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Munnodol t1_j0safzm wrote

Those doesn’t necessarily imply you, many may not know about the lengths to which this country, both socially and legally, aimed to maintain a racial hierarchy.

A hierarchy so entrenched, it inspired the likes of Hitler and South Africa, who attempted to perfect the system.

I’d also hardly call this rule “archaic”. Considering it wasn’t repealed until Loving v. Virginia in 1967, that would mean that many people are still alive who lived under this rule.

When I say many, I mean our Parents and grandparents (at most, we are perhaps 3 generations off this rule, since Gen X would have come at the end of the law)

So the system you claim to be archaic has only become so legally within the past couple generations, but socially is still very much so in living memory.

Also, not sure if you is referring to me, cuz I’m Black, but the one drop rule manifests itself in the Black community as well.

We use it as a means of identification, we employed paper bag tests to determine whether one could “pass” as a white person (or to maintain a hierarchy that kept light skinned Black people at the top).

Many of our most prominent people advocated for a color based hierarchy, no doubt influenced by the larger racist rhetoric.

A portion of Madame CJ Walker’s fortune came from skin lightening creams.

Langston Hughs would regularly degrade dark skinned Black people in his works.

HBCUs use to control for the amount of dark skinned students they accepted.

These “archaic” policies shaped much of the 20th century, but also impacted the trajectory of future generations as those exposed to this rhetoric would then teach it to their children.

So while I commend you for your dedication to righting the wrongs of the past, you would do best to study how these wrongs manifested themselves, not only in the larger American society, but also within the very communities targeted.

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