A pen mark changed us from BLACK to WHITE

#ancestry #findingyourroots #ancestrydna #dnatest #louisiana #nativeamerican #creole #familyhistory #genealogy #mardigras
The documentary- series "Finding Lola" is done, but is the journey over?
I sat down with my friend (and distant Creole cousin!) Marc Lewîs :French teacher and Creole genealogy enthusiast to discuss HOW race was so easily changed on draft cards and census records in Louisiana. How did my family go from NEGRO to WHITE... with the flick of a pen? And what does that mean for me as I research my Louisiana roots?
Marc recently launched a brand new youtube channel, you can check him out and show him some love over at CREOLE EXPLAINED: / @creoleexplained
⚪Support more storytelling and get behind the scenes videos: / about
🟢Watch the docu-series "Finding Lola" : • MY family story of "Wh...
⚪Want to connect? / findinglolafilm
🟢Want to know more? www.findinglolafilm.com
Grab your own Ancestry DNA test now*! : amzn.to/3UxGKJx
--------
Come join me on a new docu-series that explores identity, racial tensions in the South during the 20th century, and the unique experiences of those who historically called Louisiana home.
My name is Danielle Romero, and all my life, I have romanticized Louisiana.
Growing up in New York, it represented a place where I could step back the sepia-toned life of my great grandmother, Lola Perot, who died before I was born.
Now, it was time to go back to Louisiana--although I had no idea what the truth would be or what questions to ask---who was Lola really? Who were we?
*Amazon links are affiliate links. If buy something through these links, we may earn affiliate commission. Thank you for supporting this project!

[@jackiearcher7738]

That stroke of the pen has effected many of us. My relative went from Indian, to mulatto, colored, negro, black, .....labels by others

[@BN20O9]

Paper Genocide... Its crazy how thine keeps moving in the US.

[@patriciajrs46]

Labels suck.

[@flyingfin5303]

My whole life the #1 question people ask me is "Where you from?" My answer now I'd "From my mama!"

[@bronzefox9035]

Same! My grandmother always told us not to let the foreigners (white people) tell us who we are. I did not understand it then, but I understand it now.

[@barbaraayarza5352]

My family did too! The census has them listed the same way as yours. Mind you, my paternal grandma was ambiguous but half native, the other half was black and Jewish. Grandpa was creole... My dad's birth certificate says negro! but you know they had to check ONE BOX. my sister's and I were listed all different races by the school because we are all different shades.

[@aprilperez5559]

My grandfather was part black, and hid it obviously to avoid race schism,, I’ve only learned this via ancestry,, which help me to understand my fathers sarcasm in saying my grandfather was Blackfoot Indian. So my father knew that my grandfather had a little bit of black in him and this was my fathers way of being sarcastic and saying so. But in this journey I’ve learned I have a bunch of new fabulous cousins and moving forward

[@nytn]

April, that is awesome!!

[@nycdaddyo]

“A little bit of black in him”? Every human being on this planet originated in East Africa. The rest is adaptive mutations and mating preferences. “Under the skin we are ALL African”. Dr. Spencer Wells, geneticist and creator of the Ancestry DNA test. Wake up and taste the melanin, Missy!

[@cherylrosalis1948]

You are blessed to be able to find anything about your ancestors.

[@nytn]

I think it was called picwish! My cousin did it for me

[@KallipolisCracks06]

My family from Italy (Sicily and Calabria) changed one of our last names(Aquist/Aquisto) and I believe my Papa’s last name was changed but not sure (Gerardi). He also was called the N word by his friends parents(he’s Sicilian, very dark etc) and would speak of the whole paper bag test for our people and how we were side by side with slaves and then treated the same as Black Americans for the most part until a certain time period

[@StephenieMcIntyre]

Danielle, you are such an inspiration. My family has a lot of assumptions about our background and all I have are pictures and heard just a few family stories. I'm inspired to do more research now!

[@spotted_salamander]

It's a caste system. It's beyond someone's phenotype. The skin color (including facial features and hair) is just only one component. It still came down to how the census agent had been directed to classify people. They were always told by the federal census office to use their "careful observation" and "judgement" to classify people, along with the base criteria that the census office gave them. The federal marshals (federal law enforcement) used to ask inhabitants questions for the census, up until 1870, and would also write down people's "Color" classification. The person working for the federal census office was ultimately instructed to classify people by the way they were associated, beyond what they looked like. So if a person lived among people that were all viewed locally as "Colored" people, then a person with pale skin and straight hair would be classed as "Colored" and probably be listed as being the color "Mulatto" or "Black." Just because someone is pale skin in a situation like this does not mean that they were going to be classed as "mulatto." You can never make such an assumption. In my own family genealogical records of ancestors and relatives I am seeing many past family marked as the color "black" consistently on the federal census and many of those of people were literally pale skin with wavy hair. Some of these people were not classed as mulattos a day in their life! If you were pale skin but lived among people viewed by the greater community or the census agent as being socially/culturally "black" then you would be classed by the marshal or census agent as "colored" and "black," etc. The main thing the census office would stress is for the census agent to use their "careful observation and judgement" when classifying people's "color" and their family/community associations when finally designating their "color" on the census schedule. And of course none of these people, as a general rule, ever knew what the census agent marked on the census schedule. I know for a fact that my great grandmother Lela had no idea what the census taker was writing because she always identified herself as "Indian" and stated her ethnic ("tribal") affiliation back in the early 1900s and the federal census agents still marked her as "black." It's ethnocide and it's tragic. My people are largely from the deep southwest of Georgia and the northern panhandle of Florida. This had to be the most ruthless region at one point during the post-bellum "Jim Crow" period. It was the United States' plantation epicenter throughout the second-half of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. It's historically a very anti-Indigenous region. They wanted to crush out all "American Indian" existence in that region of the country following the subjugation and ethnic cleansing of Southeastern Woodlands Seminole (Creeks) in the region. Florida was once viewed as an Indian Frontier country and they vowed to extinguish indigenous identity, independence, and ways of living there. No one in the state of Georgia could even dream of being recognized rightfully under their indigenous identities. The fed and Georgia state governments worked hand-in-hand to not recognize or allow for '"Indian" identities to freely be documented in the region.

