The One-Drop Rule, Jim Crow, and Racial Politics
Outline
Introduction
Racial discrimination has undermined social equity in Canada. The non-natives such as the blacks and Europeans have suffered and therefore there is need for social improvement.
Thesis
Basing my argument on social and racial equality, this paper will detail concrete reasons why Canada should adopt the One Drop Rule as an approach to tackle inequality issues currently facing Canada as a state.
Paragraph 1
A brief historical background of the One Drop Rule
Paragraph 2
Why Canada need this rule in combating racial discrimination
Paragraph 3
Tracing the effects of this policy in the United States
Paragraph 4
The One Drop Rule will make the Canadians to appreciate their multicultural state
Paragraph 5
One Drop Rule would help in giving the Canadians an identity which would give them a sense of self-worth and personal dignity.
Paragraph 6
The One Drop Rule will also contribute to the concept of color blindness to the Canadians just it is to the Americans.
Paragraph 7
The One Drop Rule will also help in distinguishing between cultural traits and racial traits.
Paragraph 8
The One Drop Rule would promote assimilation majorly for the physically visible groups other than the blacks
Conclusion
Canada should therefore adopt the One Drop Rule
Introduction
For the purpose of the paper, I have settled on as one of the challenges facing Canada, which is race inequality. Even though in today’s Canada there exist legal protection of the victims who suffer abuse in the hand of racial prejudice, there still exists inequality in the country based on race. Racial inequality is defined as an imbalance of power, opportunity and economic resources in a country. In a recent study, for example, it was examined that black people are three times more likely to be carded by the police regardless of where they live in the capital city. The racial discrimination in the level of financial independences is not only common among the blacks but also with the other immigrant races from Asia and Caribbean in Canada (Currie, 2013: 393). The immigrants are vulnerable to poverty for a variety of reasons such as the low educational attainment, poor in the commonly spoken languages in Canada and poor, small work experience. Basing my argument on social and racial equality, this paper will detail concrete reasons why Canada should adopt the One Drop Rule as an approach to tackle inequality issues currently facing Canada as a state.
Following the racial classification in the United States of America, it took another format in 930 (COOPER, 2008: 6). Racial uncertainty and classification boundaries were further defined through a policy known as The One Drop Rule. This is a social and legal principle that was incorporated in the racial classification which asserts that every person who is attached to an ancestry of the Sub-Saharan African society would be considered black or Negro. The classification was prominent in the United States but later evolved in the 19th and got adopted in other states like UK (SWEET, 2000: 443). Digging a little bit deeper to the historical background of the One Drop Rule, the policy was put to distinguish a generation of people with mixed up colors. The mix-up came as a result of interracial relationships between people of different races such as the whites, Africans, Indians as well as the Europeans. The generation was generally accepted in the majority culture just through the general appearance without considering the ancestral background of the person. The One Drop policy had a significant impact concerning racial equality because it marked a new approach to how different races are handled. People came to appreciate diversity as a result hence making a tremendous move towards the reduction of racial discrimination.
First, Canada should adopt this policy for the purpose of bringing to an end the issue of racial discrimination. Though racial inequality is not currently witnessed in naked eyes, racial discrimination still exists in Canada. United States is known for having done a racial mess but from the history to the current state, Canada has been worse. With all the consequences that accompany the racial inequity issue, Canada has therefore become a victim of the discrimination issue. A survey conducted recently by the human recourses show that a significant percentage of Canadians get discriminated over various issue including gender deference, sexual orientation and race[1]. From a speech delivered by the vice president of the human resources confirms that despite Canada having the best human rights laws that prohibit discrimination, the country has a huge task to handle in eliminating discrimination of its citizens. Most of the racial discrimination acts include the denial of privileges in the work place, unfair rulings in the court of law as well as denial of civil rights that ought to be enjoyed by every Canadian regardless of their race.
