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I greatly admire this woman standing up for her heritage. She did not take the easy way out way out.

I am Melungeon and would love to share some of my family history, experiences, and pictures. My great grandmother Lena Mullins looked a lot like your grandmother. Our family has been intermixing for hundreds of years. I have done both dna and my tree and it is a beautiful mix that goes back to 1619. I have compared dna to Redbones and they typically merge 6-8 generations back and in some cases we have found our shared ancestors. America has a complex history of hidden racial mixing.

The mother clearly loved her own mother enough to endure treatment and a life she could have avoided. That’s real love.

I know a Melungeon guy. He's from Virginia Appalachia. He explained to me that very early slaves were freed after an indentured period. They mixed with whites in the area and created the Melungeon people. They've been mixed for a super long time.

My first gut reaction? She chose not to "pass" and stayed true to who she was. For her generational time that had to be difficult when one could "pass" and benefit in many ways and not deal with racism. Being black is not just your genetic make-up to me but also your experience. How you've been raised and the inner culture your raised in. I like her conviction.

The problem here is that we have made race so important. Demanding that people stay in their race box is tearing this family apart. People shouldn’t have to choose. There is so much intermixing, I don’t think the race boxes on forms even makes sense anymore.

As a black person who presents as black and comes from a family who presents as many things, depending on who you look at, I find it really interesting that people wanted them to pick white, almost as though it were better. I have also found it interesting as I have mapped out a lot of my own genealogy, that all of the census records up until the year, 1900 had color listed as white, black, mulatto, Chinese, and Indian (Native American). Starting with the 1900 census records, that same box is listed as -(color or race.). Upon which time, a lot of my ancestors went from being listed as mulatto or Native American, to being black. I find this to be a very common practice in the southern states.

Part of why she’s so passionate about being Black may be because of what she saw her mother go through. Her mother wasn’t able to pass and possibly went out of her way to instill a sense of Blackness in her children regardless of their complexion. At least that’s how it was with my ancestors. They didn’t pass, not sure if it was by choice or circumstance, married men with dark complexions, and all of their children married Black people. If the mother in this video had married Black, her daughter may not have been able to choose. One union made the difference for generations.

I absolutely love your channel because I am a Polish immigrant and my genealogy is 99% Eastern European. I grew up in the Carpathian Mountains where everyone looked, spoke, believed, dressed, ate, and lived like me. I find education is of highest importance for a person like me, and I find your channel to be one of the most important resources for my diversity education. I am absolutely obsessed with your channel. You absolutely blow my mind every time!

Mama "stood on business" as the kids say lol..I love that! She is who she is, and no one is changing that.

its awesome to see people standing up for who they truly feel they are.

My best friend has been writing in, hoping you might make this video for over a year. He was SO excited when he saw this upload and I just wanted to say thank you for that little bit of joy you put in his day. ❤️ Would love to see you go even further in depth into the topic of Melungeon history!

I’m 50 years old but remember checking other as child on a standardized test in elementary school. My teacher was furious and told me to erase it and check white. I at the early age of 8 told her no Mam. I was punished that day I told I wouldn’t be getting recess for a week and she was going to call my parents. Well she did call my parents and my father came to the school the next day. The teacher told my father it was ridiculous what I had done because I was clearly white. My father told her it was not ridiculous because my great grandmother was a full blooded Cherokee Indian and that’s why I wanted to check other. He told her you will not deny my daughter her heritage and she will check what box she wants. I even at 8 knew and had a very strong feeling my Dad was part African American also. I have told you my story before in the fact that it resembles your story so very much. My Dad passed before he could ever find out his true heritage. It was a family secret on both his parents side that was hidden from his siblings and his self because they passed as white. They were always told that their skin color was from the Native American only. I to this day check other. I’m very proud of my heritage all of it. It saddens me that the older generations of my family lived in time where they felt they couldn’t be who they truly were.

