Rite Of "Passing"

How One Black Man's Attempt To Pass As White Impacted His Family

(CBS)  For 23 years Bliss Broyard was white, living in tony Greenwich, Conn., isolated from people of color and influenced by the racial attitudes of her surroundings, reports CBS News' Russ Mitchell.

Asked if she used to tell black jokes, Broyard said:

"I did, in high school and it's a very painful memory looking back now. There was a student, an African-American student who was sitting at the table who got up and left and I felt horrible about it and kept wanting to apologize to him but never did."

Her life was based on a secret held by her father, Anatole Broyard, who died in 1990. He was the influential book critic for the New York Times for 18 years.

"I think my father, as a consequence, cut himself off from his family and history, and I think he suffered for that," said Broyard.

Anatole Broyard was Creole, born in 1920. His light-skinned parents, the children of free blacks, moved from New Orleans to Brooklyn, New York, where during the Depression they passed as white to get work.

Anatole's internal conflict began as a teenager, even wrestling with how to identify himself on a social security card application. But after passing as a white officer in World War II, he came home to be a writer, and for him that meant leaving his family and racial history behind.

"He would have, he had one of the most powerful jobs in publishing," said Broyard when asked if her father would have opened doors for many people if he had announced his racial makeup. "And he could have launched a number of black careers and he didn't, and some people think he was more harsh on black writers, so you know there is a very fine line between self preservation and selfishness."

"One Drop," Bliss Broyard's new book, chronicles her father's failure to tell her and her brother about his racial identity and how they had to learn the news from their mother only weeks before he died.

"It's amazing because we're the people that are closest to him and the secret was about us too," said Broyard.

And, she says, one that has had lasting consequences.

"I was really angry at him and one of the hardest things, his immediate family his sister and cousin, it's been very, very hard to repair that rift," said Broyard.

Historically, Broyard's secret was not unique. According to an Ohio State study published in the late 1950s, the number of fair-skinned blacks crossing the color line between 1861 and 1950 grew from 3,000 a year to more than 15,000 a year. And by the trend's peak in 1950, it was estimated 28 million Americans who identified themselves as white had black ancestry.

"Well I know some, in my own family, really I do," said Broyard when asked if she thinks people are still passing today. "People pass in lots of ways, people pass by class all the time. They pretend they are more wealthy than they are."

When asked how she thought her father would have reacted to her book, Broyard said:

"I think he would be happy that he couldn't deal with this secret in his own life but still have the job he had and lived the way he wanted, but I can."

[tbweb]

tbweb, you have no idea what it is to experience racism.

Posted by dannahhh at 04:15 PM : Oct 29, 2007,,,

Every adult at some point in their life experiences racism and racism does not need to be directed towards a person directly for them to experience it, collateral damage does not only occur in War but with racism as well!

[dannahhh]

crzmeat, where do you live? Which planet? Are you serious? That is the most ignorant thing I have read.

tbweb, you have no idea what it is to experience racism. This eloquent story is what needs to be told and remembered. A colorblind society? Whatever. See every color, recognize it and respect it.

[toolmangler-2009]

As a child I heard an old Black man say, "Be what you is, not what you aint, cuz if you ain''t what you is, then you is what you aint" It took a while to figuren out what he meant but I did. That was a smart old man...

[Krazcarl]

This just trash trying to stir up racism for a buck get honest it''s long gone but for those who can''t let it go because an excuse or cash is in it for them. I don''t care about yesterday I live in today.

[klingon69]

The fact is the US economy is to this day unfairly skewed toward whites, the result of racism. The descendants of slaves to date still receive less pay for equal work, less access to capital, pay more for insurance for similar lifestyles, see higher prices for food and other necessities, and have less educational opportunities, assuming equal qualification.
Posted by brianbwb at 01:02 AM : Oct 29, 2007
So, you are saying that a black person will pay more for their food at a grocery store? Is there sdomeone in the back that switches the prices when a black person pushes their buggy up to the register?
I don''t know about the other things but, on education; with such programs as the black college fund, and other programs such as affirmative action and quotas, it seems easier than say a young white person trying to attend college and raise a family. I did it, and worked full-time, so I can''t see your arguement. At our local college and university, at admissions, the proportions of white to black to others is about even.

