. At least rhe DNA would confirm the racial profile. I doubt her parents are available to test their DNA since her mom is deceased. I didn't notice what you said about the dad being alive or not. If it were me, I wouldn't write a book unless I KNEW for a fact on if I was whatever I thought my race mixture was. Why doesn't she get a DNA test? Interesting. Either babies were mixed up at hospital or Mom had a boyfriend or either rhe mom and/or dad had African and European DNA.
I saw it last year it was very good
If that was a picture of Verda's siblings, they don't look much different than her when it comes to their color. They don't look caucasian to me or they are very tanned. You bring out some very interesting topics.
I think her sister Sybil looked the most like Verda. Ironically, Sybil was allegedly the one who used the N word, which caused a fallout between Verda and her sisters.
I'm black but when I got my DNA results, it says I'm 64% European. I have traced my family back to 6th Century Denmark. I am distantly related to Meryl Streep, Larry Byrd, Harry Conick Jr, and Stephen Cobert. I was shook. I am black, black, black.
That's wild! And amazing that there are records going back so far!
Wow, I would have been shook too. You are mostly European.
That’s a lot of European DNA . I know some people who have that amount and identity as White. Some are Hispanics and a few Creole or biracial . Also people with that much European DNA usually look something like Drake, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Jasmine Guy or even Leona Lewis but some look like Beyoncé, Lewis Hamilton or Diana Ross. People probably wouldn’t guess you were that European. Are u from South Louisiana?
Also what DNA company did you use?
If that's your real photo, then you need to get a refund. With sincere respect, no way. We are all mixed with African, White, Native and sometimes Chinese. But that's a bit off.
She looks somewhat white, and somewhat Black. Mixed go by the way you feel.
Upthumb number 1,000 👍🏻
You can see she's part African regardless of who birthed or adopted Verda, what lies were told, how her siblings and birth mother's husband looked, etc.
I think it's hilarious that Verda so readily decided she was white because of a birth certificate, and I find it hard to believe that she really believes that. Just look in the mirror and also see that she was accepted as a Black person throughout her childhood. I wish she would get a DNA test and share the results, but I don't think she really wants to do that because it would conform that she wasn't totally European.
Thanks for the comment.
@@shells500tutubo As I say, the eyes see what the brain tells it to.
She had a book 📖 to sell and an interesting story to tell.
I love genealogy. Most family members have done DNA testing,. Since retiring from teaching at age 65, I have done much research. I am now 73. Being adopted at birth…made things more interesting. African Americans have some interesting challenges. Not all,but some of us.
Verda looks like a light skin Black woman. My daughter looks like her with straighter nose….daughter is black.