{"id":6235,"date":"2025-08-19T13:10:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2025\/08\/19\/write-of-passage-unity-with-the-one-drop-rule\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T13:10:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:10:00","slug":"write-of-passage-unity-with-the-one-drop-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2025\/08\/19\/write-of-passage-unity-with-the-one-drop-rule\/","title":{"rendered":"Write of Passage: Unity with the One Drop Rule"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-6235-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/171345706\/05b53a65f864839cfff8809dde42e085.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/171345706\/05b53a65f864839cfff8809dde42e085.mp3\">https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/171345706\/05b53a65f864839cfff8809dde42e085.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>The one-drop rule used to be the measure of Blackness in America. From the 1600s through the Jim Crow era, this rule held that any person with even \u201cone drop\u201d of African ancestry was considered Black, regardless of appearance.<\/p><div id=\"vanes-1672663\" class=\"vanes-content vanes-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 2px;margin-right: 2px;margin-bottom: 2px;margin-left: 2px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/fireswordandsea.htm\" aria-label=\"Fire Sword &amp; Sea\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?fit=1706%2C2560&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Fire Sword &amp; Sea\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?w=1706&ssl=1 1706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C300&ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&ssl=1 683w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1152&ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C1536&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=1365%2C2048&ssl=1 1365w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?w=1280&ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" width=\"569\" height=\"853\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>In 1662, Virginia law held that racial status and freedom were tied to the mother\u2019s status (<em>partus sequitur ventrem<\/em>). If your mother was enslaved, you were enslaved. So if your mother was Black, so were you.<\/p>\n<p>Virginia\u2014the so-called \u201chome of lovers\u201d\u2014added categories like mulatto (\u00bd Black), quadroon (\u00bc Black), and octoroon (\u215b Black), trying to track how many generations removed someone was from Black ancestry.<\/p>\n<p>By the 1800s, many states considered you Black if you had 1\/8 African ancestry (one great-grandparent). Louisiana, extra as ever, defined it at 1\/16 (a great-great-grandparent).<\/p>\n<p>After <em>Plessy v. Ferguson<\/em> (1896) upheld \u201cseparate but equal\u201d segregation, the one-drop rule hardened. By Virginia\u2019s Racial Integrity Act of 1924, a person with <em>any<\/em> African ancestry at all was legally Black.<\/p>\n<p>The hardships and limitations of the past\u2014like redlining that dictated where Black people could live, or Jim Crow laws that dictated how we lived\u2014are major reasons for \u201cpassing,\u201d hiding ancestry, and pretending to belong to the majority culture.<\/p>\n<p>Yet Black history in the United States is a story of resilience, brilliance, and immeasurable contributions to the nation\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n<p>It is a history rich in invention\u2014from Garrett Morgan\u2019s traffic signal to Madam C. J. Walker\u2019s beauty empire, George Washington Carver\u2019s agricultural breakthroughs, and countless modern innovations in technology, medicine, and engineering. Gladys Mae West\u2019s satellite math laid the foundation for GPS technology.<\/p>\n<p>Our history is steeped in science and scholarship\u2014with pioneers like Dr. Charles Drew revolutionizing blood banking, Katherine Johnson calculating the trajectories to send and return astronauts from space, and Neil deGrasse Tyson expanding our imagination of the cosmos.<\/p>\n<p>Our history is one of wealth and entrepreneurship\u2014from Newport\u2019s Black Gilded Age to Black Wall Street in Tulsa, to contemporary business leaders who redefine prosperity against the odds.<\/p>\n<p>And don\u2019t get me started on how Black artists have transformed music. Our fingerprints are on jazz, country, gospel, blues, and hip-hop.<\/p>\n<p>While we\u2019re talking about music, let\u2019s talk Tyla. Her meteoric rise with \u201cWater\u201d made her a global star, gaining awards and even a spot at the Met Gala. But because her next release didn\u2019t match that first explosion, she was quickly branded a flop. Some say she was the first casualty of the diaspora wars. Folks took issue with a few odd interviews and typed up posts calling Tyla a flop because they thought she disrespected Black America.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s unfair. Tyla needs time to grow and create her unique, lasting sound. Queen Rihanna herself needed a couple of years before <em>Good Girl Gone Bad<\/em> cemented her superstardom. Every artist must be given space to grow, to excavate, to find their voice.<\/p>\n<p>The same is true for writers. How many of us dreaded our sophomore novels? Like sophomore albums, sophomore books are hard. Lasting careers aren\u2019t built in one viral moment, but through many seasons of growth and resilience.<\/p>\n<p>So I find it curious that social media insists the Diaspora Wars are here. That algorithms push the idea that Foundational Black Americans\u2014descendants of U.S. chattel slavery\u2014are beefing with people from the Caribbean and Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Immigrants arrive and celebrate their success. That success shouldn\u2019t be held against proud Americans whose families endured slavery, Jim Crow, and every broken promise to Black people in America. For the record: we have no 40 acres, no mule, and often no bootstraps.<\/p>\n<p>Confession: I know I\u2019m supposed to be off Twitter, but it\u2019s got the international feeds and the mess. I\u2019m addicted to both. Where else am I going to learn about the jollof wars that went down because of Essence tweets? My first question was: who made the jollof?<\/p>\n<p>* <strong>Nigeria?<\/strong> Tomato-forward, spicy, smoky rice.<\/p>\n<p>* <strong>Ghana?<\/strong> Refined, lighter, aromatic rice.<\/p>\n<p>* <strong>Senegal?<\/strong> The OGs\u2014the originators. Rice cooked in fish stock and local spices like tamarind.<\/p>\n<p>* <strong>Liberia?<\/strong> Hearty, deeply spiced rice with a splash of coconut milk.