How one woman discovered her true cultural heritage - BBC World Service
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- Опубликовано: 27 апр 2021
- What would you do if you discovered one of your parents wasn't who they said they were?
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That's what happened to Gail Lukasik who found out her mother had 'passed' as white to escape racial segregation in the US, in the early 20th Century. She was, in fact, mixed race but had kept it secret all her life and made Gail promise to keep the secret until after she died.
Gail has turned her story into a book called White Like Her.
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She not only found out about her heritage but she embraced it with a open loving heart and was rewarded with a beautiful family.
She had no choice.
A blessing
@@capoislamort100
Friend, she had a choice and I admire her for it.
@capoislamort100 she absolutely had a choice, and she chose her Blood relatives.
Right on.
I read her book. Her story was quite interesting. This woman's wt passing mother not only had an African American father but her mother was African American too. She came from a New Orleans Creole black family, who were light skinned mixed raced people African and French. So she was African American on both sides. She lived as an African American as an adult, working in a tea shop in New Orleans which was a job for black women in those days. She lived with her maternal grandmother. When her grandmother died she went North and passed into the wt world. She was always sad her daughter said. Imagine living as black for most of your life, your culture, the warmth, the food, the music, I mean this woman was from New Orleans which is one of the most culturally rich Afro cultures on earth. Imagine all of sudden having to suppress all of that pretending to be someone you're not. It's quite sad.
I couldn’t do it!
Mmm no that is no accurate
@@DarkFae888 About going to the north
Gail lukasik's mother also descended from Europeans on both sides, and most likely Native Americans as well. She wasn't passing for anything other than what she was; a human being of predominantly European admixture and descent, and appeared as such. She was born and raised in New Orleans, one of the most culturally mixed places in the US. A place rich with European, African, Indigenous/Asian culture. Cultures that the vast majority of the modern population of the Americas descends from and belongs to, no matter what they look like.
Imagine all of a sudden no longer maintaining the false, hypocritical and discriminatory ideology that still has people pretending to be something they are not. Literally continuing the disgusting practices of our forefathers.. It is disingenuous and actually quite tragic.
Oh please🙄
Her father was biracial not Black. In American for some reason biracial people are also called "African-American". Y'all can't be this delusional to believe that whole white girl had a Black father🤦🏾♀️
"you want to look your best because you get better treatment" 😭 she didn't lie. You will notice everywhere you go how people treat you is always based on looks. It's sad but true
THIS.
I dont know where i heard a quote that said "How you dress is the way you will be addressed"
I say do what you have to and survive. If passing made life survival happen then so what? I don't see this as anything to be ashamed of.
@@amysdreamvideos8174what most don’t understand is the hidden envy, hate, narcissism that many black people has against mixed people. I don’t say all is like this. But at that time, if you had light skin most likely they feelt excluded anyway from both races. The next step of evolution, was to artificialy do what ever it takes to survive. It’s just nature.
And don’t forget that insanity, evil, collectiv narcissism of the Jim Crow ara.
@@amysdreamvideos8174with a name like amy bye karen
Beautiful story. It's just sad that mom had to hide herself as so many others did just to make life a bit easier.
Her mother absolutely had to do that if she wanted to have a decent life. My grandmother went against her family’s wishes (she was a mixed race person from New Orleans, most of the family passed). Boy did she live a hard life. After she married her Black husband, who is my father’s dad and my grandfather, she had a stroke and was put into St. Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital in her mid twenties, maybe 28 years old. At St. Elizabeth, they did all kinds of exploratory surgery on her brain. I guess they were trying to find out why a White woman would marry a Black woman. Anyway, my father never was able to have a relationship with his mother. His father just left him and his 2 sisters with different family members. Their mother was not released from St Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital…ever! 😭
@@sammy4634
I'm sooo sorry for you and your family; I can't imagine.
@@sammy4634 My God!!! This is so sad!!! 😱
Her mother wanted to survive not easy to live as a black person back then - for God’s sake - it’s even challenging today for some - her decision is understandable
I see some of the comments, however, this is how life is for a lot of our people, but that’s life
Her poor mom can you imagine the daily stress worrying about discovery. So sad
Can you imagine the stress of being Black. Her mother had an out and she took it. Glad that the daughter found family.
P
And being terrified about the colour and hair texture of your future children.
Her mom's cover would've been blown had she had a dark baby. I'd be too scared to pass
So sad too that the daughter wasn’t more sensitive to her mother. Many older people have secrets that they carry to their graves because they made those choices based on the times. I feel so sorry for her mom.
I understand why her mother did what she did. It is sad but she led a better life just by people assuming she was "one of them." It is so shameful that the world makes so many judgments on something that nobody can change about themselves
I know. Imagine the conversations she over heard. She would have learnt a lot about people and their true hearts.
People still judge based on appearances now! It’s just more “relaxed” but people still are segregated in their hearts and minds!
@@meditationforgrowth The woman said in an interview, her father was unapologetically racist and had a deep contempt for black people. He often said the "N" word around the home growing up. She said looking back now, she could only imagine how much that hurt her mother who had to disregard his comments and carry on without showing emotion like everything was normal.