I completely stand with that mom. One of my Elders once pointed to his thumbnail when we were eating in a Chinese restaurant and told me, "you can have this much Indian in you and you have the right to identify yourself as a Native person." The thought being, we lose nothing when we mix, because our spirit and our drum (as a people) is strong. When others marry us, they become part of us. I'm mixed, and don't have all the info because of the muddy trail of adoption, and have gone through similar things to the mom in the video where someone will tell me they don't think I look that Indigenous (the same day as getting profiled in a store). My olive skin changes depending on many factors, sometimes I look light and sometimes I look dark, but that has nothing to do with what I am. People don't have the right to tell other people who they are.

Mulatto is the Spanish word for mixed which is primarily European and African whereas Melungeon may have come from the French word melange, which is the French word for mixed. Melungeons are mixed with many ethnicities.

I love mom. She loves her mother. Mad respect. Nothing but love to her and her daughter ❤❤

It seems strange today, but at one time immigrants were not considered "white". Thats why she said "German, Italian and white"

Thank you for talking about the Melungeon people! I learned about them when I first started researching my ancestry, and I was shocked to see my great grandmother listed in the 1870 Census as Mulatto. All I'd ever been told was that we had Indian ancestry on that side, which explained the dark hair and eyes and how easily we tan in summer. Of course, all that was very much kept hush hush, and I was never able to really discuss it with my grandmother, as she had passed long before I started doing research and had dementia before passing when I was a little girl, and my mother pretty well just shut it down. I did manage to connect with some cousins through Ancestry, and they never knew until they were researching and got their DNA results back, which showed 3 or 4 percent African, I don't recall exactly. Mine didn't show any at all through Ancestry, but did show on Gedmatch. Thanks for doing what you do, and, here in Appalachia, we prounounce it Apple at cha, lol.

There is a tribe of black people with darker skin in New Guinea called the Melanesians. Their hair is often naturally blond and some of the people have natural blue eyes.

She was raised with the one drop rule and she stands by it. Today things are changing and there is movement to change things even more. Notice she said "there is going to be people to pick it out of you" That was always one of the fears of "passing" There is a sense of pride in her for sticking with her people. Remember that these racial designations were placed upon people.

I've seen this video a couple times while I was researching my family history. It made me cry, too.

My advice is to say you’re mixed… well I do that. That feels the most natural and authentic to me. Even as an enrolled member of a Native American tribe. I definitely have multi-generational mixing going on. I enjoy being ethnically ambiguous and getting questions about my ethnicity. The latest question was because I reminded the person of their aunt from Guam. I felt honored to remind him of her.

I remember hearing about the Melungeons when I lived in Knoxville. There was a lot of speculation about their ancestry. Back then, the commonly accepted idea was that they descended from shipwrecked Portuguese sailors who hiked into the mountains and took Native American wives. This was before the availability of genetic testing. And nobody ever explained why shipwrecked sailors would have walked so far inland and become landlubbers!

The first time I saw the video, years ago. Me and a lot of people in the comments thought that the mother had albinism

I love that you share this with those that know nothing about this part of history. Ty

Never feel ashamed of who you are.