[@philamoureux675]

My Dad was runnin Boot leged Liquor as his Summer Job. Dependin on if The Town was Predominantly Black or White,He had 2 Drivers Licenses. One said He was Negro,another said He was White.

[@nytn]

Oh my gosh!

[@kehenry1]

I have been following your research. My family has had a myth about being Native American for about a century or more. When you see older pictures, a bunch of them look like you or a little darker. Then we took a DNA test. My older 2nd cousins (not me so much) were shocked to discover that they had 1-2% African DNA with a few other oddities like Basque, India and the Canary Islands. Otherwise we are now predominantly European. I personally had expected the possibility or probability of African heritage even if there had been Native American for obvious historical reasons. Having discovered this heritage, it made me look at what they were doing through the 1800s, into the Civil War era and afterwards. For instance, they kept continually moving to the frontier areas of the United States staying close to Indian Territory, but never in it. In 1760 they were in NC near the Cherokee. By 1790-1800 they were in Eastern Tennessee. By 1845 they were living in the Corners (where Missouri and Arkansas butted up against Indian Territory). When the Civil War was starting, they moved across the border to Humboldt, Kansas. It was a known stop on the Underground Railroad and a Free State bastion. When I first learned this information, I read it from the POV of a white person learning about their white ancestors. I thought that these people were obviously Union supporters and possibly abolitionist in sentiment as their son joined Gen Lane's 10th Kansas (Jayhawkers). Then we took the DNA test. I realized that using the exponential theory, these ancestors were likely 25-33% African themselves. It gave me an entirely different perspective on why they had stayed on the frontiers and why they had went to Kansas at the start of the war. As people tended to move together in groups from their original locations, the odds were very high someone knew their heritage or knew the rumor thereof. That would information could have you snatched up and sold down the river Which is actually what happened about 6 mos after they arrived in Humboldt. Bushwhackers rode into town, grabbed any "negroes" they saw on the pretext they were likely runaways and then burned the town to the ground. They largely survived. There is more to this story, but my point is that knowing your actual heritage, regardless of what people think they are now (96%+ European), actually changes the story.

[@lindabeck3412]

Wow, this was so good Danielle. Let's just sit with this information a minute & let it sink in. And the mention of the lady named Drake who would change the records- blew me away. Yesterday I filled out a survey and came to the last part " what is your race"- every time I have to answer this question now I pause & think of all the things I have learned from your journey!

[@nytn]

Oh Linda, thank you! I know, The Naomi Drake story is shocking. I might do a full video on her. I'm so glad you are here for this journey!

[@rhondalight70]

@@nytn there was a man in Virginia who did the same thing, certain families in certain areas were assumed to be black or mulatto and he even had people's census records changed. If I recall correctly, his name was Walter Plecker.

[@keithjosefadkins6209]

I really enjoyed your doc-series about Lola Perot. What a great story. As a fellow genealogist, I will add that the "mulatto" designation was often in the eye of the beholder (the census taker). Sometimes if you were not "dark brown skinned" you were listed as mulatto. Sometimes if you were dark-skinned but had "wavier" hair you were considered "mulatto". And sometimes if the community had a history or reputation for having so-called mixed-race people the census taker would automatically write down mulatto ( except in 1900, like Marc mentioned, when most people of African descent were defined as Black in the census). There were hundreds of instances in North Carolina in the 1900 census when mixed-race people with Indigenous ancestry were considered Croatan; a decade later they were Black or mulatto. As far as Marc's comment re the rarity of Black people with lighter-skin and/or light-colored eyes, I would argue there are MANY instances of that. It is not uncommon for a Black person to have lighter-eyes. I think it's also important to note that most Black people in the Americas are of mixed-race. And they rarely called themselves "mulatto"; that was a term applied to them for description.

[@creoleexplained]

I think we have to be precise when we use the word light in reference to both skin and eye color. How light are we talking? In the video, I was referring to "blue" eyes, which quite frankly is pretty hard to get genetically for anyone, because it's recessive. Another thing is, we need to consider the fact that there are a lot of self-identify black people who have a lot of European ancestry. Unfortunately, many people nowadays, who do not ascribe to the one drop rule, would not count them as black. You are absolutely correct that pretty much all black people in this hemisphere have mixed ancestry to some degree, so it is hard to determine who counts as Black and who doesn't. I've seen extremes in my generation where biracial individuals are getting called out for identifying as Black, which is shocking and innapropriate in my opinion. I do believe we are trying to stray away from the one drop rule, which honestly is pretty r*cist.

[@nytn]

Keith, I love the insight of a genealogist. I am absolutely shocked about the NC designation changes😮. A good reminder that when you are new to genealogy, we need to get a broad look at the census records for a family....if I had gone to just one census year, I would have had a very narrow view on what was actually happening with my family at the time

[@keithjosefadkins6209]

@@nytn Thanks. Again, I really loved the story about Lola. It reminded me of the story of Jillian Sim and her great-grandmother Anita Hemmings of Vassar as well as Johnny Cash's true racial ancestry. His grandmother claimed "Cherokee" but it's been discovered it was actually African blood.

[@tyronejones7341]

I am a light-skinned Black man in America with hazel eyes and is 100% Black without a drop of "european blood" , maybe "some Asian" due to San people of South East Africa , but not from whites. Most Black's in the USA are not mixed with European or Indiginous peoples blood due the slavery breeding Slave women with "Mandingo" Black men to produce strong and valuable slave children to market and work the plantations. Mixed race slaves from rape by they're masters were far and few between and decades of Jim Crow with the strictly enforced anti-miscegenation laws there was little chance for widespread race mixing !! Forget that myth ! do the math !!!!!!.

[@timeforchange3786]

@@creoleexplained a lot of melungeons have dark skin, European features, and blue eyes.

[@reneebee8693]

Danielle, you are doing the Lord's work. Please continue. Onward and upward.

