“Charlie” had been walking on this planet for nearly 6 decades before he discovered that he was Black. Charlie lives west of here and wants me to tell his story. (See first picture.)

After his mother died last year, Charlie discovered a picture of his maternal grandmother,” Louise La Plante.” Although there are 100’s of pictures of other relatives, only 4 exist of this grandmother. Bells and whistles went off and he became obsessed with searching for his Roots. What he discovered is that

he has 8 sets of great grandparents of which one came here as a slave. With the “one drop” rule (one drop of blood makes you Black) Charlie realized he would have been a slave previous to the civil war.   Even in his lifetime, he could not buy a suburban house or get certain jobs because he was Black if he lived in the south. Although he is 12% African, that would have been enough to keep him out of many southern white neighborhoods.

He learned that his maternal grandmother, whom he never met as she died about 10 years before he was born, “passed” as white. For an African-American, passing means the death of Blackness and entry into the white world.

Porter (1991) indicates that about 10,000 Black folk disappear into the white world every year. For some, passing involves moving away from relatives, for others cosmetics may be necessary. Bleaching creme can be applied to hands, arms, and face to get a white appearance. Most stores have it because creme that reduces age spots is literally the same thing. If not used properly, the creme can bleed onto clothes and ruin them. After a white complexion is obtained, it is

best to use a beige or other color to compliment being white. Blue contacts can cover brown eyes. Hair relaxers can straighten hair. Speaking patterns can be changed. Although the surface of one’s presentation is changed, it is a very difficult and emotionally challenging experience for those who have done it.

Charlie’s French-African  great-grandfather was 50% Black. His grandmother was half of that. He searched every major genealogical search engine, and his Black great-grandfather is gone with the ages. The other picture in this column is his grandmother after using cosmetics. There are only 2 other pictures. One is when his grandma was a child and had started living with a stepfamily, and another when she married his Norwegian grandfather. In the latter two pictures, she is LIGHTER than the others.

Times change. Charlie married “Julie” who can trace her English ancestry about 15 generations. When Charlie was a young man, he could not marry Julie in some states in the south. On the other hand with the Virginia Rule of the 20’s, Charlie’s son “Robert” is white as he is less than two percent Black.

Passing also means that when you are with white people and you see your Black mother, both of you know not to speak to each other. When Charlie discovered the first picture of his grandmother, he showed it to two workers who are Black, they acknowledged that she was part Black and automatically and without prompting, promised not to tell anyone.

Passing is one of those never-never worlds for whites. Certain genealogists maintain that there have been 6 Black Presidents of the United States  (using the one drop rule. J.A. Rogers, SIX BLACK PRESIDENTS.) Then there are all those white movie stars with Black or minority heritage (go to GOOGLE and type in Black passing whites.)

Africans are the smallest race in the world, as most earth inhabitants are Asian. Although about 12% reside in the USA, 3 out of the top ten heroes in our country according to U.S. NEWS(8/27/2001:28) are Black and nearly 8% of African Americans are in top management positions in Fortune 500 companies.(US NEWS 12/17/2001:32) Most Blacks have white heritage and 6 % of whites have Black heritage (UWLAX.EDU.) Two out of three Blacks do not receive welfare of any kind. (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER 9/11/97:1) Last year, 15% of the roles in movies were portrayed by African Americans (THE GAZETTE, 8/16/2001:2D.)

What about the negative news about individual Black law offenders? Blacks don’t like it, but won’t tell the press  for fear that it feeds racism, according to columnist Leonard Pitts. In other words, most Blacks are the” silent plurality” that live their lives without alarm or acclaim. That type of hero rarely makes the news.

In the mean time, if Charlie lived here in Cedar Rapids, he would have been one of the 1200 who marked white plus other in the census. Charlie’s mom kept the secret in the white world that she lived in, and carried it to her grave.

Hopefully, today things have changed.

Does race matter?  Charlie thinks so.