Honestly, I get the feeling that Waverly, OH has a very interesting history and that the wounds that were inflicted there go deep. In my opinion, Roberta's frustration with her daughter probably stems from how she witnessed her family members be treated firsthand: the treatment her grandparents and mother endured at the hands of their neighbors who are now kinfolk after several generations of intermarriage. The very same people whose descendants, in her mind, convinced her daughter that she isn't Black. I think that "White" means something very different to Roberta: exclusion, not inclusion. The town was ready to accept her; however, were they willing to accept her mother and other kinfolk who appeared too "ethnic"? It's like they're saying "We accept you in spite of your mother." That's backhanded. Instead of accepting that she comes from people whom the town chose to cordon off, she's now being told who she is in spite of her experiences. She's claiming relation to her birth mother, and the town is saying "That can't be right because it doesn't fit our way of understanding the world." The town gets to decide where she belongs, even though she already has a place to belong. The town is demanding that she exclude her Black identity. They get to decide when these people are accepted and how they're accepted. I think this way of thinking has already taken a dark turn when we look at how American Indians were forced to move from their homelands and how many nations had their children stolen from them. It's about denying relation for the convenience of the "White" narrative. The same can be said for enslaved Africans and their descendants who were put into the "Black" box and treated as if they had no cultural heritage to bring over during the Middle Passage. Roberta actually does acknowledge that she has White ancestry; she just chooses to identify with the Black and not exclude it. I think that Black has more to do with relation and belonging for her, instead of trying to fit in a box. For the daughter, I don't think she sees race as kinfolk and relation; instead, she's simply looking at "Whiteness" as something that is 100% tied to appearance because she has watched her mother be treated as a White woman even though she stubbornly identifies as Black. Why fight for something that no one is forcing on you anymore? She knows these people are her kin; however, she cannot relate. She already thinks of Black people as something separate from her. She could even identify as Black and be excluded by someone who has the features that we would feel make them “visibly Black.” I still think that there is wisdom in Roberta's warning though: for some people, it's not about how you look; it's just about the presence of what they consider to be " the Black blood." This brings me to my final question, which you addressed in your previous video: what gives private citizens or the state, whether that be Ohio or the USA as a whole, the right to dictate how a person racially identifies regardless of how their community identifies? I think that you encountered this same problem when you interviewed an Indigenous sociologist earlier this year. The needs of the USA's racial categorization system are thought to supersede the needs of individual communities. I agree: we need to build community and relation around something else other than this very incomplete and twisted tradition. We need to acknowledge who people’s family members are, and not exclude them simply because they don’t fit with what we think “People like them” should look like. P.S. Roberta's mother and your great grandmother Lola kind of remind me of my maternal grandmother. Sorry for any typos that I may have missed. I'm tired.

In 1965, Kentucky author Jesse Stuart published "Daughter of the Legend" about the Mulegeons. It's roughly based on a young woman he fell in love with while in college in Knoxville, TN. This community in OH is not the only place Mulegeons live. Their history is in primarily in TN, VA, NC.

I'm old enough to be your granny so finding this subject spoken about, the stories told, is enough to make me cry. You are good at this. You are not judgmental or preachy. I'll subscribe. I've watched politics and social issues since I was 6 years old and JFK was assassinated. I have funny tales of my childhood enlightenment to the racial concepts of my country. Even as a very young child the whole system was silly to criminal manifested in society. Good work.

These people have a right to identify and be firm about what they are as well as how they were raised. Apparently the mom chose to pick a side to prevent society from putting her in a box of their choice. Not everyone will agree with one another but I respect it.

Love this! My family is from Virginia and West Virginia. We have “Melungeon” blood. You should see our colors with our elder family members. Pretty amazing to see 4 siblings almost identical except for colors.

In the African American community, we use Red Bone to describe a complexion as well. A copper golden color, Beyonce tone or similar pretty much.

Most African American families have relatives who don’t look “black”. My mother was “light skinned” but to me she looked like a black woman who had a light complexion. But my nephews would say people would stare at them when they were with her wondering why this “white lady” was with these black kids. My mom was no where near as “light” as the woman in this piece but for people who are coming from a different perspective or have no idea that skin color doesn’t mean you can tell who is who there is confusion.

Have you not heard of the Black Irish or Black Scots who were rehomed in the Caribbean Islands? That would be an interesting topic for you to do next.

DNA analysis really changed the family myths for me. They were all untrue. To give my family some grace, they just wanted to be special in some way.

This serves as a clear illustration of perception. Simply put, no one should define you by their perception and insist you conform to labels that make you uncomfortable.

