Mixed Race Studies

The American Isolates

American Anthropologist
Volume 74, Issue 3 (June 1972)
pages 693–694
DOI: 10.1525/aa.1972.74.3.02a00320

B. Eugene Griessman
Auburn University

More than 200 American isolates have been identified historically in at least eighteen of the eastern states of the United States. Their total population has been estimated at 75,000. Those who populate these communities commonly bear unflattering local names-Red Bones, Brass Ankles, Issues-although they themselves usually want to be known as Indians or as Whites.

They are an obscure people in American life and many of them would prefer to remain unnoticed because they are keepers of secrets. Some of them, or their children, or distant relatives, have crossed racial boundaries so that it would not do for them to receive much attention. Scholars for the most part have granted them their wish. “As a sizeable native minority,” William Harlan Gilbert, Jr., wrote twenty-six years ago, “they deserve more attention than the meager investigations which sociologists and anthropologists have hitherto made of their problems” (1946:438-447).

This state of affairs has been remedied partially by a few scholars who have studied these populations over a period of years. Some of their findings were presented for the first time at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Anthropological Society in 1970. And now with this issue of the American Anthropologist several articles will provide the basis for a wider knowledge of the enclaves…

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On Mixed-Racial Isolates

American Anthropologist
Volume 76, Issue 2 (June 1974)
pages 343–344
DOI: 10.1525/aa.1974.76.2.02a00190

G. Harry Stopp, Jr.
Louisiana State University

In recent articles on American isolates (American Anthropologist 74: 693-7 34) Beale, and Dane and Griessman predicted change for “mixed-racial” communities in the United States stemming from the recent civil rights legislation. They alluded to “Red Power” movements or associations and coalitions of some kind as mechanisms for such possible divergence from past models of behavior.

These gentlemen have presented an excellent outline of the problems many “mixed-racial” isolates have had to face. Dane and Griessman’s North Carolina example could serve as a model of almost every isolate group in the United States. Beale’s chronology of group identity assumption gives us insight into the time-depth most isolate groups will exhibit. Both articles, however, lean too heavily on the “Indian” identity as both the isolate groups’ own solution to its controversial background and as the ultimate role of all isolates.

If we assume American isolates to be “tri-racial,” I believe we will see that their reactions to racial problems have been, and continue to be, three-fold. The Lumbee have chosen to be Red; the community around them has accepted this; so, we could consider the Lumbee as Indians. With the advent of recent civil rights legislation, I expect that the Lumbee, and any other isolate group that has assumed a Red identity, will remain a cohesive group, possibly under a banner of Red Power. The Creoles of Mobile have, on the other hand, often accepted the mantle of the Black man. Bond (1931:556) reported this, and I have seen evidence of this also in my brief acquaintance with the Mobile Creoles. I can only assume that, with the advent of civil rights legislation, this group will begin to identify with the Black Power movement (though not necessarily on a radical basis). I would expect any isolate group that has accepted a Black identity to maintain cohesiveness as a Black group…

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An Overview of the Phenomenon of Mixed Racial Isolates in the United States

American Anthropologist
Volume 74, Issue 3 (June 1972)
pages 704–710
DOI: 10.1525/aa.1972.74.3.02a00340

Calvin L. Beale
Economic Research Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture

The subject of the paper is population groups of real or alleged tri-racial origin—Indian, White, and Negro. There is a review of the emergence of such groups in American history, their conflicts with public authorities, and their recognition by researchers. The past importance of separate schools as a boundary maintenance mechanism is discussed, with emphasis on the declining persistence of such schools today. The role of the church as the typical remaining group institution is noted. Mention is made of the decreasing proportion of endogamous marriages in recent times. The essentially rural nature of these racial isolates is pointed out, and the general societal trend of rural depopulation is stated to be affecting their size and continued existence. A suggested list of research needs is offered.

In About 1890, a young Tennessee woman asked a state legislator, “Please tell me what is a Malungeon?” “A Malungeon” said he, “isn’t a nigger, and he isn’t an Indian, and he isn’t a White man. God only knows what he is. I should call him a Democrat, only he always votes the Republican ticket” (Drumgoole 1891:473).