[@nytn]

Renee, wow, what a blessing thank you

[@nytn]

⚪ Help me edit videos: buy me a coffee!:ko-fi.com/nytn13 ⚪Support more storytelling and get behind the scenes videos: www.patreon.com/NYTN/about 🟢Watch the docu-series "Finding Lola" : kzbin.info/aero/PLvzaW1c7S5hQcox9CjaJWA7QKTYXw9Zn2 ⚪Want to connect? facebook.com/findinglolafilm/ 🟢Want to know more? www.findinglolafilm.com Grab your own Ancestry DNA test now*! : amzn.to/3UxGKJx

[@muurishawakening]

Peace. I really enjoy the discussions on your videos. You are very needed in this time that we we are seeking more clarity of who we are as human beings. I am trying to do my part as well as a fellow KZbinr, podcaster, blogger , writer and author. I've written articles entitled "Race is a Racist Concept." Where I pointed out that "race' not only is a socio-political construct, but was a concept developed primarily in the 18th century and it is not based on scientific reality in nature. Geneticist have proven that "race' is a fallacy. There only one race and that is "human." Thank you again for your great content!

[@kaleahcollins4567]

The more I go into my own family's ancestries the crazy as the stories are becoming our senses and other paper records yeah it's quite disturbing how someone's race classification can change in one's life time some times many times

[@vatricegeorge]

My family identifies as black. I met my great great grand mother she's extremely light skin but she identified as black, the census record listed her as mulatto her grandfather was white an had enslaved her mother as a young child being born in 1862. I have lots of Texas and Louisiana family listed as mulatto. I noticed my fair skin, white presenting ancestors born in Arkansas and NC were listed as Black but once they moved to Louisiana they were listed as mulatto.

[@kathleenking47]

It could be how you present.. If you present as black. Thatd what you are. However, if a mixed man has straight hair and not so full of a nose, he could pass as white

[@C--A]

@@kathleenking47 I'm from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 me and my sister's dad was black dark skinned Nigerian and our mum is white half Scottish half Polish. I have brown skin. Whereas my sister has white skin and nobody would think she's half black. Even kids at school didn't believe we were biological brother and sister.

[@bihsaidwhatnow2392]

The more I watch your channel, the more I understand this sentence, "Race is a social construct" and the more frustrated I've become at how "race" became to be, what it implies as a human being not having the authority to be Supreme Being to anyone other's then "self", and the heart and mindset of those who thought it was right to create. (I hope that long thought makes sense).

[@nytn]

Yes, absolutely. And how strange that the construct can change as society changes....

[@cynthiapickett8577]

Keep up the amazing work!

[@nytn]

☺😌thank you

[@zellhudson1830]

DANIELLE YOU ARE A GREAT INSPIRATION AND FULLY QUALIFIED TO FIND YOUR ROOTS ,DON'T LET OTHERS HINDER YOU. GOD LOVES YOU ,STAY ON THE PATH OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, WE HEAR YOU AND APPRECIATE YOU!!!!

[@romecottrell6444]

I enjoyed your story.

[@cheechee7408]

Much needed information Danielle my family is very diverse…

[@Kwameking1]

Loved it!!!

[@lkndiaries02]

This speaks volumes to my struggles with identity! I don't think it needs to be this complicated to live as you are. Censuses/labels are a divisive tool that tear apart people's sense of identity and community. I am an olive-skinned mixed presenting person with who has relatives that look entirely European. Most people from first glance think I am Mexican or of some other Latin origin.. My full-blooded sibling is blonde, blue-eyed, with extremely fair skin. He has more South Asian ancestry than me lol. People's perceptions are so fleeting. My maternal grandmother was of mixed ancestry and I never knew that until five years ago. She apparently was Spanish and English. That was true, but my mom's family did not mention her South Asian background. I've asked relatives and they cannot give me an answer on where that ancestry came from. Maybe it was easier for my grandma to say she was "white" and pass to not face discrimination. I have so many questions and want to keep exploring that side of the family.

[@nytn]

Lucas, what a familiar story for many of us. Dont give up on looking, if you can connect with your grandmother's siblings or cousins you might get a good lead!

[@BeverlyStanback]

You two are so cute, but naive. You really need to talk to some old white and black southerners, Civil War historians. Explore some Historically Black College and University history departments if you really want to understand why things are as they are.

[@lisawilkerson8408]

This was very helpful. I had the same question about negro, black and mulatto on early census

[@CraftingInWis]

I believe in the name list. North Carolina has the same problem with race on the census there is alot of mixed race people there. My ancestors are from there. There race changes over the yrs. Its amazing, I was so confused when I first started my family tree love your videos keep up the good work I would love to talk with you.

[@whoahna8438]

Surname standardized spellings are relatively recent

[@jcortese3300]

This is a big part of why I'm skeptical of people who will say (sometimes in your comments), "I can tell just by looking at you." Honestly ... no, you can't. A lot of these records bureaucrats probably also just guessed. Anyone who insists that they can "just tell" is kidding themselves.

[@terrellfuller7493]

I Love this!

[@carolynsaunders2494]

I would love to know how Naomi Drake could tell by last names a person's ethnicity being that blacks during the time of slavery had their last names changed to that of their slave owner. Keep up the great work Danielle I find all of this information to be fascinating.

[@nytn]

I wonder this, too. I didnt read too much on her story but enough to realize how aggressive people were in trying to "out" anyone not deemed "pure white"...whatever that means. Thank you for the kind words, we are all in this together!

[@cherylrosalis1948]

My family name is spelled four different ways. We believe the changes came from the people filling out the census paper work either could not spell the name because the person they were talking to could not read or right.

[@kathleens.laroche754]

Notwithstanding the fact that in Louisiana the census taker may have had ulterior motives, if you have a non-French speaking person trying to correctly spell a French name as spoken by a French person, especially if that French person is illiterate and therefore cannot read what jas been written, you have the perfect set up for a name being spelled wrong on a census form

[@cherylrosalis1948]

@@kathleens.laroche754 There are no French people in my ancestry but thank you.