Danielle. It's time you did a live video chat w the viewers. Your channel has exploded and a 2 or 3 hr chat is a natural extension of this idea.

At about 9 minutes 40 seconds you lose sound, but I loved this video I first saw it some years back and was fascinated by this bc I’d always seen the reverse!

My Mother was high yellow, Creole. She identified as black. My African friends called her white. I used to tell them off. lol 😂 Anyway, you can call yourself, whatever but you never know who your children will look like.

Thanks, Danielle! DNA is like a fascinating game of 3D chess. Identity seems to be catching up as we are able to better trace our bloodlines. I'm not sure we will ever achieve synchronicity, but hopefully get better at accepting one another. The geographical component you mentioned was very interesting. It would also be interesting to create a chronological matrix overlay on that. For example, the area of New Jersey where part of my Italian family settled was all Irish and Italian in the 60's and the demographic has sinced changed more than once. I recently checked my 23 & Me profile and it now suggests a lot of my DNA is from Calabria. Always was told I was Sicilian, Pugliese and Neopolitan. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Could be correct as there is a town in Calabria with my last name. I recently visited there and spent a lot of time hiking in the national parks in that area. Wild stuff. It always comes back to being a good citizen of the world. I never know who could be family so I better treat them all well. 😅

I think we all love our mothers, or the main parent who raised us. For me, that was my grandmother. She was born in England, emigrated to the us at 15 years old. She married a white man, and from my mother I have English, Welsh, and Scottish ancestry. My father is Colombian, born and raised in Bogota. Short man, olive skin and black hair. I wasn’t raised with him, we briefly met when I was in my late twenties, nothing really came of it. I happen to have my mother’s skin, and my father’s hair and eyes, so I’ve always been seen as white, and that’s primarily how I identify. I have always felt very English, was raised with English customs, food, aunties with accents😊 I have much respect for the mom in this video, which I had seen years ago before watching here. We are how we are raised. Her mother was black, and wanted to be sure her daughter knew they were the same. It’s only natural. You can feel the love and respect she has for her mother, that’s a beautiful thing.

My grandma reminds me of Roberta! rest in peace. This proves that race isn't easy to define. I come from Mulengeon people in North Carolina and Virginia. But even today white or fair skin bring a whole set of responses than darker skin. I am a mom of very light racially ambiguous kids who have it a but easier than if they were darker skin like me. The things I've seen and heard would shock people. People asking if I'm babysitting or thank goodness my kids aren't dark like me...yeah....yeah. but my kids are raised to tell people they are biracial and pick the side of humanity and inclusion and justice in all things. We don't do racism or homophobic or sexist bs. Or one drop rule.

Incredible story. Nothing but admiration for this woman. She really does have black features. She is just very light skinned. What a shame the census makes people check boxes. Most people are mixed with something anyway.

In African American community "Redbone" simply refers to a light-complexioned Black person.

This just shows "race " is a CULTURAL CONCEPT.

A study was done many years ago in the Appalachian mountains (via dna), it was discovered that most people that thought they had Indian ancestry, had black ancestry. Red and yellow, black or white, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves…🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

What is interesting to me, is what ancestry families who identify as Melungeon would show on the DNA tests. I took one and it gave details on all my ancestry which was interesting. It also showed cousins all over.

When I was at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio I first met the tri-racial isolates. I noticed that it was very controversial with people arguing about what their heritage should be. There was a great book about the tri-racial isolate community called Cion by Zakes Mda.

Love your channel...your emotional reaction is precious

I saw this clip quite a long while ago, I am so glad to watch it again. anyhoo, I do feel when it comes to multiracial people there does tend to be significant endogamy, whether that's due to social reasons or internalised colourism, it happens a lot, I keep seeing the same surnames come up over and over in my own family tree. Regardless, it's hard in a racialised society to avoid feeling like you had to make a choice. I have no doubt my blueeyed, white skinned great Uncle considers himself a black man, as a Jamaican, he never had a problem being seen as a fellow Jamaican by darker skinned Jamaicans but I am so curious how he might have been perceived by white people, at least up until they heard his accent.

