The Men Who Left Were White

In "The Men Who Left Were White" via Jezebel.com, Josie Duffy, a writer and lawyer at the Center for Popular Democracy, writes about her personal history of mixed African and European ancestry and why she identifies as black.

"When we talk about what slavery meant we talk about the ephemeral – what was and what ended. The details: plantation hierarchy, middle passage. We think That's it.

But what it meant – what it means – is worse than all of the details. What it means is a legacy of genetic material that courses through my own veins. This is not a story about skin color. This is not a story about how race is a social construction.

I'd reckon such a story would be boring for you. If it's not, let me tell you – it would be boring to me. I'm not interested in narrating the tribulations of being, surefire bet, the lightest black person in the room. Nor am I informed enough to tell you of the triumphs. In America, skin color is the x in virtually every social equation. It is predictive. I am quite positive that being lighter has meant privileges that were not afforded to people with browner skin, many privileges that I have not even identified.

This is a story about history, about identity."

Read the full essay here.