@@christopherhall6471 wow. I hadnt heard that part of the story. she mustve been terrified of what he would.do if he found out. truly awful
@@christopherhall6471 wow, i was wondering if that was the case. i can’t imagine. i’m sure gail’s mom also suffered from internalized racism herself. i can’t relate to her choice to pass and live a lie, but i can definitely understand it. the effects of racism are so painful and traumatic.
Another thing, each time she (her mum) had a kid it must have been terrifying as if you have the regressive dna of certain traits they can pop up more strongly even multiple generations ahead, imagine the 9+ months of paranoia her mum would have been through just because some people don't like some people with differing melanin in thier skin and bone structure, the poor woman, it's absolute madness!
I believe she was the only child
Imagine what Vanessa Williams father was thinking.
@@jerrypeukert5732 I don't get the connection with this story and Vanessa Williams. What would her father be shocked about? Both of Vanessa's parents are black, with very light complexions.
Well there are rules to passing and having kids is very risky and usually adoption is the better alternative
It’s longer than nine months. Both my oldest brother and his son appeared Caucasian when they were babies. By the time they both reached school age it was obvious they weren’t 100% white but could still easily pass the paper bag test. In the case of my brother, he is now 51 and dark like the rest of us siblings.
When I was 11 my skin was a dark caramel. Now at age 48 it’s a lovely shade of espresso.
My point is most POC get darker as we get older.
I recently read “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett, which I would highly recommend. It’s about twin sisters in a town that only has African Americans whose skin is as fair and light as can be. One twin spends her entire life passing as white, while the other twin marries the darkest man she can find. The book takes place over several decades.
sounds super interesting; looking it up. thanks
Got it in my kindle library👍🏼
I read it too. It's kind of sad.
I loved the book. Was thinking of that book when. I was the youtibe title
Yes, it's a great read with a twist.
Soooo beautiful that she was open to meeting her relatives! I’ll never understand how ppl can hate a strangers skin tone/color.
I just said this same thing. It's what is taught for sure. Bc I never see color when I'm vibing with humans!
@Kenny Young it is not uneducated people who keep the system running. It is intelligent educated people who put a lot of effort in to white supremacy. Fox news is run by every intelligent people.
You can't understand it yourself because you are probably a "minority".
because you are not white.
@@jackfavvv0280 I don’t consider myself a “minority.” Go ahead and explain why another race hates ppl of color?
My mom and her twin looked like Ms. Lukasik mom. I remember my mom telling us stories of how we've 'lost' family members because they did exactly what Ms.Lukasik's mom did.
If you do DNA tests with 23andMe and AncestryDNA, you might be able to find some of them again.
Maybe u could be related to Mrs.lusaik , contact them sis
I'm sure she's not the only one. Appalling to think about how people's histories have been denied them because of prejudice. Of course her mother did the right thing just to survive
Deep
Yes indeed
Saying your parents are dead so you can say you don't have family is the right thing? I don't think so.
Well, not that I'd ever suspect something like that but let's say my maternal sides documents also went with them to the grave...and God knows what secrets WW2 Kids held....I mean obviously we've theories and they might all be true to some degrees but still..seing peopels "Where have your genomes been throug history.." can make you quite curious as well.
Right thing? You white people are insane
The ‘makeup before bed to look my best at the hospital incase I get sick in the middle of the night’ story seemed suspicious and sad. Maybe she felt like they would find out about her race at the hospital and treat her differently. She was traumatized and created a night routine in hopes to protect herself. I think she knew about her mixed race the whole time. A very sad story.
Duhhhh
That's right a mixed race woman you are and embraced it like the lovely person you are. Her Family is so Beautiful and definitely looks like her mother. I'm glad she found her Relatives.
She is not a mixed race woman, she is a white woman with remote African dna. I am sure her grandfather who was listed as African American was likely mixed race himself. She is white.
@@KAriedoll get over it she is mixed race, one drop rule.
@Katerina Kemp
Not you using the one drop rule which was used to justify the enslavement of people who were 1/16 black and looked white whattt
You’re literally supporting a racist ideology
@@KAriedoll Gail's grandma was also listed as "coloured".
@@kaysammy6730 Did it say that in the video? Or did you find that out elsewhere?
I'm glad she is at peace with her heritage. Sometimes it is hard for some people to accept.
I remember watching something once where this horrendously racist woman found out she was part Iranian (she actually looked Iranian to me tbh). That was one uncomfortable person. I have a pretty multicultural background and I love it - feel like I'm a part of nearly everybody. I did a load of research because, as I got older, I realised that my grandad was very dark skinned for a Englishman and I just wondered where that came from (if I told you he was Greek, Italian, Spanish or latin American, I'm sure you would have believed me). Turned out, along with lots of European stuff (particularly French) he had Tunisian, Mexican and Peruvian roots. It was really interesting to trace the paths my ancestors must have taken to get to where we are now. It was a shame that I couldn't show it to him because I know he would have been really interested.
