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.