Mixed Race Studies

I propose that the one drop rule no longer trumps physical appearance, but nonetheless it continues to influence racial identity today. In particular, the one drop rule affects how black-white biracials’ physical appearances are perceived by others. Despite the range in their physical appearances (e.g., some have dark and others light skin), black-white biracial Americans are frequently raced as black. This is because the legacy of the one drop rule has shaped how Americans (of all racial and ethnic backgrounds) perceive normative “black” phenotypes. According to Russell, Wilson, and Hall (1992), black Americans show a “kaleidoscope of skin tones” (9), due both to the long history of interracial mixing between blacks and whites and to the broad definition of “blackness.” Under the one drop rule, individuals with any degree of black ancestry were classified as black; thus, the normative phenotypic image of a “black” person became broad, and we can see today that black phenotypes vary widely in skin tone and other physical characteristics (e.g., nose shape, hair texture). Even today, having some “white” phenotypic characteristics—such as light skin, blue eyes, and straight hair—does not necessarily conflict with Americans’ image of blackness. For example, actress Vanessa Williams and recording artist Beyoncé Knowles are both “black” with some degree of white ancestry and “white” features. While Williams and Knowles do not outwardly appear white (i.e., they could not pass as white), they do have some physical features that reflect their white ancestry; Vanessa Williams has light skin and blue eyes, and Beyonce Knowles has light skin and long, straight hair. Having these “white” normative physical characteristics, however, does not necessarily conflict with Americans’ image of what it looks like to be black.

This broad image of blackness not only influences how Americans view blacks, but also how they view biracial black-white Americans. Regardless of any “white” physical characteristics biracial individuals may have, others tend simply to classify them as black because their perceptions of what a “black” person looks like do not preclude normative “white” physical characteristics. For instance, a biracial person may have straight, long hair, but so do many black Americans (either because of white ancestry or because of hair straightening/“relaxing” techniques common among black women today). As a consequence, many Americans are unable to distinguish between black and biracial phenotypes. Thus, appraisals of these phenotypes (both real and reflected) are influenced by the historical legacy of the one drop rule, which continues to shape black identities even today.

Nikki Khanna, Biracial in America: Forming and Performing Racial Identity, (Lahnam, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2011), 47.