[@Ribcrickett]

@@cherylrosalis1948oh my 🤦🏻‍♀️. He used French as an example.

[@staceysimmons8742]

A lot of what I grew up with as "race" I now know is different in different countries. Where I'm currently living, the one drop rule definitely doesn't exist. In addition, I've found numerous non-American confused by the concept of a blond-haired, fair-eyed "black" person. Just more things to think about.

[@nytn]

Thats a great point

[@MartinaValla]

I think there's a baseline problem in not aknowledging that looks and skin colours are a spectrum rather than clear cut categories, and there's no clear delineation where one "race" begins or ends. It's kind blended from one geographical point to another.

[@kathleens.laroche754]

Another great video, Danielle! I love the guests you are bringing on. Here's a thought. I'm not saying I am, but I could even be related to you and Marc through an Acadian/Cajun since my father's mother was Acadian. I can only trace her family back a couple of generations because so many Acadiam records were destroyed related to the British victory over the French in Canada. Anyway, that you and Marc are seventh cousins once removed made me realize that I could have some black cousins in Louisiana as well as probably white Cajun ones. I should look more closely at my long list of ancestry DNA matches! Maybe even you and Marc are there! Wouldn't that be fun!😀

[@nytn]

Kathleen, thank you so much :) I wonder if we are related! I dont have my test on ancestry but I have my great uncles, you can see if you match with any Donnellys:)

[@creoleexplained]

I have acadians rooted through both of my great grandparents. I never knew this prior to looking into the family history. My family never identifies as "cajun" but there are a lot of reason for that. Anyway, I am related to some well known acadian/cajun families such as the Breaux / Braud. ~Marc

[@kathleens.laroche754]

@@creoleexplained How the Acadians became Cajun is a heartbreaking story. I hope that your great grandparents became your forbears through voluntary relationship (s), if you get my drift, and did not become perpetrators of heartbreak themselves.

[@kathleens.laroche754]

@@creoleexplained My grandmother was a Richard, her mother was a Savoie. Her paternal grandparents were Richard and LeBlanc; maternal: Savoie and Hubbard (Irish). They were in New Brunswick, Canada. I have not been able to get further back than that.

[@creoleexplained]

@@kathleens.laroche754 Oui, oui enfin I get it. I found out a pair of my 4th great grandparents were in a seemingly consensual relationship. I thought my white 4th great grandfather was my 4th great grandmother's master. Then, I found her emancipation papers and found out she had been free damn near her whole life and they got together maybe 30-35 years later. But I do recognize this is not the case for everyone.

[@axi271]

Fyi: during the time the US Census was taken it was up to the census taker to decide what race a person was. My family from 1620-1671 were classified as Indian (Amerindian), after 1671 was classified as white until 1780 classified as black/colored. Then we were classified as Mulatto, Octoroon, Quadroons and then 1950 been classified as Negro ever since. However, my family members that married white were able to hold onto their Native heritage but the ones the married black/African were disowned and no longer able to claim their native heritage although it could be traced maternal.

[@gagecarty4290]

Louisiana was claimed by two other European countries and native people before becoming part of America. So that's a lot of different people and languages to be in the territory don't forget the traders, workers and slaves.

[@williebrinson4699]

15:20 Daniel I just noticed how much you look like Lola Perot. Amazing

[@nytn]

I am always honored when I hear that! I feel such a special connection to her

[@williebrinson4699]

@@nytn It came to mind that in some way it may be her correcting some things she wasn't able to do at the time through a vessel that is willing. I must say I'm not shocked by your devotion to your ancestors, but it is a brave and admirable thing to do. I can imagine all in the family probably ain't that happy about your decision. I'm sure it's liberating for you and just know you are part of the solution for what ails this nation. Glad I subscribed have a great day.

[@kathleens.laroche754]

I've noticed that, too. Absolutely fascinating to see how faces move from one generation to another.

[@nytn]

@@williebrinson4699 What a beautiful idea!

[@RememberKatrina2005]

Greetings from New Orleans and thank you for the amazing working you're performing. Oh, and by the way, Perrault is a very common last name among Black people living in New Orleans. Allen

[@nytn]

That is amazing!

[@MayMay-el4wg]

What’s sad about all this is that my Louisiana grandfather was white but because he married a Native American woman, he was disowned. In fact, they changed the spelling of their last names and even the parish name founded by our ancestor was changed. The draft cards weren’t always correct if they assumed you were mixed and not European white. My blue eyed uncles with light skin were described on their draft cards as brown skin with brown or black eyes. In Louisiana they were erasing French Creole culture without them knowing it. What Marc doesn’t know about the original Louisiana Creoles is that we are White, Native, Spanish and Black but we are not white or black. Some of us may have more Native,or more Spanish or even Black but that mixed racial heritage is still in there and influences our cultural traditions and identity ⚜️

[@kathleens.laroche754]

But aren't some French as well, either from straight from France or when the Acadians, now called Cajuns, came to Louisiana in the mid-1700s when Canada fell to the British? Louisiana belonges to France until 1803. I'm asking because in your list of ethnicities, you have Spanish and white. Wouldn't Spanish qualify as white and wouldn't white refer to the French as well as English, Scottish and Irish and/or any other European group who might have meandered into Louisiana after the Louisiana Purchase or even before?

[@MayMay-el4wg]

@@kathleens.laroche754 …l was typing so fast…thank you. You are very correct. I think in all the hoopla over the shenanigans of race and culture in Louisiana we tend to downplay the cosmopolitan side. The rich cultural base comprising many other groups making the Pelican state their home.⚜️

[@creoleexplained]

I have heard of that happening when some white individuals married people of color. Also, I would NOT say that I do not know about the original Louisiana Creoles. If you really want to discuss the original "Creole," this was term given to white individuals who were born in the Americas. The term broaden to refer to anyone who was born in the Americas regardless of their race. I have looked through several 18th & 19th century slave documents where they use language such as a " creole slave" meaning this enslaved person was born in the Americas . You are absolutely correct that that mixed heritage has influences to this day; please do not think I intended to dismiss that. ~Marc

[@shawnahall7246]

Yes the Cajun Creole or either language was outlawed pretty much which is why most don’t know now. My papa was bilingual and it’s still amazing to me

[@whoahna8438]

Also in Louisiana spellings often changed with administrative language changes, French/Spanish/English

[@dinkster1729]

Census takers have their own agendas as well. The Canadian census of 1921 lists my father's family name as Gagnier. I know those people (my aunts and uncles). All of them spell our family name as Goneau. How could the census taker change our family name that much and why?

