* A Note on Terminology * Introduction *1. The Common Sense of Race *2. Performing Whiteness *3. Race as Association *4. Citizenship of the "Little Races" *5. Black Indian Identity in the Allotment Era *6. From Nation to Race in Hawai'i *7. Racial Science, Immigration, and the "White Races" *8. Mexican Americans and the "Caucasian Cloak" * Conclusion: The Common Sense of Race Today * Notes * Acknowledgments * Index
What Blood Won't Tell brings us at long last a brilliant analysis of the changing meanings of race in American law from the colonial era to the present. It will be indispensable for any informed discussions of a subject that lies at the very core of both American history and identity. -- David Brion Davis author of Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World This exquisite inquiry into the complex and shifting ways in which the 'black-white' divide has been marked over the last three centuries excavates the deep roots of racial identification. -- Patricia J. Williams, author of The Alchemy of Race and Rights
Ariela J. Gross is John B. and Alice R. Sharp Professor of Law and History, University of Southern California.
What Blood Won't Tell brings us at long last a brilliant analysis
of the changing meanings of race in American law from the colonial
era to the present. It will be indispensable for any informed
discussions of a subject that lies at the very core of both
American history and identity.
*author of Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the
New World*
This exquisite inquiry into the complex and shifting ways in which
the 'black-white' divide has been marked over the last three
centuries excavates the deep roots of racial identification.
*Patricia J. Williams, author of The Alchemy of Race and
Rights*
Through a close reading of racial identity trials in America, this
book offers an eloquent contribution to ongoing debates over
affirmative action, identity politics and the construction of a
"colorblind" society. Historian Gross argues that racial identity
trials--court cases in which outcomes turned on determining a
person's "race" and their concomitant rights and
privileges--provides an excellent basis for viewing the
construction of "whiteness" and assessing the volatile category of
race in American society. The author rigorously examines select
cases including the outcomes of suits for freedom by onetime slaves
like Abby Guy, who in 1857 convinced an all-white male jury that
she was white and thus deserving of freedom. Upsetting the familiar
notion of the "one-drop rule" in determining racial identity, Gross
shows that in such cases the notion of what constituted race was
itself as much in play as whether a particular individual could be
identified (through some unstable combination of expert and "common
sense" opinion) as one race or another. The social "performance" of
identity is key, and enduringly so, as Gross periodically
underscores by reference to various modern debates and trends.
*Publishers Weekly (starred review)*
Gross' book, a history of cases in which people have challenged
their official racial designation, eloquently demonstrates just how
difficult it can be to say what race--mine, yours,
anybody's--actually consists of...What Blood Won't Tell is largely
a catalog of delusions and the strategies by which Americans tried
to prop up those delusions in courts of law...The very fact that
some people with African "blood" (not a biologically valid concept,
but a common term, then and now) could pass themselves off as white
betrayed the reality; blacks, whites and Indians had been marrying,
having sex and producing mixed-race children from the very
beginning...A book like What Blood Won't Tell--which is, after all,
a history, not a prescription--may not offer much that's usable as
a guide to the future. But it does provide us with plenty of
evidence of how badly we can and have screwed up, and how much
imagination and determination it will take to do it better.
*Salon.com*
Argues forcefully that, for all the progress our public life has
made toward the formal semblance of racial equality, the history
and legal armature of white racism are much more stubborn,
institutionalized features of our common life than a single
presidential election, no matter how groundbreaking, can wipe
away...Gross maps, through countless twists and turns, the
extraordinary legal fictions enlisted to keep the formal workings
of racial privilege on track. [The book] serves as a bracing
reminder that "postracial politics," however captivating it may be
as a catchphrase, is very nearly an oxymoron in American life.
*Bookforum*
Challenging the presumption of many scholars of the dominance of
the "one-drop" rule in conferring black status, Gross argues that
despite the rule, in court and by custom, racial boundaries were
much more fluid and flexible--yet, primarily in the service of
white supremacy...Gross also reflects on how this history of race
determination fits into current efforts at a "color-blind" approach
that ignores the significance of race in American culture.
*Booklist*
What Blood Won't Tell chronicles the history of efforts to
determine racial identity in the courts. Seldom, if ever, does
science enter into the effort; rather, attorneys and others turn
their attention to the evidence of skin color, social behavior,
cultural customs, and other subjective and changeable evidence. The
only thing that remains constant is the underlying assumption that
white equals "full social and political citizenship" while anything
else is inferior, less-than, and undeserving of Constitutional
protection...The overriding opinion was that it's best to be white,
but if you can't manage that, just don't be black. This shameful
and ignorant American caste system is still as deeply entrenched in
the nation's consciousness as ever, it seems...What Blood Won't
Tell turns out to be a riveting overview of legal decisions
regarding race and freedoms and a dizzying look at the insanity of
social hierarchy and its ongoing impact on social development.