Nobody cares about heritage these days
@@anonymousaccount8941 I remember when a RUclipsr found out she was mixed with African when she thought she was 100 percent Hispanic I’m like you kept saying you were Dominican so of course you will have African heritage yet she went into hysterics and started crying her eyes out because of her black roots!
I looked into my heritage. I'm the only person in my family with long, thick curly hair(I'm a brown skinned woman). I found out there is Irish and American Indian in the family. I'm often asked if I'm mixed or Dominican. Heritage is so interesting!
@@starrjohnson1327 well yeah that would be expected there’s no African American that Is pure black at this point most African Americans are 20% other stuff
Such a sad and scary time for her mother.
The hatred was real, so her fear to protect herself and her family during those times, was justified in her mind. It was quite a burden to keep her secret. Luckily her daughter found her loving relatives. Now that's a happy ending.
she chose to pass and leave her black family behind. Nothing heroic about that.
@@teresaautreyexperience its very easy to pass judgment frm the outside. Especially when ur not living in that time.
@@teresaautreyexperience It's not her fault she wanted a better life. It's white people's fault for making her have to do something like that in the first place
I can't help but feel like the mom was still in the wrong regardless if she was afraid fear isn't a excuse you should you use to turn your back on your family your people or your legacy
@@tevinbailey2471 Easy for you to say because you weren't in her shoes at that very time. It's literally a matter of life or death, she chose to save herself while she can and gave her child a better life growing up. Also, like it said in the video, she could be killed by her fellow people because she's light skinned. What's noble in staying in a dangerous place if you'll end up in a ditch somewhere just because you don't wanna be seen as a person who betrays their family?
I just want to applaud the respect she had for her parents to wait until they were both dead to continue her journey. It was something personal for her as well as her mother and she went about it in a way that brought joy to her life but no pain to others. Amazing woman 👍
How is that having respect by waiting for both parents demise to find her maternal relatives? It's not like her mom was a Fascist/Nazi. Makes one wonder how many Caucasians are involved with & have kids with at least a half African/Black partner globally not just in the US.
I am so glad she found her family 🥰
I pass as white, and I have not been held back in life, I mean gay people pass as heterosexuals, any way focus on the bad people and crooks, that pass as good people, not on people that are passing as white so they can access the same privilege as the majority.
@@jerryholland3127 weird that you passing off as white in 2022, you should embrace all sides of your family whatever their race might be.
The family reunion clip was so beautiful. People of all colours in one family, showing that you really don't have to hide this heritage.
@jerry holland "I pass as white and I have not been held back in life." That's Ike saying I'm rich, and I have not experienced any issues with poverty.
@@jerryholland3127This is so sad but fascinating at the same. You should do an anonymous blog or book about your journey.
Imagine how it feels to grow up knowing your mother can't help but hide who she truly is. Really heartbreaking.
I thought she said she was an adult when she found out about her mother
How sad that growing up her daughter Gail missed out on the opportunity of having a relationship with her relatives from her mother's side of the family- her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Gail did have relationships with members of her moms family. In her book she said that her grandmother would come to visit some and also was very close to her moms aunt and uncle who they would visit when she was young. The members of her family that she met as an adult were the children and grandchildren of her mothers father that her mom didn't know existed because he had kids with another woman after he divorced Gails grandmother.
I'm so happy for this woman!! She could have been bitter for being lied to but in the end she was able to met her true family. Praise God 🕊️
Why the fuck would she be bitter ? Her mom made a easy white life for her daughter.
My mom did too. She’s Mexican but tried to pass as white. She believed it so much. When others knew she wasn’t they would say you be Italian and she said yep. She married my dad who is Polish.
Many Mexicans ARE white.
@@mizzmolly7649 And many are NOT!
@@lDotley Mexican is not a race, and neither is Hispanic.
@@mizzmolly7649 White is not a race or an ethnicity. Unfortunately, it is widely used to infer "white" skin means caucasian. This is wrong. Being Mexican means a nationality or culture. But most people aren't educated enough to understand this. Mexico is a country of immigrants as are all countries in the Americas and therefore Mexicans come is different shades of skin tone. We all need to stop using the term "white" to mean a race. The proper term is caucasian and caucasians come is different shades of skin tone. It is unfortunate that we have to judge people by their skin tone.
In the 60's, those that were from Texas by way of Mexico fought the government to be recognized as "white". Their civil rights fight. The actress, Eva Longoria's father was one of many that lead the fight (reference was an episode of Finding Our Roots).
As a Black mother with Mixed Ancestry...My Husband is White and our Daughter is White with Blue 👀🔵 eyes...This Video very much hits home for me. There were many people in the late 1800 to 1960s who felt they needed to PASS For Fear of rejection. God bless this woman for Accepting her Black 🖤 roots when her mother felt she had to deny it to Survive or have a different lifestyle
Ah. What a cool story, especially considering the fact that she is completely at peace with her identity .
Lol wtf??
"Cool story" wtf? Nothing about someone being forced to hide their identity is "cool". What a tone deaf statement.
@@grahammaio9801 oh go troll someone else or get your own life
Yes indeed,
@@ekamanda84 no ... You are incorrect, and taking it out of context, which is a very common thing for people like yourselves to do in the internet. She is at peace with her identity, and that is a cool thing. I said it again, and I make no fake apologies to bullies,.