[@Ribcrickett]

@@dinkster1729many Census takers back then spelled things how they heard them because a lot of people couldn’t read and right.

[@Pookiegmaw1958]

On my dads side we do not know much about his side. Supposedly he is the only child. He never spoke much about his family. Then after my mom and he divorced, we were never close. He left us for his other family snd would visit once in awhile. He is from Mexico and my mom is from America. The reason I did my dna was because my mom had curly hair and I use to ask her if we had black ancestry and she would say no. After she passed away I did my dna and found out that we had African ancestry from the Congolese, Angolan and Southern east Africa, west Africa, Cameroon & Nigeria & more through my mitochondrial genes. Supposedly that’s where my moms family started. So I guess I can say I’m from around this world. So amazing.

[@nytn]

Always interesting to find out what question made someone ultimately take the DNA test! (I have curly hair, too)

[@Pookiegmaw1958]

@@nytn my hair has some curly hair but not much. But it does get freeze when humid. I have 3 sisters with curly hair and me and my second eldest sister have straight hair. My dad has straight semi wavy hair but mom had short curly hair.

[@nytn]

so many different ways DNA shows up!

[@bobbyschannel349]

I'm a little skeptical about the photograph of Marie Jeanne Lemelle whether or not it's actually her, Because if 1750 - 1834 are her actual birth and death dates. Then she died way before photographs became mainstream in the late 1800s. Maybe this is her daughter or something?

[@nytn]

I have no idea! Marc gave it to me, I am assuming it was a painting but I didnt ask! I should have said painting, that was my mistake!

[@mariannerichard1321]

@@nytn The way she poses look more like a painting than an early photo. People had to stay still for minutes, so "stiff" was the only option. Her pose is much "graceful" than that I would say.

[@bobbyschannel349]

@@nytn okay, because if it's a painting, then it's a pretty good one LOL it definitely looks like a real photo

[@creoleexplained]

I am still trying to figure out and confirm that image. It is most likely a painting. They have one of her partner François Lemelle (~ 1735- ~ 1885). Some people got the early photographs beginning around 1850, but yes she died before photography really became a thing, so if it is her, it would have to be painting or something.

[@bobbyschannel349]

@@creoleexplained okay, its a very realistic looking pic. it looks really nice very pretty lady.

[@jamesvesta]

Since this video mentioned draft cards, and it's memorial day, I want to tell you about George Maina Thuo. I considered myself not racist before knowing him, but he nailed the coffin shut. He was a Kenyan who won the lottery in 2003 to get a green card and come to America. He arrived in New York, and barely speaking English, people tried to get him involved in drugs. He has a wife waiting to come from Kenya, so he joined the US Army. We met in Germany, training to go to Iraq. We went and came back, and were in Germany again. He was the most honorable and honest guy I ever met in my life. We were about to go back to Iraq again in 2 months. I can't put too much details here, but we were logistics people and logistics people often help themselves to extra stuff laying around. Government Bureaucrat Syndrome maybe. In any case, he wanted something one day, and didn't have the first clue on how to steal it. Some of us helped him to get it. It was something worth a mere $10, but even that he couldn't handle. He just had never done anything like that before. He was so pure. He died 3 days later in a swimming accident. Yet, some would look at him and judge him by the color of his skin. I have some survivors guilt from all my friends that died in the war, but nothing impacted me as much as this guy dying between deployments, and having been just I can't say it enough the most honorable guy I had ever met. So, thank you. Today was another day I was able to talk about him. George Maina Thuo. RIP July 3, 2006 A great American.

[@nytn]

Hey! I am working from the road this week (no laptop!) and just saw you messaged about signing up for the quarterly zoom meeting. Was it on here or Patreon? I didn’t see it and I’m trying to get my self organized. Sorry it took so long! Not being home really throws me off

[@jamesvesta]

@@nytn No rush. Yeah it's on here. You're fine. I'm slogging through the work week. :) Unless you're going to be gone for more than a month, then I'm happy to wait till you get back.

[@ChrissyAnn85]

I recently looked at the census of my great great grandmother and the US census was terrible back in the day. When my great great grandmother was a child her father was white. She was born during slavery but she was included in the census with her father as a child. So since her father was white they listed her as white. And she was listed at white every census before she moved from Florida. When she got married to a black man she was listed as black. But when he died and she was the head of house she was listed as mulatto in South Carolina. And in 1910 she was still listed as mulatto. But on her death certificate she was listed as negro. It's weird. How they just changed it her whole life.

[@creoleexplained]

What an interesting story. That's crazy, but I have seen stuff like this happen where someone's race changing so often

[@tlandry9689]

As a HS teacher in south Louisiana, we have to record the demographics of the students on the first day of school to report to the state. I learned to never go by my opinion of appearance. I would ask them to raise their hand if they identified as a black male, or a white female etc. There were always surprises at parent teacher conferences.

[@kathleenking47]

Also, there are white presenting people who are this as well One could be light skinned, with a white presenting sister..same 2 parents

[@tlandry9689]

@@kathleenking47 - absolutely! That’s what I’m saying! Race is such a sliding scale with so many people of creole heritage in my area. I’ve even had twins of different presenting “races”. By definition I am creole myself but I identify ethnically as Cajun. My great grandmother was the last recognizable creole in my line.

[@nytn]

I loved this! It is SUCH a good example. Reminds me of another good piece of advice...never ask a woman if she is pregnant. 😂

[@MaineCoonMama18]

Surname spelling changes also happened among some German-Americans during WWI & WWII. I knew someone with the last name Hile. It was originally spelled Heil, but his ancestor changed it to look "less German".

