Passing | Episode 3: Deeply Rooted
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- Robin explores the history of her family in Summerton, South Carolina, and reveals a secret to Willa Mae’s daughter, Becky Jo.
Directed by Robin Cloud
Watch the series: • Passing
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PASSING:
For decades, African American comedian and filmmaker Robin Cloud had heard tales about the “Nebraska cousins,” a branch of her family that moved away from the East Coast to pass for white in the rural Midwest. In this six-part series, Cloud attempts to find and understand the motives of the relatives who left everything and everyone else behind, and documents how their progeny grapple with the revelation that they aren’t who they thought they were.
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Wow he is the only family member left in Summerton SC taking care of the family owned land. I hope they pass it in the generations!
Cause in towns like this, we tend to move far away after graduation
My family has land in Alabama. My uncle passed away, he was almost 90 so now his daughter is caretaker.
I pray that the family maintains good ties to each other and this gift of land that really, their ancestors earned. Please be smart about it, so that it benefits the future generations 🙏🏽
Notice she says 'land given to us by our former white slave owner'. People aren't known for just giving away land. That 'slave owner' was one/some of their ancestors' father.
Most families have an affidavit of heirship and the land continues to pass through the heirs generation to generation
This documentary leads me to believe that the myth that “Italians are a little bit black” prob came from all the passing blacks who would hide under that olive skinned umbrella. Bohemian she called it..
Good observation
Definitely, because Italians are not even that dark
And that is why there is probably a racial divide between Italians and Blacks in America. They wanted us to be so far away from them that no one could piece us together. But if you notice most Italians are loud and very outspoken especially the women. Wonder where did they get that from LOL!
@@GoodVibesNewlevel2023 what do you mean by "piece us together"?
I don’t love the idea of perpetuating stereotypes and attributing them as personality traits to certain demographics. But I do see your point about one group wanting there to be a clear demarcation of difference because they do not wish to be associated or lumped in with blackness.
I’m not understanding how they didn’t know they were black
Extremely obvious
EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!
@@rtp1968 Denial is a hell of a drug.
One look at these people and all I see is" family ". How they passed is amazing to me 🤷🏽♀️💯
Because they are not, they are mixed
They said Italian😂😂😂
Guys I see a lot of people saying I don't believe they never suspected or you can see they are struggling to accept the truth, but what you don't realize is that their grandparents' decisions was about survival at that time. Once they made that decision to go to Nebraska and tell people they are white there was no easy way to go back. I'm sure the kids questioned it but I'm also sure that given the violence against black people and the risk of losing their privilege the kids shut those questions down real quick and instilled fear in embracing their race. Guaranteed. You are seeing people who were taught not to question and if they did question taught to fear the truth as a threat to what their parents had built. Until you walk in someone's shoes...
I am a Black woman (who looks Black) born and reared in Omaha, Nebraska. I have a friend who is very light like this family with reddish hair and she is 100% sister. Even with her complexion, you can tell she is Black. In fact, she wouldn't even want to pass for white. She is a champion for everything black. It is sad that the Lanes thought moving to my hometown would give them a better chance at passing for white. Most white people here are Irish Catholic, Czech, Polish or Italian. The Lane family doesn't look like they fit in any of those categories. The packing houses drew many Blacks from the South to Omaha back in its day. Many people in my parents generation were able to get jobs and take care of their families on good wages working at the packing houses. There was NO NEED for them to pass for white. People generally have misconceptions about places they have never visited nor lived. For instance, there are alot of Black people from Omaha, of many different shades, who are not white and they are thriving. I am going to keep on watching, but this preoccupation with skin color can get a bit boring.
@@GoodVibesNewlevel2023 thanks for your post. It's good to hear the perspective of someone who has lived in the area
I concur. The other thing is light-skinned folks tend to get darker when older. So what's apparent to many of us wasn't necessarily so. It's a lot for them to process, I imagine. Their parents in all likelihood policed their friendships as children to prevent them from connecting with African-Americans who could discover their secret. We know all the subtle ways our blood shows up. Not everyone does. Hence the guessing at being Italian, Greek, nonBlack Hispanic or Arab, etc.
@@loveheals6184I'd say the opposite is true. In my family, Black people get lighter. Especially the light skinned ones because they aren't out and about, in the sun. They are indoors
@@aquaabundance4077 interesting. This is part of what's "tricky" or "risky" for some. There's no way to determine (at present) to guarantee the way one will look in later years. A friend born with blue eyes had them turn hazel. He's still light, curly hair, etc. yet identifiable as Black. He identifies as African-American and PanAfrican. Then there are those in your family who probably become even more racially ambiguous. We are fascinating in the gradation of complexion, features, etc. representation. Conversely, I've seen two light brown people with a very dark child. Their other is much lighter than they are. So I think it can be roll of the dice when deciding who to marry and/or procreate with.
There was some SERIOUS denial in the “Nebraska” clan....
Because... I see their “Blackness” 10 miles away.... 👀
I am very curious of how they couldn’t tell that they are black? Even the mom and grandma looked black.
TerriBerry14 I know right. But I’m not surprised cause of the racism in this country and generation after generation things being passed on. For people passing as white back in those old days it was maybe way for them to survive or find better jobs etc. so you can imagine the lies being told after generation after generation and the ignorance and denial those folks must be going through. I hope I made sense lol
Denial!
And remember the grandparents said they were italians and 'bohemian'...
A lot of black people back then who wanted to pass would say they were Italian or Sicilian because some Italians can be pretty dark with curly hair.