Stories like these aren't surprising at all or all that uncommon in the US. This happens a bunch in Latin America too. I'm glad she made peace with her mother, her roots, and found a new family to be embraced by in the end.
I was told the story of great grand aunt that was sent to Chicago because she was able to pass for white, and was never heard from again. I could just imagine what she looked like because the picture I have of my great grandfather (her brother) everyone swears he's 100% white, but he chose not to pass.
To deny who you really are is to deny your SOUL which is a living DEATH.
Before my grandfather died, he told me about waking up in the middle of the night as a little boy. He heard crying and as he got up to investigate, saw his father hugging a lady that was crying. As the night progressed he listened to the adults talking and realized the lady was his fathers sister. He said he was surprised because he thought the lady was white. Not because of how light she was, there were lots of fair-skinned folks in both of his parents families, but because of how richly she was dressed. Later he found out his aunt was married to a white man, had several children, but no one in her family knew she was black. My grandfather said it was a difficult and dangerous way to live. If she was found out, she would have been killed. His Aunt took the opportunity that presented itself to see her family for a few hours, but by morning she was gone. My grandfather said they never saw or heard from her again. He said he later found out he had 2 Aunts that passed. He told me it was a pitiful way to live, but so was being black back then. No one looked down on anyone that did it because most understood they were just trying to make it in the world with what they had.
@@Wildpinkchair yes!! I mean, it's sad that families were separated like that, but they understand. We have picture of my great grandfather (the one that stayed), and I always asked, why we got this white man in our photo album. Then my mom explained it who it was was, him around 70yo. So if he looked white at 70, just imagine his sister, the one who was more fair-skinned, and how she looked? My grandmother told me so many stories about the South, being her complexion and mixed. It's mind-blowing!
@@Wildpinkchair that's a breach of consent to marry smoeone without first telling them the truth
consent must be INFORMED or it's rape
@@seabreeze4559 if you have to choose between living a life of poverty and oppression or lying and being safe, the ethics get rather more complicated than what you're grappling with - the world doesn't function in binary morals, context is key
wow, this is so beautiful and the truth is if many of us went back and took DNA tests we would find that we are more connected by blood than disconnected by fear and nonknowledge of who we are.
Awww :)
nothing beautiful about this story. Just shows how her mother did not value being black. I'm quite sure she talked against black people with other white people and WATCHED black people be treated bad and kept it moving. DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@teresaautreyexperience how do you know that?
I'm glad Ms. Lukasik has found peace with her identity and has started to acknowledge that she is in fact, mixed race. Hardly anyone is "pure" if born in America. We'd do well to embrace this pluralistic society if we could at least acknowledge the variety of ethnicities that so many of us possess individually within ourselves.
I've been saying this for over 20 years!
Amerikkka
Y’all do know how mixing works right? You can be pure or raise your percentage by just mixing the same over many generations
@@senpailee1967 no
@@OO-hs6wb yes it does
I am 71 yrs old, never knew who my father was but have exceptionally light skin, my mother was of dark hue, so I recently had DNA done & it came back 65% African & 32% European!
Bet you feel better just knowing.
Her mother knew being white was much easier than being black or even mixed. we never have been treated as equal and we never will be. I'm Black, proud. And would never change it for anything in this racist As* world.✊🏽💋
Please RUclips SGI Buddhist movement an introduction full length version. Peace and NammyohorengekyO 🙏!!!
@Onna Sweet Ginger Rose that’s a completely different conversation that can’t be discussed in one comment thread. A RUclips video would have to be made.🤦🏽♀️
Totally agree with you. I'm white and not racist. We are all brothers and sisters. God bless you.🙏🙏
I know it was hard being black back then. But is "passing" worth losing your whole family and support group, then living in fear for the rest of your life?
@Onna Sweet Ginger Rose I not too sure. Something is deeply wrong with BM. They want the privilege of being white by going with non black people etc but they don't want to compete with other races of men.
BM love to degrade BW but contribute nothing to the BC. BM wants what the white men have but don't want to build their communities like the WM. It's all about getting privilege and being in white people's spaces without actually doing the work like other races of men build their communities.
She was doing what she had to to give her children a quality life.
That was what it took those days.
Simple as that. Being a MOTHER, you are forced to do the unthinkable.
Very sad story, I can't imagine the pain she hsd to go through, this is very inhumane and heart breaking
Jake Baker Wrong!! She was white passing before she even had children. She didn’t do the unthinkable because she had a choice. She could have stayed among the black community but she didn’t. She like many others use her closeness to whiteness to advance. There are many like her who do it nowadays.
True and this is called Survival Mode!
Nah. New Orleans is not a third world country she could have just stayed there and marry a fellow creole/afro-american! She was born white passing, knew it, and took advantage of that, and therefore is a racist/traitor against her own kind in my book. SHAMEFUL
@@olg06 lol a "traitor to her own race"? You sound like a clan member.
You should be proud of yourself for being proud of who you really are.