[@nytn]

yes this was a big deal whenever a group was "on the outs". Finding the original last names is really interesting

[@natv55]

As a non-American I find this whole moving the bar thing wrt colour fascinating.. my question is, why was this specifically such a thing in Louisiana compared to the rest of the South - as in why was there so much mixing (and then the resulting passing and exodus of those that could) going on back then and not elsewhere? If you have already spoken about this in another clip please post the link 😊 thank you!

[@marthamurphy7940]

An interesting book that goes into this is "One Drop: My Father’s Hidden Life-A Story of Race and Family Secrets" by Bliss Broyard.

[@natv55]

@marthamurphy7940 thanks, I'll see if I can find it!

[@ladywithclasscarpenter1143]

You’re correct the list you’re speaking of would out people if they had one drop of African blood in Louisiana you are considered Black regardless your facial features would say European that’s where list comes in, Creoles were categorized, in South Louisiana dark is call Creoles, in Natchitoche where my late husband was from the light skinned were called French, I could never comprehend that, whether light or dark they both are creoles.

[@nytn]

That is interesting because my mom's gram always said she was "French", she was on the lighter side, but also she stayed out of the sun...

[@cynthiasullivan8233]

Just saw doc on Creoles. Lots of interviews with elders. One stated for two thousand dollars offered from a politician he could change his family from mulato to white in Louisiana must have been in the 30’s or 40’s. Think it’s called To White to be blk and to blk to be called white. (Documentary )

[@nytn]

wow I will look!

[@rolandscherer1574]

Carl Zuckmeyer in "The Devil's General" (1946) General Harras to a German officer: "And now imagine your line of ancestors - since the birth of Christ. There was a Roman field captain, a black guy, brown as a ripe olive, who taught Latin to a blond girl. And then a Jewish spice trader came into the family, he was a serious person, he became a Christian before he married and founded the Catholic house tradition. - And then came a Greek doctor, or a Celtic legionnaire, a Grisons lansquenet, a Swedish horseman, a soldier of Napoleon, a deserted Cossack, a Black Forest seaman, a wandering miller's boy from Alsace, a fat skipper from Holland, a Magyar, a Pandur, an officer from Vienna, a French actor, a Bohemian musician - they all lived on the Rhine, fought, drank and sang and had children - and - and Goethe, he came from the same pot, and Beethoven and Gutenberg, and Matthias Grünewald, and - oh, look it up in the dictionary. They were the best, my dear! The best in the world! And why? Because the peoples there mixed. Mixed - like the waters from springs and streams and rivers, so that they flowed together into one big, living stream. From the Rhine - that is: from the Occident. That is natural nobility. That is race. Be proud of it, Hartmann - and hang your grandmother's papers in the privy. Cheers!"

[@marvinortiz9984]

Some of my GGGP's show in various records as white, trigueño and moreno. My GGGP registered kids as white, calling himself and his parents white and his wife and her parents trigueños. But when she went to register kids everyone in the family was moreno. How surnames were written down was up to the person writing it. People wrote names as they heard them.

[@nytn]

this feels so much like our fsmily story. thank you for sharing it!

[@marvinortiz9984]

@@nytn, many of my ancestors were listed as pardos libres, so they were of mixed background but that was also due to the priest in charge of the registry. I have seen people who are white in one town and pardo in another, a priest that wrote a baptized baby as pardo becausd his parents did not bring cédula, or documentation, etc.

[@creoleexplained]

Hi. I am not familiar with the trigueño designation. What does this mean?

[@joycekellner9957]

@@creoleexplained Trigueño comes from the word trigo, which means wheat in Spanish. When applied to people, it signifies a golden or olive skin tone but doesn't imply a specific derivation. At lesat that is what I was told.

[@MercyAlwyz23]

Go with what the priest said. Often times, census takers back then would misspell names and didn’t care too much if it was spelled wrong. Many (especially mixed and Black) could not write back then.

[@tdking1960]

Some could not spell at all.

[@timeforchange3786]

Ross Perot was born in Texarkana (near Louisiana). It makes you wonder who his parents were and if he could have mixed ancestry. If so, he could have been the 1st President of mixed race had he won the election.

[@terrellfuller7493]

It’s Wild you have a grandma Lola That’s grandma in the Philippines 🇵🇭 and We have a very similar happlogrops Egypt Mexico and I bet if you keep digging The Philippines may be present Japan as well.

[@barbarawoodley870]

It's this way, all over America

[@spotted_salamander]

Yes, indeed!

[@jdagreat4595]

This is so true . My family records clearly have forged writings. U csn see someone went over were my family has “I” or negro , im creole my family from luiasiana . But we always grew up knowing were creole and indian. I am creek and yamasee

[@marthamurphy7940]

I think you are probably correct that census takers were given different instructions for different censuses. People were probably marked as "mulatto" until Jim Crow went into effect. When I was a child, my mother told me and my sister that white people could marry Indians, but not Black people. (That was true in some states.) We were really small at the time. Of course, my father's mother was thought at that time to be part Indian. Which she was, but it was generations back, and she was also part Black. I haven't found Grandma's 2nd-great-grandmother on her father's side yet -- there are family members in Kentucky who say she was an Indian, but nobody seems to know her name. My mother had Native American DNA, and I have half as much as she had, so I think I probably didn't get any from my dad.

[@gilbertocamacho6769]

Please do a deep dive on Naomi Drake.

[@kujjitafari8509]

What people aren't realizing is that black and white aren't races but a status. With status comes privilege or the lack there of. This status is what has lead to colorism and racism by design.

[@lienecarter6411]

I remember in high school my English teacher had to fill out some form with the race of each student. She called us out by name one by one and wrote down what she thought that we were. How the hell does she know what i am? She didn’t ask us. I hope they don’t still do that

[@zigm7420]

It’s worse than that... at most workplaces, HR is required to fill out the EEOC paperwork for the race of the employees, and they typically just put down what they think they see, without asking. And that’s federal paperwork today!

