Mar 2, 2017 Orange County Review
Some years ago, I was attending a large family reunion when I spotted a few friends deep in conversation. As I walked closer, I heard them talking about someone who had died, or so I thought. The reunion is held every two years and this was my third; I worried it was someone I knew. After our hellos, they returned to the subject at hand and I realized that no one had died— their use of the word “passing” referred to something else altogether.
They were having a debate over the issue of “passing” in terms of skin color. The question of the moment was, “If you could pass, would you?” My naïve and white-privileged self had never entertained the challenge. There was no definitive answer that day, but it did cause me to think about the matter.
Of course, color is not the sole determining factor for being able to pass— and we are talking about passing for white, not passing the sixth grade, nor male for female, nor as a person with an advanced college degree. Many of the native African features have been eradicated in their descendants over decades of enslavement in the United States.
Couple that with the United States’ historical obsession with color and the subsequent great divide; from classifications of degree—quadroon, octoroon, maroon— to the absurdity of Virginia’s 1934 Racial Integrity Act and the “one drop rule.”
TTIt was a simple construct for many: life was better for those who were light-skinned.
A conviction for some and a conundrum for others gave rise to the terms mentioned above to describe the degree of black ancestry as well as other phrases with which all-too-often, our ignorant white lives are unfamiliar.
Passe’ blanc and the notorious brown paper bag test are two measures of “passing” I recently learned of while in Louisiana.
Originating in French-influenced Louisiana among the vast population of Creoles, the term passé blanc referred to those people of some African-descent whose skin and features allowed them to pass as white.
The paper bag test is almost self-explanatory. If the skin of a person being questioned was the same or a lighter shade than a brown paper bag, they were accepted as white when skin color was at issue. The test was not solely a test by whites. Some African American social circles, such as fraternities and sororities, where lighter skin was considered a status worthy of inclusion would also use the test as criteria for acceptance.
As to the pros and cons my friends were debating at the reunion, I wondered what I would have done had I been in their shoes? I have no substantive answer. However, it is clear to me that this is just one more dilemma with which our fellow Americans have been forced to contend for centuries.
I apologize that this column merely skims the surface of the subject, but it is the nature of a column. Each of you is encouraged to research these terms and learn more. Enlightenment and understanding will be the foundation on which we can build a civil society and truly prosper, together.
Until next week, be well.
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