How Many ‘White’ People Are Passing?

How Many ‘White’ People Are Passing?
http://www.theroot.com/articles/history/2014/03/how_many_white_people_have_hidden_black_ancestry.html?fb_action_ids=639124709490904&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_ref=sm_fb_like_toolbar

Click to link to get more information on this fascinating research:

“Although it is a relatively small percentage,” Hadly continues, “the percentage indicates that an individual with at least 1 percent African ancestry had an African ancestor within the last six generations, or in the last 200 years [meaning since the time of American slavery]. This data also suggests that individuals with mixed parentage at some point were absorbed into the white population,” which is a very polite way of saying that they “passed.”

“Southern states with the highest African American populations tended to have the highest percentages of hidden African ancestry,” Hadly writes of Bryc’s findings. "In South Carolina at least 13 percent of self-identified whites have 1 percent or more African ancestry, while in Louisiana the number is a little more than 12 percent. In Georgia and Alabama the number is about 9 percent. The differences perhaps point to different social and cultural histories within the south.”

The "One Drop" Rule

My answer is, yes, of course it matters, because the more we learn about the black, white and browning of our past, the more we can see how absurd, how arbitrary and grotesque the “one-drop rule” that defined the color line in America for decades and decades during its most painful chapters truly was. Back then, a white-enough black woman or man could pass for white; now, with Bryc’s findings, we realize that all along, there was a whole other layer in the color aristocracy that no one could see. And to shop owners, hotel clerks, railroad conductors and federal judges in those times, appearances were what mattered; in our time, thankfully, it is the truth that sets us free.

For some, steep odds to find a bone marrow match

For some, steep odds to find a bone marrow match
http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2013/08/20/awaiting-transplant-cancer-patient-chances-depend-her-korean-heritage/oXksbeVUYTNez8KcaS6trM/story.html
Now, the 40-year-old’s Korean heritage has suddenly become central to her life in a way she never expected. After being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in July, Manocchio-Putney faces a disturbing reality shared with many minorities in the United States — getting a bone marrow donation to save her life will be much harder for her than it would be for one of her two Caucasian siblings.

While 93 percent of Caucasians are able to find a match among the 10.5 million potential donors registered nationwide, the likelihood of finding a match is lower for Asian-Americans — 73 percent — said Chris Mulcahy, northeast district supervisor for Be the Match, which oversees marrow drives and registries.

And it’s even more difficult for mixed-race individuals, African-Americans, and some subsets of Asian-Americans, particularly South Asians, to find a match, said Dr. Joseph Antin, chief of stem cell transplantation at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Bone marrow donors must have similar genetic history to recipients, Antin said. Though race has no genetic basis, the genes that determine the success of transplanted cells, called human leukocyte antigens, correlate with individuals’ ethnic backgrounds.

Humans developed distinct resistances to pathogens depending on what diseases proliferated in which parts of the world, meaning different ethnic groups evolved with different HLA genes. 

That genetic diversity in human leukocyte antigens makes it hard for everyone to find a bone marrow match. But it’s even tougher for people of Asian and African descent, because the more diverse an individual’s evolutionary history is, the harder it becomes to find a match. Since populations in Africa and Asia developed in the face of some of the most diverse conditions, many of its people have unique genetic types.

But sometimes, in cases like Manocchio-Putney’s, one individual’s case can generate enough momentum to expand the registry. For many years, Antin said, it was nearly impossible to find bone marrow matches for Ashkenazi Jews, whose families came from Europe. When one such Jew got sick, the community mobilized, and now many are registered as potential donors.

We Are All Related

(If you don't think you have an "American" culture, then watch this clip from the movie, God Grew Tired of Us, and learn how others see "our" culture.  We all have culture.

Recognize individual characteristics, even when generalizing culture.

(This video has been removed by the owner) A great perspective on history, culture, and DNA which takes on the traditional National Geographic (etc.) version of telling a story.

Race - The Power of an Illusion

Scientific racism of the 19th century:  looking at how to rank "the races" by measuring skulls, etc.  You cannot predict morality or potential for achievement, and those who are inferior can be enslaved.

Race is not biologically "real."  External differences routed in biology are not related to internal DNA differences.  There are no genetic markers that define race; no markers are present in everyone from one group and absent in all other groups.  Race is an idea that is ascribed to biology.

 

How can the "white race" stay white?  "One Drop Rule" and the Eugenics Movement leads to laws prohibiting intermarriage.