[@nytn]

I feel so stressed imagining being a kid in that class

[@mickey10jb80]

The census documents are so inaccurate when it comes to race. On my grandma's side, most of her mom's side had a lot of mixed race people. Some people would start off as white on their birth certificate then a couple decades later be listed as mulatto, then a couple decades later as Black. Also I saw that my 4th or 5th great grandma who was Black, married and had kids with a white Scottish man and after that in future census records, they listed him as Black or Mulatto when he wasn't. And this was in the mid 1800s Boston. I found a newspaper article showing how they were charging him with a crime for marrying a Black woman. So I'm wondering if it was common in households with interracial relationships, which were illegal, to just list them all as the same race regardless

[@nytn]

It's crazy how much ours varied, we had Mexican, Black, Mulatto and white. Same family. Every ten years....

[@mickey10jb80]

@@nytn it's nuts honestly. You can't even trust the birth certificates. It makes it so much harder to confirm if you have found the right family records. And also I'm finding out my grandma's dad's side was Cape Verdean, which they have their own creole culture (African and Portuguese). They were all over the place as well between Black, Mulatto and White. It's nuts how they can just decide what someone is and they have to roll with it. The Cape Verdeans came here as immigrants around that time(early 1900s) with their own culture and everything but had to wear those labels regardless.

[@nytn]

@@mickey10jb80 It sounds like you have a really fun ancestry journey! That is a really cool mixture of cultures

[@gwendolynhannans6606]

2017 all medical records said I was a white female. Even though I'm black. Both of my parents are black. My dad's was born in Shreveport Louisiana. I'm getting curious about my ancestors now.

[@MercyAlwyz23]

Checkout some of Dr. Adam Rutherford’s work concerning race and genetics.

[@nwayoo9559]

I found this discussion very interesting as a black person in Europe but it’s confusing the interchange between race, ethnicity and nationality. Of course DNA doesn’t map directly on to race which you demonstrate is a construct.

[@paisleyprincess7996]

Pele, the soccer star, changed his race to black to white… 7:14 “I just can’t do that to my family…” We light skins are some of the proudest people around

[@nytn]

I'll have to look into Pele's story, thanks!

[@cynthiasullivan8233]

Don’t know about Pele. But Sammy Sosa certainly did! He is a Latino base ball player😮

[@paisleyprincess7996]

@@cynthiasullivan8233 He looks like a freak! That’s not even white

[@GratefulWarriorMom]

I live in SOUTH Louisiana and so im familiar with what you are referring to. I was raised in a very rural, completely white area. Growing up, i was told that blacks were not allowed in our area because the kkk kept them out. There were no black children in my schools at all. Then in junior high a family moved into the area and the kids were obviously mixed and they got bullied a LOT. I was bullied too, even though im white, because i always tried to come to the defense of anyone else that was being wrongly harassed for something that is out of their control. Then, when i was in high school, i met a guy in the next town over, who was of mixed heritage and had the same last name as i did. I always thought it was cool because if we got married, i wouldn't have to change my name. Lol. Although to some, that might sound incestuous. But, i couldn't see how we could be related except for having the same last name. Somewhere in the distant past, our ancestors got together and more branches were formed. He told me that one of his grandmothers was half white and that he was a creole. Interestingly though, his sister was born albino. This is all so fascinating and id love to do dna tests and follow my tree, but its so expensive. Like you mentioned, the results can be different with the different companies and it would probably be best to do them all and then start putting the puzzle pieces together.

[@TitanicTubi]

My great grandmother was according to the census born in Louisiana but my mom's family eat fish on Fridays but my grandfather was born in Mississippi wasn't catholic. Hmmm

[@cgirls.3676]

Loving this series. I was tired of the stories. I now want facts. Yes my Dad changed our last name. That is why I was having issues with our searches. Why edited race on Ancestry 😮. Denial.

[@nytn]

Yah, changing last names and birth dates is a real thing that is coming up over and over....

[@deanchapman1824]

I have grands who were black on one census, then mulatto on another. My great grandparents, grandfather, and his sister were listed as White in the 1910 census. My great grandmother's parents and sister were mulatto. Her maternal grandparents were Black. Same town. My great grandparents couldn't "pass" either. It might've been a mistake.

[@geauxel]

Danielle, wow…another great conversation. Marc we might be related so Danielle, depending on the connection we too might be distant relatives. Yes I’m one of the New Orleans peeps who totally falls within this discussion. But we also have to realize that just because our skin color is dark doesn’t automatically make us of African descent. Keep in mind our indigenous people too were always misclassified. The lighter once called Indian, the darker ones in the same family called African. Then the lighter brown skinned people with grey eyes, like my grandfather first listed a Mulatto as a child, then colored, negro and he died so called Black. Even the “European” ones who came into North Carolina in the early 1700’s didn’t get called Englishmen, but Free White People, which meant everything possible but caucasian. It’s all so frustrating and confessing.

[@nytn]

You are so right, dark skin does not equal AA. I think that is kind of the shock of "BLACK" or "NEGRO" designations, my indigenous ancestors had those designations, too! Because they were darker but not from Africa. It's another layer of nonsense in a lot of ways and it is frustrating because so much heritage is lost when ancestors are afraid of these paper designations and the real life damage they can do. Im not sure what we do with it going forward....

[@geauxel]

@@nytn I completely agree with you. I’ve started to insist that people not identify me as a color…this at least starts a conversation. Knowing my family lineage also adds to knowing who I am and not. Coupled with knowing world history also adds to knowing self! Just a few ideas.

[@josephmartinez751]

Hello Danielle, I am a Louisiana Creole. I am so proud of you for doing what you do. It is so frustrating having to explain who and what I am to people. I live in Europe where they think I'm from the middle east. I have to explain to them that I am simply Latino and my country was sold to the United States. It confuses them. Nobody knows our history. It is crazy. When I tell people I'm from the USA, they ask but where are you really from. I then tell them I discovered America! I tell them I am Christopher Columbus and he bought slaves from west Africa whom he bred with along with the natives and here I am, wala!

