The pot that called the kettle white: Changing racial identities and U.S. social construction of race

Ethnic and racial identities are deeply enmeshed in broader social processes of change. While ethnicity and race are important factors in consciousness and behavior, they are profoundly affected by the material conditions of life. Conceptually, ethnicity and race are often reified and essentialized,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inIdentities (Yverdon, Switzerland) Vol. 5; no. 3; pp. 379 - 413
Main Authors Valdez, Norberto, Valdez, Janice
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Taylor & Francis Group 01.11.1998
Gordon and Breach
Subjects
Case studies
Classification
Constructivism
Descent
Economic aspects
Ethnic Identity
Ethnicity
Free Colored
Freedom
Genealogy
Kinship
Migration
Race
Race Classification
Racial identity
Slavery
Social change
Social Construction
Social Constructionism
U.S.A
United States of America
USA
Virginia
Whites
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Summary:Ethnic and racial identities are deeply enmeshed in broader social processes of change. While ethnicity and race are important factors in consciousness and behavior, they are profoundly affected by the material conditions of life. Conceptually, ethnicity and race are often reified and essentialized, that is, they are attributed qualities that presumably give them independent explanatory power. This study analyzes primary sources to trace how descendants of freed slaves in colonial Virginia emerged as three apparently distinct racial populations. Factors such as national formation, the rise of slavery, and racial typologies all contributed to a restrictive social structure. Yet some individuals and families negotiated aspects of their racial identities through intermarriage, migration, legal processes, and revised genealogies in the search for opportunity. This study attempts to demystify thinking about race and ethnicity by revealing the social forces that influence the form and content of racial and ethnic identity.
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ISSN:1070-289X
1547-3384
DOI:10.1080/1070289X.1998.9962622