The content in this video can lead to a very deep discussion and it’s obvious based on the mother’s response. Being from Louisiana I’m familiar with a lot of the various reactions that people can get based on their skin color whether it be a very light person with straight or kinky hair to a dark person with straight or kinky hair and the various shades that fall between. Picture the skin tone crayons that are out now. As for eye color a person’s complexion has nothing to do with that. For me it’s just knowing who you are, being happy with that and letting others do likewise. It shouldn’t be something that causes problems among people but the gvt created this system for a specific reason. Knowing your ancestry is a composition of who you are. If you’re interested in knowing do the research and if not that’s fine too. I doubt the system will ever change so learn as much as you can about your family and enjoy them if and when possible. The way people crossed over in Louisiana I was raised that when I met someone, even if we were just friends to ask questions about their family because it’s easy to be related. Example: My son was dating a young lady and while researching my ancestry I found out they shared a cousin. I told my son to talk to her grandmother to find out how they’re related. My son is related to the cousin from her grandmother’s side and she’s related from her grandfather’s side. They’re third cousins to the same man. I know, talk about a lot going on there🤦🏾‍♀️

I just watched that video a few weeks ago! I was searching for videos on the "Jackson Whites" in New Jersey. I don't think she's melungeon. They have a specific lineage. There are all kinds of groups, from here to Canada. The Metis, Brass Ankles, Redbones, Marlboro Blues, Gypsies, Lumbee, the list goes on depending on the region. The Caribbean islands have theirs as well. I suppose it all depends on your history and how you self identify. I carry around a photo of my third great grandmother who was Irish. But nearly 90% of my genes are from Africa. I also have British and Greek ancestry. So we really can't afford to be prejudiced in America.

Danielle, I came across the Melungeon ancestry several years ago working on my family tree. There are a lot of articles discussing whether they were Portuguese, Native American, black and white. There is definitely a lot of inter-marriage in the small communities in Appalachia histoically. There is even a DNA group and historical society. I still wonder if that is where my son gets his ability to tan in the summer so that people ask him what he is. Both his father and I identify as white. My dad ta nned really well. My parents identify as white. My daughter--in-law's family definitely has surnames identified as Melungeon so my 3 grandchildren tan beautifully. Perhaps you could some interviews with some Melungeon historians/authors, but be aware you may have some heated discussions. Keep up the good work. Debi from SW Ohio

It's a very fascinating story. Thanks for sharing.

This conversation is fascinating to me. My father was (Gd bless his soul) a dark skinned Turkish Jewish man, Sephardic. To him, he was a white man. He did not see Black people until he came to the United States in 1969. He was driven out of Princeton when classmates of his spray painted the N word on his dorm room, broke his car windows, and put chains on his car. After I was born I saw from a young age how he was targeted by police, the same police that would wave and smile at my blonde haired blue eyed mother of Welsh heritage. My father became really angry when I tried to explain how most people did not view him as white. I identify as white and got my mom's blue eyes. It's always interesting to me that police read me as white, but when someone finds out I'm either Jewish or Turkish, then all of a sudden I'm not white to them anymore.

I love your work you got me digging in my family history I have Ben shocked thank you 🥺😍

13:49 "HALITO" (This is basically "hello" in Choctaw and the only word I know. I like their history and I like to at least know how to greet properly when I meet one. Am also a fan of their unique ribbon designs and colour combinations).

Yes, please do a deep dive, i would be happy to share my family history. Omg my mother and all of my relatives on her side are melungeon (tri racial isolate)! I've only ever heard a few people use that term. We are from the Welsh Mountains in PA. Natives helped slaves escape the south, and along with Portuguese indentured servants they formed their own community in the welsh mountains. My grandfather moved to Hawaii and passed for white.