<\/p>\n<p>* <strong>Trinidad and Jamaica?<\/strong> Our rice is \u201crice and peas,\u201d made with coconut milk and Caribbean curry.<\/p>\n<p>Yet none of this goodness replaces baked mac &amp; cheese for me. I believe all the tastiest foods and best chefs need to get along.<\/p>\n<p>So why do we let petty divisions cloud the truth? Whether it\u2019s an online squabble about food\u2014mac &amp; cheese versus jollof rice\u2014or disagreements about Essence Festival, publishing models, or TikTok virality, the danger is the same: distraction from unity.<\/p>\n<p>This is why I return to the idea of the one-drop rule. Historically, it was a weapon\u2014to exclude, stigmatize, and define Blackness through the gaze of white supremacy. But we can reclaim it as a tool of unity.<\/p>\n<p>One drop is enough. One drop is enough to connect us, whether our roots are in Nigeria, South Carolina, Port of Spain, or Kingston.<\/p>\n<p>One drop earns you a scoop of jollof or the crispy edge of baked mac &amp; cheese. Our differences are not fault lines. They enrich, not divide. Our shared survival, our collective brilliance, and our cultural triumphs are what matter.<\/p>\n<p>So let\u2019s stop measuring each other\u2019s authenticity over tweets, accents, or cultural quirks. One drop is enough. It makes us Black. It makes us family. And I, for one, won\u2019t be running lab tests to decide whether I should root for you or not. If you are of the Diaspora, I\u2019m rooting for you.<\/p>\n<p>And if you\u2019re one of my listeners\u2014you\u2019re fam. I\u2019m rooting for you, too.<\/p>\n<p>Books to help on our journey of unity are:<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/the-souls-of-black-folk-w-e-b-du-bois\/18338342?ean=9781680920543&amp;next=t\"><strong><em>The Souls of Black Folk<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong> by W.E.B. Du Bois \u2013 This is a foundational text on Black identity and cultural richness.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/hidden-figures-the-american-dream-and-the-untold-story-of-the-black-women-mathematicians-who-helped-win-the-space-race-margot-lee-shetterly\/6435103?ean=9780062363602&amp;next=t\"><strong><em>Hidden Figures <\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong>by Margot Lee Shetterly \u2013 This tells the untold story of Black women mathematicians at NASA.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/the-african-diaspora-a-history-through-culture-patrick-manning\/7955674?ean=9780231144711&amp;next=t\"><strong><em>The African Diaspora: A History Through Culture<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong> by Patrick Manning<\/strong> &#8211; Looks at inventions, art, music, and culture as threads that tie diaspora communities together.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/jollof-rice-and-other-revolutions-a-novel-in-interlocking-stories-omolola-ijeoma-ogunyemi\/17867752?ean=9780063117068&amp;next=t\"><strong><em>Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong> by Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi<\/strong> is fiction but deeply rooted in diaspora ties, foodways, and cultural exchange.<\/p>\n<p><strong>This week, I&#8217;m highlighting <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thelitbar.com\"><strong>The Lit. Bar<\/strong><\/a><strong> through their website and <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/shop\/thelitbar\"><strong>Bookshop.org<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>We are four and half months away from <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/fireswordandsea.htm\"><strong>Fire Sword and Sea<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u2014Help me build the momentum for this historical fiction. Please spread the word and preorder this disruptive narrative about lady pirates in the 1600s. They are women, many our Black and Indigenous. All want a better way of life. Piracy is legal. It\u2019s their answer. This saga releases January 13, 2026. The link on my website shows retailers large and small who have set up preorders for this title.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Show notes include a list of the books mentioned in this broadcast.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You can find my notes on Substack or on my website, <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vanessariley.com\/\"><strong>VanessaRiley.com<\/strong><\/a><strong> under the podcast link in the About tab.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>If you&#8217;re ready to move with purpose and power, hit that like button and subscribe to <\/strong><strong><em>Write of Passage. Never miss a moment. We have work to do. Let me help you recharge you.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Thank you for listening. Hopefully, you\u2019ll come again. This is Vanessa Riley.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is a public episode. If you&#8217;d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.substack.com\/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=CTA_2\">vanessariley.substack.com\/subscribe<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"vanes-1313052700\" class=\"vanes-after-content vanes-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 3px;margin-right: 3px;margin-bottom: 3px;margin-left: 3px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?fit=1080%2C1350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Listen to the Write of Passage Weekly Podcast\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?w=1080&ssl=1 1080w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=240%2C300&ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=819%2C1024&ssl=1 819w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=768%2C960&ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" width=\"540\" height=\"675\"   \/><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The one-drop rule used to be the measure of Blackness in America. From the 1600s through the Jim Crow era, this rule held that any person with even \u201cone drop\u201d of African ancestry was considered Black, regardless of appearance. In 1662, Virginia law held that racial status and freedom were tied to the mother\u2019s status [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,793,9,620,756,694],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-stories","category-politics","category-recommended-reading","category-syndication","category-technology","category-tv-and-film"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/9effae5d9368afb50f7f255cf3c13dc0.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}