My Grandmother passed away with “Caucasian” on her death certificate! Same for my Dad’s Dad aka my Grandpa! They too avoided mistreatment passing as white! I performed comedy live and talked about a lot of things I thought and spoke about when I was a child and the irony and confusion for me was funny enough...candid, true and humorous! Funny thing, when I look 👀 back at it all, I feel sad! I can relate to the bittersweetness that she shared!
would love to see that comedy video! sounds like a healthy way to process what you saw and went through. i’m sure it must have been hard but it’s great you saw the complexity in it.
This made me cry. The cruelty that was put upon these dear people makes me both angry and sad. I am so sorry her mom had to do without the love and support of both sides of her family, and hide who she was, even to her own child! All because she was mixed race! It makes my blood boil, and I am white, but with empathy you can imagine yourself in other people's shoes. I can only imagine how they felt to have to live that way! The fear, sadness, and anger! So happy that she was accepting, and found her other side of her family!
I love that she questioned her mother and her mother's roots. Her father had to have been willfully blind not to see it compared to a child who knows. And then to do such in depth research wanting to find that missing part of herself. I love that for her, and I love that for her mother's side knowing where that part of the family disappeared to as it happened so often.
Maybe he knew or wondered, maybe he didn't ask out of respect, or even not wanting to know the truth. No one really knows the dynamics that happen within relationships.
People might also assume she has southern european ancestry, like Greek or southern italien, southern Spanish, portuguese,etc. Many are just like her on these areas and technically, if I got the US system well (I'm not from there) , they're considered "white".
@@Ssookawai you are right
If I remember correctly, the father was openly racist.
@@Ssookawai agreed. in the pictures here. the mother can easily pass off as greek/italian/ jewish.
She have changed her opinion of herself.. bc her first interview she said I'm a white woman with black relatives. I'm glad she's accepting her true identity that she have creole blood..Louisiana people are like one of our favorite food gumbo. We mix with a lil bit of everything 😉
This is a great example of someone with African ancestry who tried to improve her life by passing. Better opportunities at the time her mother was alive were available for those with minimal melanin- people of color were relegated to poor paying jobs. But when you ‘passed’, you basically disappeared from your family forever. We have a family member who was pale enough to do so in the 1920’s-left the South and went to Ohio after becoming a dentist. He never communicated with his family again but they understood why.
If it wasn’t for her mothers “unusual quirks” like putting foundation on her face before going to bed she might never have known her relatives or true heritage. It would be interesting to know some of the other quirks her mamma did.
Probably trying to stay out of the sun and things like that. 🤷♀️
Wearing hats.
Afraid to get her hair wet.
she probably had to change and constantly be mindful of her way of speaking to sound “white” and never “black”. accent, vocabulary, sayings, etc.
@@dineo8341 I've heard Interviews with the mother's "Black" brother who didn't pass. He didn't speak with an AAVE accent. They were Creoles and spoke with a more "YAT", New Orleans Italian-American, accent.
Amazing story. It was a different time. Can’t blame the mother for doing what she did. She must have had a lot of inner turmoil.
You can definitely blame her. It was cowardice.
@@christopherhall6471 - How can you say that when there was obvious fear in those days when lynching was in practice? You should not judge people with what they choose to do unless you have been in their shoes.
@@lolam.9291 There's still fear today. My grandmother who had green eyes and dirty blonde hair could have easily passed for white, but she didn't. She was almost the same complexion as the daughter in this story. In the late 50s she moved from Texas to San Francisco, California and became involved in the Civil Rights movement which is where she met my grandfather. She never abandoned or cut ties with her family to gain privileges that would have been denied to her by society. She "looked" white, but as soon as she opened her mouth, you knew. She was classy, well put together and when she was around white people and heard them say ugly things, she was the first one to say "excuse me🙃?" and cause a scene. She had courage and she put herself out there while others chose to abandon their families and hide. To pretend like the family that loved and raised you never existed is and will always be cowardice in my eyes.
@@christopherhall6471 - As I have stated, you or anyone should not judge people with what they choose to do unless you have been in their shoes.
@@christopherhall6471 - You (or anyone for that matter) should not judge people with what they choose to do unless you have been in their shoes.
Can’t say I blame her, but it’s a shame all the family who got cut off. So glad you found the rest of your family!
What a fantastic ending to tragic start! I love the fact that she found her lost family and heritage!
So sad that her mom had to go through that and chose that. So sad she deprived herself of family. I am glad her daughter kept on searching and was able to reconnect with family.
Your DNA and your heart say otherwise. You don’t owe anyone an apology for how you look ♥️
No one is "pure" no matter how you appear. The sooner everyone realize, the better off we will be.
Absolutely….. all mixed with African
there are genetic studies of white americans and like 96% of them are only european
don't spread lies, just be nice, not salty
@@seabreeze455930% of white Americans have native or black blood, or both, like my white cousin. Where did you get your stats from?
@@lah1667 it was a study of the white people in america, look it up, just google it youtube won't let us link
@@seabreeze4559 I'm pretty sure they mean that their genes are 96% European on average.