[yoopermom]

I live in New Orleans and before you date anyone, you learn about their mama, papa, grandmawmaw, and grandpawpaw or you may get a surprise when the baby is born.
--------------------------
Posted by RingADing3

It''s this kid of attitude that keeps racism alive. Who cares about Gramawmaw''s skin color. Being so close minded, you will probably miss out on a great guy just because you are worried about the color of your babies!

[tbweb]

Posted by sonotso1 at 05:28 AM : Oct 29, 2007,,,

Wise words of wisdom from a pure, untarnished soul, perfect in every way, even God himself is not worthy of you!

[grammawhamma]

Skin color should mean nothing. People''s inner being is what counts. There are good and bad people in all colors and races. I personally think people of mixed races are the most attractive but it still is what is inside that matters.

[tbweb]

Stories like this is why racism stays front and center in an America whose ultimate goal is "suppose to be" a color blind society. A more appropriate race story should be about Neo-Nazi Skinheads whose agenda is to kill anything non-White when they get strong enough, but maybe CBS will address that issue when Neo-Nazis get strong enough, when its too late!

[bobgee_1999]

RingADing3:

So that''s how it''s done in N.O.? You get pregnant from going out on dates. Guess that''s why it''s called the Big Easy.

I haven''t heard the term "passing" since the 60s, though now that I think of it, it''s pretty hilarious that so many white kids these days are trying to "pass" as blacks.

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by mhalfert

I often hear that racism is a relic of the past and all, but it is simply not true.

The fact is the US economy is to this day unfairly skewed toward whites, the result of racism. The descendants of slaves to date still receive less pay for equal work, less access to capital, pay more for insurance for similar lifestyles, see higher prices for food and other necessities, and have less educational opportunities, assuming equal qualification.

The children of slaveholders fight to maintain advantages inherited from racism, and seek to maintain a race based inequality. Any attempt to bring balance to the scales of justice, civil rights, educational and capitalistic opportunity are labeled "reverse discrimination" propagandized against, and otherwise fought tooth and nail.

But re this article, the "passers" are almost as despicable as the "Uncle Toms" and "Aunt Condoleezas" , (finally, a female name counterpart) whose complexions keep them from "passing", but who actively serve their "white" masters in their racist and fascist agendas. Colin Powell, Alan Keyes, Clarence Thomas, and the aforementioned Condoleeza Rice come instantly to mind.

I don''t think our heroes, Dr. King, Malcolm X, Medgar Evars, Muhammad Ali, and many others sacrificed their lives and the limited freedom they had, just so our future generations could become like the dogs that stood on our souls, we were supposed to become better than that.

[ringading3]

How could anyone not know he was black? Just look at his nose and hair. I live in New Orleans and before you date anyone, you learn about their mama, papa, grandmawmaw, and grandpawpaw or you may get a surprise when the baby is born.

[mhalfert]

ok, so I mispelled "biased". I ran out of room, so I made another spelling up. Why not? CBS makes up data.

[mhalfert]

This is the most simple minded, and biast, news report I have probably ever seen. The idiot researchers may not know that the total population of North America was about 170 million- so nearly 25% of the white population (which was about 120 million at the time) had black blood? Consider that if we go far enough back, perhaps 100% of us have black blood in us. Who cares?? What is the point? The point of this report was people trying to "pass" as white, while having black blood. However, in order to "pass", as this implies, you would have to be aware that you had black blood and were trying to hide it. So, at a max rate of 15,000 %u201Cpart blacks%u201D trying to "pass" at whites, it would take over 1800 years to reach a number of 28 millions active "passers". What ***! Let me ask you- and why don''t they do a report- how many modern-day blacks have a drop of white blood in them? And if they only have a drop (less than 1%) does this make them racists against whites if they don''t walk around claiming white heritage? The entire point of this report is to further lay a guilty complex on modern whites (none of whom were involved in sins of the past) by making them feel sad that they made life on blacks so hard that any black who could escape that fate by "passing" for white would do it without hesitation. This has to be done so that white and black tensions do not go away, further creating an audience for conflict that is created by the people who act so appalled that it exists.

[cbs_oliver]

Yes sir, there''s "pure" "white" and then there''s everything else - which is "black".

That''s the racist way.

If you arn''t "pure" white and you say you''re white then you''re "passing".

That''s the rasist way.

But you don''t have to have blue eyes to be white!

Nope.

Kinda crazy huh!