The young woman, Will Allen Drumgoole, soon sought out the Melungeons in remote Hancock County and lived with them for awhile to determine for herself what they were. Afterward, in the space of a ten page article, she described them as “shiftless,” “idle,” “illiterate,” “thieving,” “defiant,” “distillers of brandy,” “lawless,” “close,” “rogues,” “suspicious,” “inhospitable,” “untruthful,” “cowardly,” “sneaky,” “exceedingly immoral,” and “unforgiving.” She also spoke of their “cupidity and cruelty,” and ended her work by concluding, “The most than can be said of one of them is, ‘He is a Malungeon,’ a synonym for all that is doubtful and mysterious-and unclean” (Drumgoole 1891:479). Miss Drumgoole was essentially a sympathetic observer.

The existence of mixed racial populations that constitute a distinctive segment of society is not unique to the United States needless to say. But this nation must rank near the top in the number of such communities and in their general public obscurity. I refer in particular to groups of real or alleged White-Indian-Negro mixtures (such as the Melungeons) who are not tribally affiliated or traceable with historical continuity to a particular tribe. It is also logical to include a few groups of White-Negro origin that lack the Indian component. The South in particular is rich in such population strains, with all states except Arkansas and Oklahoma having such groups at present or within the twentieth century. (And I would not be surprised to be contradicted on my exception of those two states.)…

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What are you? A qualitative study on multiracial identity development

The Wright Institute
June 2008
115 pages
Publication Number: AAT 3351317
ISBN: 9781109073614

Luana M. Coloma

A dissertation submitted to the Wright Institute Graduate School of Psychology, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Psychology

The current study explored essential themes of multiracial ethnic identity among six Asian-White women. Participants were between the ages of 19 and 27, and self-identified as having a White mother and an Asian father. Participants were interviewed face-to-face using a semi-structured questionnaire. Interviews were then transcribed and coded for themes using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Five primary themes emerged: The Continuous Journey of Ethnic Identity Development, Situational Identity, The Maternal Relationship and its Effects on Identity Development, The Comparison of Multiracial Experiences to Monoracial Experiences, and the Asian-White Experience. A number of subthemes also were identified. Although some of the themes mirrored findings from previous multiracial research, such as identity being situationally based, new themes also emerged. In particular, themes related to the relationship between the White mother and her multiracial daughter were brought to light. In addition, preliminary results relating to the unique experience of the Asian-White subgroup when compared to the larger multiracial subgroup were identified. Implications of the findings and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Definitions
  • Historical Background of the Presence of Multiracial Individuals in the United States
  • Current Research on the Multiracial Population
  • The Asian-White Multiracial Experience
  • Identity Development
    • Ethnic Identity Development Models
    • Multiracial Identity Development Models
    • Multiracial Identity Development Models for Asian-White Individuals
  • A Closer Look at the Mother-Daughter Relationship
    • The Mother-Daughter Relationship
    • Multiracial Daughters and Their Relationships With Their Mothers
    • Multiracial Daughters and Their White Mothers
  • Summary
  • Hypotheses
• Methodology
  • Participants
  • Procedure
  • Instruments
  • Data Analyses
• Results
  • Demographic and Biographical Information
    • Participant 1
    • Participant 2
    • Participant 3
    • Participant 4
    • Participant 5
    • Participant 6
  • Interview Themes
    • The Continuous Journey of Ethnic Identity Development
    • Situational Identity
    • The Maternal Relationship and its Effects on Ethnic Identity
    • The Comparison of Multiracial Experiences to Monoracial Experiences
    • The Asian-White Experience
• Discussion
  • Discussion of Results
    • Hypothesis One
    • Hypothesis Two
    • Hypothesis Three
  • Limitations and Confounds
  • Recommendations for Future Research
• References
  • Appendices
  • Appendix A
  • Appendix B
  • Appendix C
  • Appendix D

Puchase the dissertation here.