Walter Francis White & the NAACP (PBS documentary)

[2 Up 2 Down]

There is a part where the show his family tree and from doing a quick wiki search I saw this:
Of his 32 great-great-great-grandparents, only five were black, and the other 27 were white
Doesn't that make him white? On his mom side his great great grandmother was black(I'm assuming full black.) I don't know about his dad but he looks as white as his mom.

 

[get these nets]

Thanks for the heads up about this episode of American Experience

@9:40, they discuss his maternal great grandmother, Dilsia who was enslaved. The doc. points out that his father was also of Black descent, but I guess they couldnt trace his background directly.

In America in the years when White was a child, the laws of the country and his state would have legally recognized him as Black due to the One Drop Rule.

 

[2 Up 2 Down]

Thanks for the heads up about this episode of American Experience

@9:40, they discuss his maternal great grandmother, Dilsia who was enslaved. The doc. points out that his father was also of Black descent, but I guess they couldnt trace his background directly.

In America in the years when White was a child, the laws of the country and his state would have legally recognized him as Black due to the One Drop Rule.

Yeah I couldn't find any information on his dad's family but I'm guessing it was similar to his mom.
I thought it was interesting that towards the end of his life he was moving more like a white man and that some black folks like W.E.B called him white.

I wonder how events would've played out if he sided with black Communists like Paul Robeson

West Philadelphia Collaborative History - Paul Robeson, Part III: Freedom’s Price

collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu

Walter White of NAACP Asserts America's 'Race Problem' Undermines Overseas Efforts | WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News

Walter White, head of the NAACP, ponders race and foreign relations at the Great Hall of Cooper Union, in New York City, in this 1949 recording.

www.wnyc.org

 

[get these nets]

Yeah I couldn't find any information on his dad's family but I'm guessing it was similar to his mom.
I thought it was interesting that towards the end of his life he was moving more like a white man and that some black folks like W.E.B called him white.

I wonder how events would've played out if he sided with black Communists like Paul Robeson

Havent watched the full doc. yet, and wasnt completely familiar with White's history.
But I can imagine that he, like Dubois, had several shifts on political and social stances during his lifetime.

Think of how much happened in America between the 1890s and the 1950s.

 

[get these nets]

Just finished watching. Hope a lot of members view this, so we can discuss him and that era.

====
Even though you pointed it out, was still surprised by Dubois calling him white. When Dubois and Garvey were feuding, Garvey said that about Dubois. So its a bit funny to see the ice cream calling the milk white. *hehehe



The Red Scare/McCarthy era was serious with people losing careers and livelihoods because of the witch hunt. So I read White's publish shunning of communism as him seeing that as the practical decision in that climate.

Also, I finally see what appears to be the root of something that was repeated about that era. The silly notion that "Black activists only fought for civil rights to get access to white women" . That dumb shyt seems to have come from people being disappointed with White's romantic decisions, and they placed that tag on future activists during the CRM. I always thought it came from whites fearmongering, but I read it being repeated in Black circles, and White seems to be where it started.

 

[Amo Husserl]

Good read on Walter White's activities with the State Department iirc.

 

[Nymbus]

 

[RaspberryFitted]

Nice share OP. Will listen to it otw home from work today and comment my opinions

 

[TRUEST]

There is a part where the show his family tree and from doing a quick wiki search I saw this:
Of his 32 great-great-great-grandparents, only five were black, and the other 27 were white
Doesn't that make him white? On his mom side his great great grandmother was black(I'm assuming full black.) I don't know about his dad but he looks as white as his mom.

It’s folks like him that gave black people a fighting chance. Back then and even now If you can pass for white, you can do a lot of good for the black community in so many ways.

 

[ViShawn]

Read about him briefly in my book on the history of Atlanta

 

[cyndaquil]

Good shyt gonna give it a watch. It's bad that my brain went immediately to thinking of Breaking Bad after reading "Walter White" lol.