Excerpt From 'The Invisible Line'

From the Colonial era to the present, individuals with African ancestry have crossed the color line and faded into the world around them. They have lived among white people, identified themselves as white, and been regarded by others — neighbors, strangers, government officials — as white. On a daily basis they asserted their new racial status. On vacation they posed for pictures in front of the "whites only" sign at the beach. At night they told their children and grandchildren tales of the horrors of Sherman's March to the Sea. Their descendants had no reason to imagine that they were anything but white. Like most Americans they were taught to believe that the line between white and black is a natural barrier supported by science and religion and fortified by politics and law. Slavery and freedom, segregation and civil rights — the history of race in the United States had little to do with them. All the while, a different story has been hiding in plain sight. ... … Back to Article