Same thing happened to me. I'm white and the whole family is white...or so I thought. lol. I did an Ancestry DNA test and came back with African American results. Not really unusual for most people but I had a considerable amount. So after some digging I found out my great-grandfather was listed on Detroit city censuses as M...for Mulatto (mixed). His father was listed as B (black). Turns out great grandads father was just light-skinned and then he married a white woman. And from then on everyone was just white! On the following city census the entire family was listed as white...so they just covered up the African history. SADLY. I wish so bad things weren't the way they were back then (AND NOW EVEN) that people had to pretend to be someone they weren't. It so crazy how DNA and genetics work. It really explains some physical features that some of the family has though.
Blacks in america are a mixed race. None of them are pure african. America is one.
@@RJ-is9ko not true. not all black people in american are african american. many, like me, are african immigrants. some are carribean, latinx, etc. and we don’t all have the same history of colonization and racial intermixing that causes diverse racial genetics.
@@dineo8341 You do know the slave ships also stopped by the Caribbean too not just America 😆... Take an Ancestry test bet money you have African blood
How did your family take the news ?
@@CherryAppetite Everyone was ok with it...no major drama caused within the family. Amused, tickled, interested in the history. Shock. A handful were angered by the fact that he felt he had to do because of racial tensions from then. It's sad really. Some of us were tickled by the fact that we had some questions answered about different physical traits that we have that seems odd for what were thought our ancestry was.
♥️ that she found her truth, it's a sad but beautiful story.
This was awesome! What an amazing blessing came from this, she has more family to love! ❤️
Such a beautiful story. It’s just sad her mother was never able to reunite with the extended family she left behind.
Her meeting her family is so heartwarming
Thank you for sharing this, and I am glad she was able to meet her mother's family and could "see" her mother again. Blessings.
In places like Hertford County, North Carolina, there are lots of blacks in my family that look like this woman's Mother. There are like 42 families there who married each other for decades that have a triracial heritage and many of them appear to be either white or biracial in appearance. They obtained college educations at HBCUs like Hampton University, Shaw University, Meharry Medical College, and Howard University from the 1870s to the present.
Wow I've heard of other very light families intro breeding to stay as close to white as possible in other states also. 😬
So disgusting@inbreeding.
Are they considered Mulungeon or Native American? I've heard North Carolina has a large Native American population.
@@reneerobinson3559 A combination of black, white, and native american.
I really can't blame the mum, nobody wants to be mistreated.
Watched it twice and had tears twice . What a beautiful story, what a lovely woman 🙏🏽
This is definitely story. The daughter's embrace of who she is just fantastic. Unfortunately, there are still many who are in denial of their ancestry and sometimes, these are the loudest voices of the "I am better than you" crowd. Hopefully, one day, their story will come out as well.
Love it! To find your other half and be able to meet those people is something I still try to achieve.
Her last sentence about how she feels like even she doesn't look like it spoke to me. 🧡
This was my grandmother's story too. My dad never knew. I learned after he passed
This is so sad but I’m so happy she gained more family in the end. And I love how she is able to see her mothers reflection in the faces of her family.
I myself am of mixed origin who can pass as white. Growing up I wanted people to think I was because I was aware of how easy white people had it. It wasn’t until I when to university and was surrounded by people of mixed ethnicity who were openly proud of their roots that I began to love myself for who I was and embrace my heritage. This is a sad story for a woman who lives in such hostile times. Glad her daughter was able to find a new family and feel some belonging ❤
I can so relate to this story, my mum went through a similar thing in the Apartheid years in South AFrica, my mum is mix race her father was German and her mother was coloured which is mix race in South Africa, my mum and her brother could pass as white people in those days, they looked more white then mix race, only thing is she never hide it from us, she use to play the white people who thought she was one of them, anyway I'm glad this lady found out where she's coming from and was blessed with a loving family, ❤
cus your mother is one of them
Her mom was black?
@@princesschanel469 The SA "colored" classification was used to keep a buffer against the Black majority. In the 80's I saw colored South Africans in an encyclopedia, they looked like St.Louisans!
Beautiful video!
Beautiful woman!
She should have the right to be very proud of herself!
Thank you for sharing.
Warm hugs from the San Francisco Bay Area
“ you must not tell anyone about that “. Ok, I will just write a book about it and may be some interview.
I was told about my mother's mother when I was 12 after my mother died. Then I looked up her records and found out her father was Black too. All were very light-skinned, my grandfather even had straight hair.
I grew up in the 'hood. So I consider myself Mixed race and White at the same time.
I'm Mixed race because that's what I am, I'm White because that's how the world perceives me.
Fascinating story and I remember watching this story earlier and now excited to watch Rebecca Hall’s “Passing”, whose too own grandmother “passed” in USA due to segregation laws. Thanks to Gail, I never would have known what was meant by “passing”.
i would recommend looking into it more to continue learning. passing is not just the extent of changing your whole life to act as white. any poc who looks white can be considered white passing. singers Tori Kelly or Halsey, for example, are both half black and half white, but white passing. they don’t hide their mixed/biracial identities, they just appear white and many people assume they are. passing brings up many complex issues of race, privilege, identity, and culture, especially in the US which is so focused on categorization by skin color and even skin tone. if you think about it, Barack Obama and actress Tracee Ellis Ross, for example are just as white as the two singers mentioned above (50 %), but because they’re not passing, their experience is completely different. colorism would also be a great thing to look up if you’re not familiar with it.
