In her book A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life, Allyson Hobbs delves into the personal histories of light-skinned African-Americans who, because of their fair complexions and social circumstance, were able to "pass" as white. Code Switch's Karen Grigsby Bates spoke with Hobbs who explained that, in the past, passing was really a group effort that involved the complicity of a person's family and community. We wondered what passing means now, not just for African-Americans, but for others who want to live beyond the social boundaries of group identity.
Passing today, many folks explained, was less about accurately identifying themselves as one race versus another, but rather giving other people one identity to wrap their minds around.
[View the story "Twitter Recap: What Does Racial "Passing" Look Like Today?" on Storify]
Three different themes came up in our discussion:
People choosing to pass, depending on the situation.
People who identified as multiracial sometimes presenting one aspect of their multi-ethnic heritage, while being encouraged to hide others.
Strangers assuming that a person has a racial identity that they don't have.
@NPRCodeSwitch @karenbates Yes, one passed to play professional baseball during segregation.
— Sonya Alexander (@wordslinger1) October 8, 2014
@NPRCodeSwitch in Italy my Iranian family passed as Italian. In Spain nobody thought we were Spaniards. In Germany we were seen as Turkish,
— sabuki (@srsos) October 8, 2014
@NPRCodeSwitch which is why we left. In the states, it was easier to situationally pass for white when I was younger.
— sabuki (@srsos) October 8, 2014
@NPRCodeSwitch @karenbates Me and my siblings were raised to pass and not disclose having a biracial Dad or a Jewish mother.
— Lillian Cohen-Moore (@lilyorit) October 8, 2014
@NPRCodeSwitch @karenbates i was at the gym and a woman started talking to me in Spanish. I answered in English and she was offended. +
— Anna Lynn Martino (@annalynnmartino) October 8, 2014
@NPRCodeSwitch @karenbates + then she asked "Aren't you Mexican?" I said "No, I'm Filipina."
— Anna Lynn Martino (@annalynnmartino) October 8, 2014
@CharlesPulliam @NPRCodeSwitch Interestingly, it was my dad (Korean) who wanted to erase Korean identity from his kids.
— /mieszanej krwi (@pointfivekorean) October 8, 2014
@NPRCodeSwitch @karenbates @katchow @RadioMirage Passing requires others' perceptions, I think who I am with also reveals my identity.
— Stephanie M Rushford (@SMRushford) October 8, 2014