Your work is so important! Each video I've seen is inspiring, historically rich, and undeniably valuable to our divided American society. God bless your efforts.

Black is not a race...obviously. neither is white, orange, yellow, purple silver Gold.... Black and White are STATUS not race.

I understand both this woman and her daughter. The mother does not want to deny any of her ancestry; so it is important for her to say she is Black since in this country you are Black if you have any Black ancestry. Her daughter simply feels she does not look Black and has been harassed for saying she is Black so she no longer she says it.

Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.

Thanks. This is only the second time I heard the word "Melungeon". The first time was when my department head told me he was from Ohio and he was a Melungeon. Yes, he looked "White", but I could never find a reference to the word "Melungeon". Perhaps when asked your race, it's best to check "Other", as DNA tests will often show a variety of genes.

Hi Danielle - Thank you for sharing your genealogy research and search. I am happy that you have embraced your surprise heritage of African/Black creole ancestry. Knowing you have Italian heritage too. I think visually based on your DNA that you inherited , I would think of you as a Black Italian even though your Mom has more White European features. Interesting about DNA mixing and how they show up in family members. I think you are on this journey because your Black /creole ancestors do not want to be forgotten even though your Great Grandmother left the South to start a new life in NY as a White person. ☮️ P.S. I am speaking as a Dark Skinned, Black American descendant of slaves (west & East African, Scottish, Irish, and with a touch of Sardinian, Norwegian, Pacific Islander, and possibly Arab thrown in the mix) 😊

I never heard the word "Melungeon" until I read Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, in which the main character describes himself as such. My husband's family is from Appalachia and he says he has Native American ancestry, but I can't find it in his tree. He has not done DNA testing. I enjoyed your video, would love to hear more.

This was my first time on this channel, and this video had me in tears. I admired the mother in this video for being proud of her race, but it broke my heart to see her looking at her daughter because she refused to live as she did as a black person. I want to have so many conversations about this video.

This was intriguing. Thanks for sharing. ❤

As an FBA who has always been aware of our history and ancestry, I know as long as we have been categorized as “black” by the European colonizers we have had “black” people that run the gamut of hues. I have one branch of my family who chose to pass as “white”. It’s culture, not color. It’s also the hierarchy/caste system of the West (the part that gained their wealth through the centuries of free slave labor). Most FBA’s are made up of indigenous American, a mélange of African ethnicities, and European. Foundational Black Americans are by nature ethnically mixed, but culturally “Black”.

When I first looked at her I could tell she was Black. We know what we look like. I thought she was going to say she wasn’t Black. But I’m proud she held on to her identity . Just because you are that light doesn’t mean you’re not Black .

Man this is a great document . I am from Southwest Louisiana skin color I was born in 1963 my mom was born in 1930 she was darker complexion Bu only spoke Creole until 12 years old . We have a unique culture Southwest Louisiana and south East Texas So Bonjour Ma Sha Keep up the good work. I would like to communicate on this subject further You have great courage

As a black person who presents as black, I would prefer her to say mixed black one to honor her fully ancestry. I absolutely love her zeal for who she is. It was NOT easy or honorable to be black back then and she chose to be that despite the cultural wars of her day.