It's sad she was disconnected from that family for so long but it's also wonderful she had this huge, loving family to welcome her.
This makes me think about the film passing, such a good movie. But they lived it in real life and I’m so glad that she is at peace with who she is and her family now.
wonderful story I am biracial have a black father and white mother I always acknowledge who I am but others do not know who they are remember we do not pick our parents God decides >
Beautiful story!
Fucked up Story
Thank you for having so much courage
this video make me cry, good video!
This story brought tears to my eyes, to think her mom had to literally denied her own existence to exist? Damn you racist ppl ? You truly sick!!! To have human beings live an entire life hiding?
She wouldn't have to if her dad hadn't left and the mom raising the girl alone! To this day mixed race people only know their white mother's side because dad dipped.
@@irresponsibleparent3 what?!
There’s still some human beings who are still hiding in closets and under the beds and behind the curtains and peeping through the shadows because they can’t let their true identities be known!
I don't live in the US and I am of African Heritage but I never understood this thing called discrimination or racism based on skin color. Skin color has absolutely no effect on one's abilities as a human being, but I have a "theory" where this "fear" may have originated. It's deeper than just slavery.
It is ancient
@@dellalancaster1028 Of biblical proportions.
Skin color in of itself is not the cause of the paranoia about African Americans. Dark skin is present in many populations beyond Africa, and they have minimal issues integrating into the overall US population. What is the issue is that an extremely repellent pattern of behavior has been injected into the African American population by the media over decades of nurturing, and now the race and culture are tied together in the minds not just of whites, but everyone. Its hopeless to dodge now because the media is making huge profits off of blacks in America, which they will never give up. Mass media pulls the strings on the AA puppet and makes it look like a violent, lazy buffoon to the amusement of all others. There is not a single other ethnicity on earth that has been victimized like this.
You may not understand; but the white man is fully aware of his/her hatred for us black people of the African diaspora. And they use their prejudice affectively against us by perpetually uplifting their systems of white supremacy. Anyway, if you’re not familiar, I recommend you research how the controllers of the world continually oppress Africa/Africans, Haitians, black Brazil’s and those of us all in the diaspora to understand the depth of their malice for us black peoples.
@@starventure White Elites have the political and military power to remove black people from America if they wanted to..Problem is they don't want to..We have been the economic force in the country from the beginning...making white elites wealthy and it is still happening..They also need these plantation bucks in the NFL and NBA to keep the masses entertained..
There are many families with such history. Mine included. But it's how you embrace the knowledge once you learn all the stories and truth. Happy, she is allowing her story to be told and not running from the blessing of knowing her family and learning more history about herself. All of us have a past that some don't wish to acknowledge. The difference between us is how far you will dig and learn but allow others to know. Many blessings and truth to all!
How lucky for this gorgeous lady! She’s so sweet!
My mom's dad hid the fact that he was Cherokee Choctaw French Irish and German he was born in 1912 in Iowa to a German mother who came to the US in 1901 and a French Irish Choctaw and Cherokee dad. Back then he wouldn't be able to get a job had he not hid his Native heritage and the fact his mom hid her German accent is self explanatory. But I proudly announce the people I come from on both sides of my family. My dad is descendent of European royals Sioux and Meskwaki Nations as well as Bohemian and Polish Jews. My mom was descendent of French Irish and German Nobility as well as the Cherokee and Choctaw Nations plus Scottish and Norwegian .
I think we should be glad we live in a time when we can celebrate our heritage rather than be forced to hide it as so many of our ancestors had to.
Actually...you do look mixed race, especially when you were younger.
Her poor mother. How terrified she must have been feeling she had to hide it all just essentially to be able to have a safe life for her family
Bliss Broyard had a similar experience that she wrote about in her book One Drop.
Her dad, Anatole Broyard (a NYT book critic and author himself) had always said he was Creole, and his children never met his side of the family.
IIRC, after he died, the moment that sent Bliss on her journey was meeting Henry Gates and his reaction to her father's name.
I remember this woman and her srory from a talk show a few years ago.. She stated she was white when asked. Glad she now say she's biracial. I'm mixed race with majority African American DNA. I love all my mixes. I strongly believe majority of people from USA are mixed races.
I thought she answered that she was a white woman of color.
I think that is the beauty of the USA.
She overcame 👍🏾😊
I remember growing up in the south in the late 1940s and early 1950s. My mother had dark hair, and dark eyes and complexion. Our family were Sephardic Jews which meant our ancestors were from Spain, Portugal, North Africa and areas of the middle east. I had similar skin tone and dark hair. The few times we road on city buses, we always sat in the back of the bus with the "colored" folks. I never understood why until I was older and she admitted that she had once been confronted by white passengers and the bus driver to prove she was white or go sit in the back of the bus.
What a beautiful story with a great ending.