*Curled Up with a Good Book*
Gross [has written] an amazing book that addresses the relationship
between race and citizenship in the U.S. Gross's presentation is
both detailed and complex. The first half is devoted to
establishing the role race and racism have played within the
history and law of the U.S., as well as further developing the rich
literature within whiteness scholarship. The strength of her
argument lies in her ability to inject specific examples,
oftentimes cases from the 19th century, into her whiteness
discussions. The second half is equally impressive. Here Gross
utilizes critical race theory to discuss black Indian identity,
race in Hawaii, and other contemporary issues. This book is
innovative, accessible, and valuable for undergraduates, graduates,
and laypeople interested in a deep conversation on race and
history.
*Choice*
What Blood Won't Tell brings us at long last a brilliant
analysis of the changing meanings of race in American law from the
colonial era to the present. It will be indispensable for any
informed discussions of a subject that lies at the very core of
both American history and identity. -- David Brion Davis * author
of Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New
World *
This exquisite inquiry into the complex and shifting ways in which
the 'black-white' divide has been marked over the last three
centuries excavates the deep roots of racial identification. --
Patricia J. Williams, author of The Alchemy of Race and
Rights
Through a close reading of racial identity trials in America, this
book offers an eloquent contribution to ongoing debates over
affirmative action, identity politics and the construction of a
"colorblind" society. Historian Gross argues that racial identity
trials--court cases in which outcomes turned on determining a
person's "race" and their concomitant rights and
privileges--provides an excellent basis for viewing the
construction of "whiteness" and assessing the volatile category of
race in American society. The author rigorously examines select
cases including the outcomes of suits for freedom by onetime slaves
like Abby Guy, who in 1857 convinced an all-white male jury that
she was white and thus deserving of freedom. Upsetting the familiar
notion of the "one-drop rule" in determining racial identity, Gross
shows that in such cases the notion of what constituted race was
itself as much in play as whether a particular individual could be
identified (through some unstable combination of expert and "common
sense" opinion) as one race or another. The social "performance" of
identity is key, and enduringly so, as Gross periodically
underscores by reference to various modern debates and trends. *
Publishers Weekly (starred review) *
Gross' book, a history of cases in which people have challenged
their official racial designation, eloquently demonstrates just how
difficult it can be to say what race--mine, yours,
anybody's--actually consists of...What Blood Won't Tell is
largely a catalog of delusions and the strategies by which
Americans tried to prop up those delusions in courts of law...The
very fact that some people with African "blood" (not a biologically
valid concept, but a common term, then and now) could pass
themselves off as white betrayed the reality; blacks, whites and
Indians had been marrying, having sex and producing mixed-race
children from the very beginning...A book like What Blood Won't
Tell--which is, after all, a history, not a prescription--may
not offer much that's usable as a guide to the future. But it does
provide us with plenty of evidence of how badly we can and have
screwed up, and how much imagination and determination it will take
to do it better. -- Laura Miller * Salon.com *
Argues forcefully that, for all the progress our public life has
made toward the formal semblance of racial equality, the history
and legal armature of white racism are much more stubborn,
institutionalized features of our common life than a single
presidential election, no matter how groundbreaking, can wipe
away...Gross maps, through countless twists and turns, the
extraordinary legal fictions enlisted to keep the formal workings
of racial privilege on track. [The book] serves as a bracing
reminder that "postracial politics," however captivating it may be
as a catchphrase, is very nearly an oxymoron in American life. --
Brian Gilmore * Bookforum *
Challenging the presumption of many scholars of the dominance of
the "one-drop" rule in conferring black status, Gross argues that
despite the rule, in court and by custom, racial boundaries were
much more fluid and flexible--yet, primarily in the service of
white supremacy...Gross also reflects on how this history of race
determination fits into current efforts at a "color-blind" approach
that ignores the significance of race in American culture. --
Vernon Ford * Booklist *
What Blood Won't Tell chronicles the history of efforts to
determine racial identity in the courts. Seldom, if ever, does
science enter into the effort; rather, attorneys and others turn
their attention to the evidence of skin color, social behavior,
cultural customs, and other subjective and changeable evidence. The
only thing that remains constant is the underlying assumption that
white equals "full social and political citizenship" while anything
else is inferior, less-than, and undeserving of Constitutional
protection...The overriding opinion was that it's best to be white,
but if you can't manage that, just don't be black. This shameful
and ignorant American caste system is still as deeply entrenched in
the nation's consciousness as ever, it seems...What Blood Won't
Tell turns out to be a riveting overview of legal decisions
regarding race and freedoms and a dizzying look at the insanity of
social hierarchy and its ongoing impact on social development. --
Deborah Adams * Curled Up with a Good Book *
Gross [has written] an amazing book that addresses the relationship
between race and citizenship in the U.S. Gross's presentation is
both detailed and complex. The first half is devoted to
establishing the role race and racism have played within the
history and law of the U.S., as well as further developing the rich
literature within whiteness scholarship. The strength of her
argument lies in her ability to inject specific examples,
oftentimes cases from the 19th century, into her whiteness
discussions. The second half is equally impressive. Here Gross
utilizes critical race theory to discuss black Indian identity,
race in Hawaii, and other contemporary issues. This book is
innovative, accessible, and valuable for undergraduates, graduates,
and laypeople interested in a deep conversation on race and
history. -- A. R. S. Lorenz * Choice *
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