Is the One Drop Rule Still Relevant in America?

Hollywood actress Halle Berry and ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry are currently locked in a public debate fueled by a disagreement over their daughter Nahla's racial identity.

Berry believes that her daughter is Black, despite the fact that Berry herself is only half-Black, and Aubry is French-Canadian. She cites the "one-drop rule" as the reason behind her beliefs.

The "one-drop rule" refers to an ideology during the era of the Jim Crow laws, stating that if a person possesses even one drop of non-white blood in his or her body, he or she cannot be classified as white.

There is serious debate as to whether or not this rule still exists in society today.

Dr. Odis Johnson, assistant professor in African-American Studies is unsure of whether or not he can endorse the "one-drop rule".

"I think the way people determine ethnicity is based on more than the ‘one-drop rule,'" said Johnson. "[Berry] will raise her daughter as an African-American, and that determines how the child will interpret race. That is how she will find her identity."                                                                                                                             

Assistant Professor in African-American Studies, Dr. Joseph Richardson, believes that the "one-drop rule" has no validity.

"The way one will identify racially depends on how they identify themselves," said Richardson. "It also depends on how society perceives them."

Students at the University of Maryland offer a variety of opinions.

Junior architecture major Brian Brussel is one-quarter Black, and he thinks the "one-drop rule" is irrelevant today.

"I guess I generally identify as white because that's what I mostly am and that's what I look like," said Brussel. "I would still consider myself mixed though, not specifically one race."

Brussel, who hasn't been exposed to a lot of his Black background, believes that people should establish their own racial identity based on their own backgrounds and histories.

"I think it would be ignorant to classify someone based on what could be a small part of their history and culture, rather than what they identify themselves as," he explained.

Freshman kinesiology major Nathan Mitchell agreed.

"I don't think it applies anymore," said Michell. "Mixed people are generally still considered Black. I think people should be able to choose their own identity."

Junior criminology and criminal justice and Spanish double major Allyson Williams is on the other side of the fence.

"I think the ["one-drop rule"] is still relevant, when you think of society today and how they decide who is black," said Williams.

Williams believes that what a person looks like is how they will be identified.

"It's not how you identify yourself that determines if you are Black," she said. "It's how society identifies you."