Mixed-race, Passing for White, The Multiracial Movement, Self-Identity, Ethnic Choice,
How can you "pass for white" when you are already white? Why are Angloand Creole Americans of mixed-race ancestry told that they must identify with blacks and never with whites, while Hispanics and Arabs who areusually part-black or even dark-skinned identify as white, even whenthey obviously don't look it? If you are sick of anti-passing novelsand the glorification of the "one drop rule" (all by people who claim to be more anti-racist than thou), this book is the answer to a prayer.A.D. Powell, former writer for the "Interracial Voice" web site, hasbeen fighting the good fight against the anti-passing fanatics for manyyears. If you look white because of your European ancestry, then youARE white and morally superior to those who resign themselves to the"one drop" nonsense.
A.D. Powell was declared an "unsung heroine" of American history in a Proclamation by the governor of Arkansas, dated August 24, 2005.
No spokesperson of the movement to abolish government sponsorship of the "race" notion has been more eloquent than A.D. Powell. She aims her barbs at Americans of all complexions who insist upon the one-drop rule. She is the nemesis of those who advocate the uniquely American notion that there is no such thing as a White person with African ancestry--that such a person is, at best, a "light-skinned Black." Powell believes that the one-drop rule ignores science, crushes tolerance, and mocks the American Dream. And yet it is advocated by liberals, and its enforcement is demanded by most Black leaders. She argues that coercing someone's ethnic choice is tyranny.
This collection of essays on multiracialism originally appeared in Interracial Voice magazine.
"I found this book to be a fascinating treatise on race and ethnicity, or more accurately our perceptions on race and ethnicity. A.D. Powell takes a stand that, in essence, argues for each human being's innate right to identify with the ethnic culture and heritage, or heritages, that he or she chooses. While this may ruffle the feathers of some, it is a common sense approach to the outdated and oftentimes harmful American tradition of assigning all people to strict racial categories (that may or may not coincide with their own view of themselves). As Wayne Winkler points out, whether you agree with her or not, A.D. Powell's Passing for Who You Really Are will make you think long and hard about our long held disjointed notions of race." -- Brent Kennedy, author of The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People : An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in America.
"A. D. Powell's book of essays on the odious 'one-drop rule' is one of those rare works that will make you examine America's--and your own--assumptions and attitudes about race. Whether you agree with these thoughtful pieces or not, they will make you think about some things you may have never considered before. Passing For Who You Really Are presents ideas that will stay in your mind for a long time to come." -- Wayne Winkler, author of Walking Toward the Sunset: The Melungeons of Appalachia.
"Should be required reading for Blacks, academicians, White liberals and especially Latinos." -- William Javier Nelson, sociologist and author of The Racial Definition Handbook.
"I am glad someone is [publishing A.D. Powell], because there is so much crap being published by the university presses about the multiracial issue!" -- Francis Wardle, executive director of the Center for the Study of Biracial Children and author of the textbook Introduction to Early Childhood Education: A Multidimensional Approach to Child-Centered Care and Learning.
"She reminds you of H.L. Menken, driving intellectual midgets into frenzies of outrage, a spectacle that entertains her fans." -- Frank W. Sweet, historian and author of Legal History of the Color Line.
