Biracial Black/White Experience The Biracial Black/White Experience by Dr. Kelly Jackson

It is important to understand how growing up in a complex world that continues to socially construct race based on historical premises may be challenging for biracial Black/White Americans. This population of individuals is considered unique in that they represent the coming together of two historically polarized communities, a White superior group and a Black degenerate group. The presence of biracial individuals in America has historically shaped legislation on patronage, marriage, and racial classification. Their social identity has been and continues to be correlated with the state of interracial relations in this country. Throughout history, society has not been eager to understand and accommodate individuals who are mixed-race because of what and who they represent. The question and concern about the identity of mixed-race people was initially forged in the US during slavery when White, European slave owners began intermingling with their African slaves. The presence of Black/White biracial individuals who were difficult to discern from Whites threatened the proslavery arguments that Blacks were biologically inferior to Whites. In order to preserve the sanctity of the institution of slavery as well as protect White masters from having to provide patronage to their half-Black offspring, legislation was developed during the 1600s to classify any Black/White biracial individual as Black. This became known as the principal of Hypo-descent or the premise that Black blood is considered a contaminate to pure white blood (“one drop rule”) (Brown, 2001; Graves, Jr., 2004). As Degler (1986) mentions the US is the only country with the exception of Canad