Comments (1)

Mariah Carey and the One Drop Rule

by Chance Kelsey on Saturday, December 19, 2009

On the George Lopez show Mariah Carey said she was black because the law from slavery time said one drop of black blood made you black. The one drop rule was removed in July 1967 by the Supreme Court. Richard and Mildred Loving was an interracial couple. Al was white and Mildred was black.

Richard and Mildred were from Virginia and the state of Virginia did not allow interracial marriages. The Loving were arrested and charged with breaking the miscegenation law. The judge offered them a deal. He said you can either go to jail or leave the state of Virginia for 25 years. After the 25 years they could return.

Richard and Mildred left Virginia and they filed their case with the Supreme Court. The case was called Loving vs. Virginia. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Lovings. In a 9 – 0 vote the Supreme Court declared Virginia anti miscegenation laws unconstitutional and overturned Virginia’s racial integrity act of 1924.

The court made interracial marriages legal in all states. When the Supreme Court removed Virginia’s anti miscegenation laws the one drop rule was removed with it. The racial integrity act of 1924 made it illegal for a white and black person to marry, and if you were labeled black because you had some black ancestry this made you black because the one drop rule says any ancestry made you black.

The one drop rule only remains as a social tradition in America that is enforced by African Americans, some whites, and some members of other ethnic groups. This one drop rule is still around but is gradually losing its power.

As the generations move on it will lose even more influence over people.

Also on the show, Mariah read George Lopez’s DNA test results. Lopez is 55% European, 32% Native Indian, 9% East Asian, and 4% Sub Saharan Africa (black).