One -Drop Rule
The One-Drop Rule: A Key Player in the Construction of Race in the United States
Barack Obama’s election as the President of the United States in 2008 was considered by many to be a representation of the huge strides the country has made in terms of race relations. Considering that blacks in America were denied civil rights less than five decades ago, his election certainly indicates that progress has been made. Obama and his election to office is linked to this progress because much of the population considers him to be black, including himself. Yet, Obama has as much “white ancestry” as he does “black ancestry.” This specific example can be related to the convention ‘that considered a white woman capable of giving birth to a black child but denies that a black woman can give birth to a white child,”[1] identified by Barbara Fields. His classification as black, despite the fact that he is also half white, shows how the idea of the one-drop rule is still very much present in modern times. This rule indicates that a person with even a single drop of “black blood” is to be considered black. The idea of the one-drop rule has a very deep history in the United States and has been ingrained in the countries racial ideology, partly through legislation. The development and use of the one-drop rule is unique to the United States in that “We are the only country in the world that applies the one-drop rule, and the only group that the one-drop rule applies to is people of African decent” [2] The development and use of the one-drop rule has had a profound impact on the construction of race in the United States. In order to understand the implications of the “one-drop rule” it is important to understand what this rule actual implies. As mentioned above, the rule indicates that one is considered black if they have even one single drop of “black blood.” This rule relies on the idea that race is determined by blood, and is therefore biological. This idea that race is
Barack Obama’s election as the President of the United States in 2008 was considered by many to be a representation of the huge strides the country has made in terms of race relations. Considering that blacks in America were denied civil rights less than five decades ago, his election certainly indicates that progress has been made. Obama and his election to office is linked to this progress because much of the population considers him to be black, including himself. Yet, Obama has as much “white ancestry” as he does “black ancestry.” This specific example can be related to the convention ‘that considered a white woman capable of giving birth to a black child but denies that a black woman can give birth to a white child,”[1] identified by Barbara Fields. His classification as black, despite the fact that he is also half white, shows how the idea of the one-drop rule is still very much present in modern times. This rule indicates that a person with even a single drop of “black blood” is to be considered black. The idea of the one-drop rule has a very deep history in the United States and has been ingrained in the countries racial ideology, partly through legislation. The development and use of the one-drop rule is unique to the United States in that “We are the only country in the world that applies the one-drop rule, and the only group that the one-drop rule applies to is people of African decent” [2] The development and use of the one-drop rule has had a profound impact on the construction of race in the United States. In order to understand the implications of the “one-drop rule” it is important to understand what this rule actual implies. As mentioned above, the rule indicates that one is considered black if they have even one single drop of “black blood.” This rule relies on the idea that race is determined by blood, and is therefore biological. This idea that race is