Passing

"Passing"

The Gist:

A book entitled “A Chosen Exile," came out this week. The book deals with African Americans who “passed” for white and all of the problems and benefits that came along with it. Throughout the course of American history, people of color have (with varying degrees of success) tried to pass as white in order to escape racial discrimination. Famous stories of people “passing” abound: the first black president of Georgetown University (from 1873-1882), Patrick Francis Healy (pictured), passed for white until the day he died. One of the first cases dealing with the constitutionality of restrictive housing covenants was brought by a Michigan man who, because he looked white, was able to buy a home in an all-white Detroit neighborhood (his lawyer: future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall). It is an interesting topic, since it brings up what it means to be black, white, purple or green. In fact, stories still come up from time to time dealing with actors "you didn't know were black"…and now you know the gist.