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We know it started with slavery but I am re-thinking when this whole notion of light skinned people "thinking their white" started. Why? I have stumbled across some documents from the early 20th Century.
I have been researching my family history and I came across two documents. One was a passport application for my great grandfather's nephew. From the photo he looks Jewish. His eye colour is listed as blue. He lists his race as Black.
Saw my great uncle's draft card for the US military. From photos I have seen of him he was also very light skinned. I was so proud to see he put his race as African in 1925. He also was a very light man. (My branch of the same family was clearly Black in appearance.) This man ended up going to Africa and working over there for a number of years. He married a woman he met in Africa.
I know by now from discussions on here that my family is no different from any other Jamaican family.
I thought perhaps it was the Jim Crow laws that had an impact on people's thinking in the USA and abroad but they were enacted during reconstruction (1865 to 1877).
Another theory is that they were Garveyites as Garvey started organizing the UNIA in 1914.
What was the thinking pre-Garvey and what impact did he have on the local scene about how people perceived and defined themselves. Anyway I thought this might be interesting to discuss.
I have been researching my family history and I came across two documents. One was a passport application for my great grandfather's nephew. From the photo he looks Jewish. His eye colour is listed as blue. He lists his race as Black.
Saw my great uncle's draft card for the US military. From photos I have seen of him he was also very light skinned. I was so proud to see he put his race as African in 1925. He also was a very light man. (My branch of the same family was clearly Black in appearance.) This man ended up going to Africa and working over there for a number of years. He married a woman he met in Africa.
I know by now from discussions on here that my family is no different from any other Jamaican family.
I thought perhaps it was the Jim Crow laws that had an impact on people's thinking in the USA and abroad but they were enacted during reconstruction (1865 to 1877).
Another theory is that they were Garveyites as Garvey started organizing the UNIA in 1914.
What was the thinking pre-Garvey and what impact did he have on the local scene about how people perceived and defined themselves. Anyway I thought this might be interesting to discuss.