African Americans and the One-Drop Rule

In affirmative action institutions, steps are taken to ensure that oppressed groups receive equal opportunities in comparison to the majority population. Before race was assessed to determine which people are entitled to these rights, it was used as one of many superficial factors determining alleged superiority and inferiority of different groups. The one-drop rule, for instance, suggested that any person with one drop of non-white ancestry was considered to be colored. In retrospect, it is easy to see the devastating effects of the one-drop rule in both history and in modern times.

In a world of limited resources, our ancestors sought to reduce the economic tensions they experienced in any way possible. By isolating and enslaving oppressed groups such as blacks, whites found they could accomplish more in a shorter period of time, and thus provide better for their families in a time of need. In modern days, the picture has changed, although only in form. With limited resources still a concern, now in the context of employment and strict standards for acceptance to some schools, many individuals will find opportunities to be less salient due to competition. Logically, as more individuals are competing for entrance into a prestigious university or work setting, less opportunity for these positions exist. With this simple math, stigmatizing and oppressing blacks provided whites with the opportunity to claim jobs and be admitted to schools which they believed belonged to them.

This rule has been applied to other groups as well. Native Americans followed a similar fate until it was discovered that many influential Virginia families claimed descendants from Pocahontas. As of 1924, adjusting to make room in the "white" category for these "influential people", the one-drop rule began considering only those who have more than one-sixteenth Indian blood as non-white. Although undeniably discriminatory and inhumane, this policy was embraced by our government and a large percentage of our ancestors.

The one-drop rule, formulated during the early 20^th century, provided populations with an easy way to classify who should or should not receive access to certain institutions. Although the one-drop rule is no longer used to determine who is a member of which race, its original effects have trickled down into modern institutions. In the modern census, individuals self-identify as whatever race they deem most fitting for themselves. Without the one-drop rule still in place, are we in the clear? Is access to valued institutions available to everyone? Unfortunately, it isn't. According to a 2005 Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, the national unemployment rate for whites was 4.3 percent, whereas the rate for blacks was 9.3 percent. In addition, these statistics do not account for which races make up the majority of different sectors of employment. While it is often easy to spot African Americans in manual labor occupations, an individual will have difficulty finding diversity in most white collar careers.

The one-drop rule has in fact both been created as a response to stereotypes and has bred stereotypes after its demise. To Americans in the pre-slavery period, blacks were seen as Neanderthal-like and inhuman. With this "justification", many blacks were brought to America as second-class citizens and made slaves. In this way, stereotypes helped Americans rationalize their behavior. In modern times, the pattern has reversed. By disadvantaging blacks in the past, living African Americans today have had little to start with. The pattern today could be best described as such: For an African American youth, his or her great-grandparents may have been a part of the institution of slavery, his or her parents may have been free but with few rights and little financial resources as a youth, and the youth may have grown up with little financial security. Following from this all-to-common dilemma, the youth is forced to go straight into the workforce and bypass college or extensive work training. At this point, the individual may have turned to crime or found other ways to meet his or her needs. To the biased and uninformed white culture, the black individual appears to be unconcerned with prosperity and comforts many whites enjoy, have little ethical principle, and in general, further define the stereotype that has already been created.

Although it may be difficult for many individuals today to see this connection, it nonetheless has persevered. The one-drop rule has been both a distressing part of our history as Americans, and a cause of stereotypes in modern times. Effects of its wrath can be observed in both economic statistics and through observational methods. The one-drop rule has put blacks in today's society in an obviously disadvantaged position.