The Civil Rights Movement, Fall 2014

The Things Lost to People Who Passed

     The passing of black Americans as white is a significant, yet often understudied, part of American history. Many African Americans during the Civil Rights Era escaped the effects of segregation by using their light skin colors to define themselves. Allyson Hobbs, a history professor at Stanford, conducted research on this "passing" for ten years. She wrote a book (published last week) entitled A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life, which contains personal stories of people who escaped their black identities. Instead of focusing on the positive impacts of African Americans who chose to pass as white, she examined the difficulties which these people experienced. She sums up her book by stating, "To write a history of passing is to write a history of loss."
     Professor Hobbs addresses the most intense difficulties faced by these "passing people," such as the loss of family, personal identity, and community. Once a decision was made to live the life of a white person, returning back to one's African American family brought the challenge of returning to a former life. One of the stories which Hobbs relays in her book is about light-skinned Elsie Roxborough, who moved to New York City to live as a white woman. In the end, Elsie committed suicide because her father was angry about her decision.
     As evidenced by Elsie, psychological difficulties could be extremely intense. When I try to imagine living my life with a false identity, I am overtaken with immediate internal conflict. The idea of giving up my past for the sake of societal inequalities initiates stressful contemplation. In addition, Hobbs addresses the importance of trusting the people who know the real you. These people must keep your secret. It pains me to think that after some people officially "passed," there was little chance of turning back. How does one begin a totally knew life, and grapple with the fact that he/she may never see loved ones again?
     Before hearing a brief segment on A Chosen Exile on NPR yesterday, I always considered light-skinned African Americans who used to pass as white as being fortunate. It was comforting to know that some of these mistreated people were able to escape the hardships that black Americans faced. While I realize that many of these people did have more successful lives after their choice to alter their identities, I was struck by the overwhelming hardships which I neglected to consider. I am glad to live in a society today where people are able to take more pride in their heritages and identities. Luckily America today is more accepting and proud of its' diversity, and racial passing is now history.
    

http://www.npr.org/codeswitch/2014/10/07/354310370/a-chosen-exile-black-people-passing-in-white-America