The impacts of introducing the One Drop Rule are substantial considering the impacts it had to the United States. The new policy introduced in 1830 was associated with two remarkable related effects to the racial classification (COOPER, 2008: 10). First, it erased the racial boundary between the whites and the blacks on the basis of color differences. The use of the Negro term when referring to the blacks reduced by a considerable rate because the clear line between the blacks and the whites was done with. The social legitimacy faced drastically hence improvement of the social equality concept (SWEET, 2000: 443).
Secondly, the One Drop Rule will make the Canadians to appreciate their multicultural state. With the reduced supremacy of the whites on color basis, Canada will be able to appreciate different cultures and base their view of intelligence and worthiness on personalities rather than color (SWEET, 2000: 443). Borrowing from the United States, the One Drop Rule would break ethnic boundaries just as America has done by choosing biracial president Barack Obama. Racial relations have significantly changed and commentators have recently argued the position of president Barack Obama will cause a fundamental change to race relations. There are other biracial celebrities and philosophers in the united state such as Tiger Woods and Halle Berry who have lead the states in the most admirable way. Canada should therefore embrace this policy as a step towards totally discarding the issue of racial discrimination.
One Drop Rule would help in giving the Canadians an identity which would give them a sense of self-worth and personal dignity. The policy would help people to appreciate who they are and the duties they are assigned in their respective fields (COOPER, 2008: 52). Canada is already a multicultural state and mixed-up offspring may end up losing their cultural identity. With the new borrowed policy, Canada is significantly going to have strong people who know their background. Having a sense of identity is important specifically to the Canadians. First, it allows individuals to stand out and fight for their rights. On this note, it is important to know that most people get discriminated over issues that can be solved when individuals stand out. This shall allow the different cultural groups to fit into the dominant group of the whites in Canada.
The One Drop Rule will also contribute to the concept of color blindness to the Canadians just it is to the Americans. As soon as the citizens understand their racial identity, the confidence of being dominance as an entity to the political or social system gets eliminated. For instance, the standing in for president Barack Obama proved that dominance has nothing to do with leadership qualities of a person States (Kemmelmeier & Chavez, 2014: 137). This however will call the minority ethnic groups to boldly stand to in the political and social entities. The color blind concept shall help the Canadians to choose their leaders on the basis of intelligence rather than skin color or being in the majority teams. This will therefore be a remarkable move in bring racial discrimination to an end.
The One Drop Rule will also help in distinguishing between cultural traits and racial traits. These two traits have mistakenly interchanged majorly in Canada when it comes to the need to understand anthropology. Race classifies all human beings based on the traits normally physical that are conveyed by genes and not by blood (Currie, 2013: 398). Culture on the other hand refers to a pattern or a behavior that passes from one person to another through socialization. It is a learnt trait and anyone can adopt because it is not dependent on blood. Culture gives people an identity that brings them closer together. From the brief distinction of culture and race, it is clear that Canada consist of a homogenous culture of Canadians who come from different races. The One Drop Rule therefore confirms that the diverse racial differences are just but from the basis of blood but all Canadians share the same cultur[2]e (Currie, 2013: 401).
The One Drop Rule would promote assimilation majorly for the physically visible groups other than the blacks (COOPER, 2008: 6). There are many Europeans immigrants in the United States who have found themselves at the top after climbing the ladder in all dimensions of life. This is much contributed by intermarriages and relationships that occur in a multi-cultural society leading to a cultural and social assimilation[3]. However, the assimilation might be slow in Canada but it can advance just as the United States has moved. Young people are therefore free to intermarry with knowledge of exactly who they are marrying without making assumptions on racial identity. The One Drop Rule is more accurate since it incorporates the use of DNAs for racial identification.
