Racial Passing off the Record: A Journey in Reconnection and Navigating Shifting Identities
Anyone of African descent or with African ancestry who engages in a genealogy project soon learns that the U.S. Census is a helpful yet frustrating tool. In 2016, equipped with my history degree and an online ancestry search engine, I searched for my great-grandfather Leroy in census records after I...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Genealogy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/6/1/8 |
| _version_ | 1826994399004852224 |
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| author | Gabby C. Womack |
| author_facet | Gabby C. Womack |
| author_sort | Gabby C. Womack |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Anyone of African descent or with African ancestry who engages in a genealogy project soon learns that the U.S. Census is a helpful yet frustrating tool. In 2016, equipped with my history degree and an online ancestry search engine, I searched for my great-grandfather Leroy in census records after I saw a picture of him as a young man at work in Philadelphia. This image would have been unremarkable had it not been for the fact that my African American ancestor was so light skinned that he seemed to blend in with his co-workers at Kramer’s Fruit and Vegetables. I thought there had to be a story behind this. Classified as, “Mu”, for mulatto in most of his records, Leroy became “Black” on the census in 1930. My first thought was to question whether this categorization changed for other folks like him. My research led me to my master’s thesis “From ‘Mulatto’ to ‘Negro’: How Fears of ‘Passing’ Changed the 1930 United States Census”. Through this research, I also became closer to my father’s family. This piece will take you through this journey of discovery and my frustrations along the way. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:48:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-98f62f0209324a8e81bb2963064002b6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2313-5778 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-18T09:18:06Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Genealogy |
| spelling | doaj.art-98f62f0209324a8e81bb2963064002b62024-11-02T22:08:46ZengMDPI AGGenealogy2313-57782022-01-0161810.3390/genealogy6010008Racial Passing off the Record: A Journey in Reconnection and Navigating Shifting IdentitiesGabby C. Womack0McQuade Library, Merrimack College, North Andover, MA 01845, USAAnyone of African descent or with African ancestry who engages in a genealogy project soon learns that the U.S. Census is a helpful yet frustrating tool. In 2016, equipped with my history degree and an online ancestry search engine, I searched for my great-grandfather Leroy in census records after I saw a picture of him as a young man at work in Philadelphia. This image would have been unremarkable had it not been for the fact that my African American ancestor was so light skinned that he seemed to blend in with his co-workers at Kramer’s Fruit and Vegetables. I thought there had to be a story behind this. Classified as, “Mu”, for mulatto in most of his records, Leroy became “Black” on the census in 1930. My first thought was to question whether this categorization changed for other folks like him. My research led me to my master’s thesis “From ‘Mulatto’ to ‘Negro’: How Fears of ‘Passing’ Changed the 1930 United States Census”. Through this research, I also became closer to my father’s family. This piece will take you through this journey of discovery and my frustrations along the way.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/6/1/8African American familyAfrican American ancestryAfrican American historypassingunited states censusmulatto |
| spellingShingle | Gabby C. Womack Racial Passing off the Record: A Journey in Reconnection and Navigating Shifting Identities Genealogy African American family African American ancestry African American history passing united states census mulatto |
| title | Racial Passing off the Record: A Journey in Reconnection and Navigating Shifting Identities |
| title_full | Racial Passing off the Record: A Journey in Reconnection and Navigating Shifting Identities |
| title_fullStr | Racial Passing off the Record: A Journey in Reconnection and Navigating Shifting Identities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Racial Passing off the Record: A Journey in Reconnection and Navigating Shifting Identities |
| title_short | Racial Passing off the Record: A Journey in Reconnection and Navigating Shifting Identities |
| title_sort | racial passing off the record a journey in reconnection and navigating shifting identities |
| topic | African American family African American ancestry African American history passing united states census mulatto |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/6/1/8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gabbycwomack racialpassingofftherecordajourneyinreconnectionandnavigatingshiftingidentities |