Super interesting. I am bi racial as is my wife. We are both black and white (both my sides are TX), my wife’s black is creole and her white is French. I am between the Rock and Vin Diesel’s color and my wife is the same color as Adam Clayton Powell. Our daughter is my wife’s color and my son is between our colors. Color defined as a race was done so for insidious reasons. White plantation owners via the white government needed to caste slaves. Many male slave owners impregnated their slaves (justifying the making of more slaves) you see, “race” used to be “family lineage based.” Your “race” was Smith, or Johnson, or Murphy, etc. EVERY TIME, the child followed the “race”’of the father. American slavery was the first time and only for Blacks, “race” followed the mother. Anything which came from the mother was the mother’s race. They doubled down on this by giving us the one-drop rule. So…. My wife and I follow this line of thinking. We are not interested in redefining “race.” Those who created it, made the rules. If we are not going to follow those rules, then let’s simply tear that entire system down. Until that’s done, we are Black and anything with one-drop is Black. It seems only white people, who for 400 years, lived lovingly in the one-drop rule space are now interested in redefining it. Why? Because their “race” is dying out in America. At first, pure Anglo Saxon was the standard. Then it was any north Western European, then any Northern European, than any European, more recently you could be Arab or North African or even Latin American if you were mixed with French, Spanish, or Portuguese. There was a time when you could even be biracial and “pass” but if you got caught they’d kill you. Now, I’ve heard ardent white supremacists say, if you’re bi racial but look white enough you can claim white. Race is obviously wildly flawed as a concept. So why do we hang onto it? As an American institution, it’s the sole thing that has inherent privilege NO ONE had to work to earn.

This is super interesting to me for a few reasons. One I'm half black half white and I identify as black. I'm not in any way ashamed of my white heritage but I never in a million years could pass as white. I think the way the world sees you dictates how you experience the world and has an affect on how you identify. People see me as black so I experience the world as a black woman and identify as black. I also think the one drop rule has come into play here. When people were forced into a box they had no choice but to become proud members of that community and now to tell them to change that because the world has changed is a little unfair

I think it would be appropriate for Bert & family to say that they have black African heritage. Not that they are black. Bert can list her European white heritage and knows she is mixed, but insists on being black. Also people don't realize the one drop rule really was not just about genetics, but about money, & power. Phenotype also includes an experience. Many blacks in America are beginning to reject the one drop rule ideology, & it makes sense. Many biracial & multiracial people want to acknowledge all their DNA & this makes sense as well.

Have you considered a show about the people of the Ramapough mountains. They are a mixture of Native American, African American and European ethnicities who have isolated themselves from the rest of society. The negative term used to describe them is “Jackson Whites.”

My Dad's family is originally from somewhere in Appalachia but moved to Mount Pleasant Tennessee. My Dad can pass for white and also had problems with white and black people trying to figure out what race he was. I to had this problem growing up, now living in Louisville, KY. It can get frustrating because people would just come up to me and ask, "What are you?" My complexion is fair in the winter, but in the summer I would be very dark with a reddish tint, plus my hair would start to turn red. I have Irish blood in that is why I think I tan so easily. Now my Dad's family main reside in Nashville, and Gallatin TN. Love your videos, keep up the good work.

Redbone is what they call light-skinned women in the South. In Baton Rouge, my mom is considered redbone, but she's not "high-yellow" but lighter than a brown-paper bag, so light enough for the Black AKA sorority to recruit her in the 1950s to join the sorority. My mom is the same color as the lead in the documentary's mother in the photo holding her as a baby. I was called a certain brown nickname when I was in Baton Rouge that I'd never heard of being from the West Coast. The Black skin color range goes deep in the South. My grandpa and grandma were my color, but my grandfather's brothers all looked like Paul Harris and all my cousins on that side are attorneys. The cousins are your color, so they were not trying to pass, but the uncles were so fair, some of them passed. Some of the lighter family and friends enjoyed their privilege and would silently pass and others would get fiercely angry if you considered them or called them anything but Black. I used to resent the families that passed, but my parents had compassion for them--for an easier life. I have compassion for the ones who passed and still helped and loved the Black community like --Clark Gable or Carol Channing who openly fought for Black artists to come through the front door of hotels, risking further inquiry into his Black heritage when he was perceived as white. I still despise the ones who turned their backs and passed on racism and continue to do so today.

Awesome video, thank youuuuu!!!

Both my grandmothers are as light as her and were most definitely black. This is not foreign to most black families. It only appears to be something extraordinary to those who identify as white.

By one drop rule that family is Black even if the rest of the USA doesn't see them that way. They are just using an older definition of "black".