In general, the One Drop Rule shall help the Canadians to let go the perception racial difference is only based on color. Racial discrimination due to color difference therefore shall lose meaning in Canada. The One Drop Rule will help in reducing discriminative pressure on the blacks because it shall bring the Canadians to realization that there exist other races other rather than focusing on the blacks. There is much potential in biracial Canadians who are very intelligent though their thoughts are disregarded. However, the One Drop policy will expose very prominent people who are biracial (Currie, 2013: 393). Their success will be a challenge to the natives who still value the sovereignty of the whites.
In conclusion, the proposal of the One Drop Rule into the Canadian constitution will have a diverse impact on the social, cultural and racial perspectives. This will assist in restoring a discriminative free society whereby people will appreciate themselves as well as appreciate others. Borrowing from the United States of America, Barack Obama being a biracial president has brought significant impact on the history of the United States (Kemmelmeier & Chavez, 2014: 139). The same can still apply in Canada whereby biracial prominent people will be able to stand out and claim their rights through the human rights clause of Canadian constitution[4]. The policy will also help people to appreciate diversity since Canada is comprised of very many people from different cultures. Assimilation in the Canadian culture will also progress at a significant rate hence creating a homogenous culture of people who share the same culture despite differences in their racial backgrounds. The rule will discard uncertainties of the racial discrimination and therefore it will have to cease.
References
Currie, C, Wild, T, Schopflocher, D, Laing, L, Veugelers, P, & Parlee, B 2013, 'Racial Discrimination, Post Traumatic Stress, and Gambling Problems among Urban Aboriginal Adults in Canada', Journal Of Gambling Studies, 29, 3, pp. 393-415, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 June 2016. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=9eac0f46-56a4-4557-b3b8-9fbb0ea02bd7%40sessionmgr4001&hid=4103&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=101069119&db=hjh
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SWEET, F. W. (2000). Legal history of the color line: the rise and triumph of the one-drop rule. Palm Coast, Fla, Backintyme. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=kezflCVnongC&pg=PP3&dq=history+of+the+color+line:+the+rise+and+triumph+of+the+one-drop+rule.+Palm+Coast,+Fl,+Backintyme.&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=history%20of%20the%20color%20line%3A%20the%20rise%20and%20triumph%20of%20the%20one-drop%20rule.%20Palm%20Coast%2C%20Fl%2C%20Backintyme.&f=false
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COOPER, E. F. (2008). One ‘speck’ of imperfection---Invisible blackness and the one-drop rule an interdisciplinary approach to examining Plessy v. Ferguson and Jane Doe v. State of Louisiana. Dissertation Abstracts International. 69-07. [Bloomington, Ind.], Indiana University. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3315914.
Kemmelmeier, M, & Chavez, H 2014, ‘Biases in the Perception of Barack Obama’s Skin Tone’, Analyses Of Social Issues & Public Policy, 14, 1, pp. 137-161, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 June 2016. http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=befe7fa0-1bfc-43ce-8b28-c22b26f9db50%40sessionmgr106&hid=121&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=100145163&db=aphBottom of Form
[1] COOPER, E. F. (2008). One 'speck' of imperfection---Invisible blackness and the one-drop rule an interdisciplinary approach to examining Plessy v. Ferguson and Jane Doe v. State of Louisiana. Dissertation Abstracts International. 69-07. [Bloomington, Ind.], Indiana University. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3315914.
[2] Currie, C, Wild, T, Schopflocher, D, Laing, L, Veugelers, P, & Parlee, B 2013, 'Racial Discrimination, Post Traumatic Stress, and Gambling Problems among Urban Aboriginal Adults in Canada', Journal Of Gambling Studies, 29, 3, pp. 393-415, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 June 2016.
[3] SWEET, F. W. (2000). Legal history of the color line: the rise and triumph of the one-drop rule. Palm Coast, Fla, Backintyme.
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[4] Kemmelmeier, M, & Chavez, H 2014, 'Biases in the Perception of Barack Obama's Skin Tone', Analyses Of Social Issues & Public Policy, 14, 1, pp. 137-161, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 June 2016.Bottom of Form