[@nytn]

Joseph, thank you! I think people assume a lot based on the cultures they are familiar with. So it changes depending on where we go, right? :)

[@RememberKatrina2005]

Within the New Orleans Black community, after World War 2, the phrase Passe Blanc (Pass for White) was frequently spoken. As the young man said, pre-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans had the nations greatest number of White self-identifying people who actually has African ancestry in their DNA makeup.

[@nytn]

Reconnecting with family story has been so beautiful! And I love Louisiana ♥️♥️

[@nakuro2686]

5:08 absolutely 😅 our last name is something we even question..one thing is for sure Mulatto octoroon quadroon was a no no!.no no we are NOT! 😂 and its not allowed in my home and my children know this too..because of the separation even in my generation..I'm not even 50 and I have a 1st cousin twin! Who has decided to pass as white..I even connected with her on ancestry she acknowledges my father but not me..as kids we were cool as adults and mothers she doesn't know me

[@nytn]

oh my gosh! She sounds awful

[@Afrothentic452]

I worked in a medical office and was asked to fill in the racial identification for patients…

[@cgirls.3676]

Yes going in weeds unearths all kinds of family secrets in Louisiana

[@sr2291]

I have seen Hawaiians listed as Black in 1900. I grew up in White neighborhoods and a lot of people are Africa phobic. Note I didnt say Afro-phobic You mention Africa and they freak out.

[@bryanb30]

7:14 a good dramatization of phenotypical characteristics not exactly corresponding to genotypical traits and the melodrama 🎭 it induces kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYuclIephJV1mck (I Passed For White)

[@Raymond_Petit]

I am shocked by the story of the Drake woman, but I shouldn't be. Louisiana was a mess!

[@nytn]

still shocks me

[@smbonner22]

There a man named Pleacker who did the same thing in Virginia or North Carolina. Paper Genocide

[@nytn]

@@smbonner22 yes thats right! Exactly

[@kaleahcollins4567]

To be honest with you I would have thought you was a woman of color too I would never had thought that you was a white woman but you're a white descendant of people of color

[@darrylstaves748]

What about Africa being the source, which everyone comes from

[@carynm.4662]

Louisana has very peculiar outlook about both color and race. Never the twain shall meet

[@jenniferduhon4770]

People were not very educated and many back then could not read and write. When they told census takers or other people their name it would be written like it sounded. So Perrault became Perot or Duhon was sometimes written as Duon.

[@nytn]

I imagine accents had a lot to do with it, too! Took me awhile to easily understand some Louisiana accents 😊

[@jamalhenderson9573]

I would like someone to show an African ancestry this guy is talking about 🧐

[@kaleahcollins4567]

Say if we have to accept new pronouns for people and accept them wanting to change their gender maybe we can start changing our race classification

[@arletah3080]

Did your Grandmother go to one of the re-education camps? Indian boarding school?

[@nytn]

For me, they were not supposed to speak their first language as far as I know. Didn’t go to real school.

[@kcn7826]

You are changing mulatto to creole? If you say mulatto it was a mulatto colony not creole

[@cocotanya31]

Alot of southern blacks could not read or write or spell. So they signed there name with a X.. or their last name was misspelled. Or mispronounced.

[@leg414]

Yes unfortunately for your family they would never wanted to be associated with a very visible and permanent underclass racial hierarchy. This has happened too many times in the past to count. Your family did not want any more hassles and troubles towards upward mobility and their children. Peace

[@sandrasmith7091]

That's like experiences I've had using an expired ID. Yea the card is expired but the picture and info explains appearance. I'm not expired.. I'm standing right in front of you. Nope, sorry expired. We can't accept you if card is expired. 😮what a crock...

[@annstephens3698]

There should not be white/black/asian/middle eastern, etc.. It should not matter your color. God doesn't see color.

[@sandrasmith7091]

So now it's Caucasian. Is that white what is now, or another blend??

[@telam1744]

Your eyes and teeth as similar.

[@altheaclarke7233]

I, see, the lady as, a woman of color.

[@veronicalevin2325]

OMG we don’t categorise humans in Australia. That is dreadful. 😮

[@marthamurphy7940]

Have you studied Australian history much?

[@veronicalevin2325]

@@marthamurphy7940 not in my time. I’m 65. I grew up in out back Australia until I was 10. My friends were aboriginal and nobody ever said anything about it. My parents were not racist or religious. My family of origin has aboriginal and West African DNA also Jewish. My 2 uncles married aboriginals and one half Chinese half Italian. Another aunt married an Albanian Muslim refugee in 1948. I only found this info out a few years ago by the way. It’s my mother’s side that married indigenous people not my father who does have indigenous roots. I’m sorry but I found out a lot of things after I grew up that I never even noticed back then. We were multicultural before it was even a thing

[@msrenee7023]

One from rule is a LIE! You are 50%!mom and 50% of dad

[@marthamurphy7940]

You are correct. We don't get blood from our parents --- we get DNA. Approx. 50/50%. But the one drop rule refers to old-time law where a person with any Black ancestor was considered Black. My children are descended from a Black woman, Elizabeth Key Grinstead. There is information about her on the Internet. The law about who was considered Black or White changed AFTER the U.S. seceded from England.

[@msrenee7023]

@@marthamurphy7940 My point being WE ARE 50% mom’s DNA and 50% dad’s DNA THE ONE DROP RULE WAS ONLY IMPLEMENTED BECAUSE THESE DEAD BEAT DADS DID NOT WANNA CLAIM THEIR CHILDREN AND HAVE THEM GET THEIR WEALTH AFTER THEY DECEASED. ONE DROP RULE was made up by the same people that put in the US CONSTITUTION THAT BLACK PEOPLE WERE ONLY 3/5 of a HUMAN, and WE ALL KNOW THAT WAS A LIE.

[@frostedhead]

This channel is a total grift.

[@nytn]

How is sharing my ancestry research swindling people?