The mom is not lying when she said someone or something was going to pull the black out of her. I believe she was referring to the daughter having kids. If there's in them that will definitely be the time for it to show up. #coolvideo

great content sis salute keep up the great work

First time I heard anything regarding Melungeon was a newspaper article in the 1990’s, talking about them and their traits and an area in east TN near VA and specific surnames. Knowing my mom’s mom family was from there and last name Mullins. My mom said she had never heard about that. But pictures of my GGGrandfather dark skin, eyes and hair

Yes, please look into the reality of the "early colonial Southeastern USA mix" that came as a result of indentured servants from the British Isles that came to colonial Virginia and the Carolina's in the 1600's and lived side by side and intermarried with Native American and African Indentured servants. This early mixed group sometimes known as the Atlantic Creoles. In the 1700's they moved out of the Tidewater areas near the coast and some moved down into the Carolina's (forerunner's of the Lumbee) and some westward into the Appalachians (and became the Melungeon's) and other's moved northwestward in to southern Ohio and Indiana following the Quakers and intermarried and disappeared into the dominant white population over the generations with some family members from time to time having some physical characteristics of their earlier ancestors in the following generations.

I LOVE YOU CHANNEL and as a first gen immigrant i love your conversations on race you are challenging a lot of the false ideas in the US about race

I just discovered your channel yesterday, and I've watched 4-5 of your videos. Great content, much appreciated! What i especially like is that you're bringing forth so much information about how so much of what makes up a lot of the American people, actually belies common perception! There has, pretty much, always been way more intermingling than people commonly know about or perceive!

I feel this video exposes the absurdity of racial categories. Almost nobody is “pure” white, black, etc. Almost everybody had mix even if it’s mostly nationalities we consider as “white” or “black”. So saying that someone is either white or black and cant be white and black, to me, is absurd.

That family looks like mine. They are and they look black. People who can not identify question their identity. There are many blacks who have and are passing as white and considered white passing.

Redbone isn’t “melungen” like but it just means a light skinned “black” person. It’s funny because I came across this video days ago. This happened in a few generations and this lady still has features her melanated ancestry. In that Lincoln vid, I was accused of revisionist history when I had mentioned “black” Europeans in the colonies but this video can certainly drive many points home….that’s all I’m going to say here.

It's real awesome how this beautiful woman⚘️ tells the WORLD she is BLACK⚘️even though she doesn't look it✊🏾💯💯💯

I watched this video (born in NE Ohio) before even buying a DNA 🧬 test of any kind ; very fascinating.

One point in defensive of the mum in this clip, she was 100% correct in arguing with the medical secretary regarding her heritage. How much melanin you produce doesn't mean that you haven't inherited issues from your African ancestry that isn't important. People of African descent are more inclined to some medical issues genetically, sickle cell anemia is a good example, being genetically mixed won't make any difference if you happen to carry a copy of the gene. My ex was in a similar position and had someone suggested her kids get put down as white and she said no because genetically they ARE mixed, even if they present as white.

This was fascinating.

This is absolutely fascinating!

In a perfect world, none of this would matter 😕

She looks like my grandma toody who is a creole black woman

I just came across your channel for the first time and watched this old interview for probably the 3rd time since years ago. Amazing story and so common among us. I'm a black wife of my Hispanic husband of 28 years. We have four children together and 2 grandkids. Two of our kids look more black and two look more hispanic. They all identify themselves as Black Hispanics, as we taught them. And they have had challenges over the years concerning how others identify them. But their responses to others should never be to defend who they are but to inform.

I grew up in Pennsylvania Appalachian. Had to have my blood tested when i got autoimmune in my mid fourties. Dr. said it resembled sickle cell and tested me anyway...turns out my blood is .019 African American. Who knew? My family didnt know, but there it is!

Enlighten yet again! (blown actually ) This is profoundly fascinating!