Beautiful story!!💖
Very very very sad story. Everyone should be proud of who they are and no one should have to hide who they are because of other people’s opinions that are from horrible minds. Feel so bad for her mom knowing what she went through during those times.
My grandmother is the same complexion as her mother and yes, she was white passing. But, she never wanted to pass for White and married the darkest man she could find which was my grandfather. Her children are a variety of colors and some have light hazel eyes, lighter skin and some dark skin. We, too, are from Louisiana and my grandmother‘s great grandmother only spoke French.
I bought the book, it came in yesterday. I can’t wait for the weekend to start it. Yippee! 😊❤
Amazing sad story, her mom never had peace thru life. Again another kick in the ass from days gone by.
I pray in the future this is unheard of. God bless, your mom is a beautiful lady 🌹
Her mother did what she had to do to survive. It could not have been an easy choice.
She didn’t have to do that. That was her choice and she probably was as racist as her husband.
It sure was an easy choice. Stop playing 😂
How awfully sad for her mother to have such a profound sense of shame ans fear about her origins. I truly hope no one has to live like that anymore.
I am pretty sure her mother was not ashamed. Shame had nothing to do with it. Racial hatred and violence from white people was the problem.
@@gloriaf6971 Not really, some of us half breeds just prefer our White halves.
@@daviejz6698 bullsh"t
@@daviejz6698 which is embarrassing
@@daviejz6698 so proud to be- anyways
This is amazing.
Amazing story!
This is so interesting! Beautiful lady. I, myself, am actually mixed. My mother, aunts, grandmother and my cousin were traveling on foot and in hiding for 5 years because of Ethiopia/Eritrea war. Finally made it out. I was born shortly after they’d settled. If you saw me you wouldn’t have a clue. When I have light hair I’m white looking. (Also get asked if Russian a lot) When my hair is dark and I wear my natural curls most people talk to me in Spanish or ask if I’m Hispanic or middle eastern. Lol. Kind of interesting way to be.
You look like the singer Poly Styrene's daughter. Poly Styrene was Somali and her daughter appears White but has Habesha features.
Very interesting thank you for sharing.
Sad, people hating because of your race and the color of your skin. This is so sad, and I commend this woman for embracing her heritage👏
The following "white" people also had black ancestry: Clark Gable, Carol Channing, J. Edgar Hoover, Carly Simon, Johhny Cash, Ava Gardner, Dinah Shore, Loretta Young, Warren Harding, Eisenhower, Yasmine Bleeth, Vin diesel, David Charvet, Jackie Kennedy, Eva Green, Halsey, Hailee Steinfeld, Pete Wentz, Alexandre Dumas, Gabrielle Reece, Slash. . .and many many more.
Wow, interesting...
Your list is ??? Carly Simon, Clark Gable??
@@DEKMAN99 Check out some youtube videos on the Clark Gable part. There is some discussion about this.
@@k.c1126 Perhaps this is why Gable defended Hattie McDaniel so ardently ; he pushed for her to be treated with equality during The Oscars when McDaniels had been nominated, and won, for Best Supporting Actress. The Academy Awards authorities placed her at a totally separate table from the rest of the cast, treating her as a second-class citizen. During the filming of "Gone With The Wind," Gable insisted that segregationist signs be removed from set and threatened to walk out. It was 1938 (the film premiered in 1939), and the Black cast members were separated from the White ones.
Some of your list is inaccurate, but many people that are famous do have black ancestry.
Beautiful story hearth beautiful touching
What an amazing story.
Her mom was still afraid in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Wow. QSorry that she missed out on knowing her father's side of the family. She did what she felt would be best for her and her future generations.
I was thinking the exact same thing! Like, who was gonna care about her heritage in 2005?? No one was gonna hunt her down for it. Plus, if the mom had said to me that she was mixed I probably wouldn't have believed her.
I think she was ashamed not scared, she simply hated her heritage, pretty sad and pathetic i dont feel sorty for her at all! Glad her daughter embraced her ppl though
@@msjamaica978 she was heavily European. She just chose to embrace her European side. I don’t understand why people in the USA are so obsessed with race.
@@thekingofmoney2000 Have you read Sex & Race Vols 1-3 byJ.A.Rogers?The US south is still obsessed with color/ethnicity and the rest of the US is also.There are too many news events on tv & the web showing how color is an issue in the USA.
Life hasn't given us a choice of what race or color we are born into, therefore embrace who you are despite others opinions. Also hatred of a race is usually brought forth out of ignorance.
Embrace who you are. Opinions??? Do you really think she was worried about people's opinions? Do you know anything about history?
U were lucky to find out exactly, who ur relatives are. I am glad for u. I hope that u all will cherish each other, always🙏🏾✝️
This is a beautiful story, with an amazing ending!🙏👍👏🥰
A lot of people did. There were so many black/biracial people that could pass for white. My father was one of them.
Highly recommend Ms. Lukasik's book, "White Like Her"
Fascinating true story illustrating the complex nature of "race" as defined in the Merica. #NothingWrongWithMelanin
I also would recommend everyone watch the movie Imitation of life.