Many claimed Italians, who tended to be darker complexion Europeans
I just saw this series. I was next door neighbors with Jeannie for almost 15 years in Maryland. She told me her mother was Puerto Rican and her father was Irish. We always wondered because the one time I met her mother I thought she was black. Prior to her moving her husband Tim shared that she met her family at a reunion. Wow this is something to see the family reunion. Racism hurts all and prevents all from simply being who God made them to be. I hope this helps people to embrace all of who they are.
Interesting she didn't tell you Bohemian. Makes me think she was aware she was part black.
I think although she didn't technically know through confirmation, as a adult she started to figure out that she didn't look like a full white person so she had to come up with something. I think she might have suspected given the history of a America. People have heard of passing.
Janine seems like she’s having a hard time saying ‘black’
I noticed that Shit too lol
Yeah, I noticed that too! Her voice keeps trailing off and she ends up saying, "you know".
Can you believe some coming out, and ripping you out, of your indentity🤣😂🤣holly sit.
Seems like Janine was trying to reconcile, that’s all. It’s a lot to take in. That’s like growing up in an adopted family and not being told for decades. Think about that. It’s a lot. She’s beautiful and seems receptive.
And Becky Jo seemed uneasy the whole time, and was looking at her as if to say, "Don't say too much about us" or "Don't tell all our secrets". I know she was sweating bullets under that wig. 😂
Those genes are strong! Robin and Jeanine look like they could be mother-daughter.
I grew up in a similar situation as Jeanine. My grandmother passed for white and tried to tell my mother at the end of her life but was too afraid. I always had a feeling because the way others would sometimes ask me what I was. I searched many years for answers and finally took a DNA test which confirmed what I had suspected. It is an overwhelming feeling at first and it took time to sort it out in my head. Suddenly everything has a new meaning and your perspective changes. I reran my entire life in my head to see where there were signs and I gained a new understanding of the difficulty my grandmother had suffered. She was a very tortured soul for various reasons but not being wanted by both her mother and father was very painful. Drugs and alcohol were her coping mechanisms. As a child we did not get along but now I have peace with her, understanding the pain she endured.
Me too. My mother passed for professional reasons.
@@purplevamp3132 your mixed race mother passed for full white
Poor lady!
I am sorry to hear that. I pray that you are doing well.
@@GoodVibesNewlevel2023 ❤
Can't help but imagine the white part of the family being not so accepting of being outed as Black and embracing their Blackness...
Yeah, gonna mess up their social circles🤪.
I imagine it'd be really hard adopting an identity you didn't grow up with. They were cut off from all the family stories, all the traditions, all the history... they didn't even know.
"being outed" 😭🤣
Are they black or white? You refer to them as both.
@@soneil7745 yeah THIS PART
Man that Jeanine knew she was black 🤗. Looked like she fit in seamlessly. I'm glad there could be reunification of this lost limb of the family tree.
Facts: she couldn't pass for White if she tried. Becky Jo probably did it easily when she was younger, but in this video, I'm not fooled at all by what she is.
Yeah I didn't see any of the ones who are alive that could pass for white ... ?
Oh myyyy goodness...I understand the parents made the decision for the betterment of their family's lives, but this type of secrecy and lie probably has contributed to a huge sacrifice of peace within each individual feeling something was missing...geez, so many people don't know who they really are. Good job Robin.
The slave owners gave them all that land...uhmmmmm...them slave owners definitely more than likely had children with some of them slaves...the slave owners were family for sure
Slaves got nothing for free. Many ppl became sharecroppers and many purchased land. America has never given blacks anything for free. If anything this country steals from blacks and sells it back 10x expensive
@@folasadeosibodu7119 ....her uncle said they were given the land...that's why I thought it was strange
@@rickihoseinHe gave the land to his children he had with a black woman
That goes without saying.
Umm they look biracial. I went to school with a girl that was fairer and I could hardly tell.. but I knew it was something. Her dad was black as well.
I find it amazing that the grandmother who lived her life passing as white came back to her black family reunion twice. She never forget her family, she probably missed them too. I too don’t think that they looked white at all.
Proof!!! Love ya, this is the beginning of the healing!!! Many families need to heal,nothing moves forward until knowledge of THY SELF IS KNOWN🙏🙏🙏💞💞💞 ASE.
My great great grandmother passed for white. She moved from New Albany Indiana to Arkansas and was white on the 1880 census.
Great job with this documentary.
But Willa Mae looked totally White she didn’t look Black at all
That's what I'm saying!!!...that one drop rule is real!!!
Right but her kids and grandkids came out strong!!!! Lol
She won the genetic shuffle white gene lottery. And she was probably bleaching...
@@nerdlarge4691 Won?! Interesting that you think her look of whiteness is a win! The privilege is real! Annnnd that ^^^ folks, is why those people fled their blackness, and went on to pass for white!!!
@@beauty4u132 I think its an illusion. Privilege is often a perception and assumption.
This story continues to amaze me. Sometimes it only takes one person to reach out and connect to another person or family member and really begin to start bringing things together. I love that Robin reached out and the willingness of her cousins to come and see about their family history.
Yeah, but the sad part is that was her last time talking to them. After this episode, they really didn't show up for anything else.
A lot of the so called passing I don't get it because you can see that for a lot of them they shouldn't have been able to get away with passing I don't get it!
We dont need to "get it". It was their life and upbringing and we know very little about. Can we just love the reunion and the coming together of family. Family...not black, not white, just family.
We even have Presidents who passed as white: Dwight Eisenhower; Warren Harding; Abraham Lincoln.
I think about back then and if you were light skinned enough you could choose to be white on paper. But if your mom lied about it, what could you do until you got older to inquire on your own, and perhaps take a DNA test.
@@truthoverfictionii5760 An unequal system was forced upon our people. They did what was best for th heir families. One of my friends who looked non-black said "They didn't ask and I didn't tell them". She got jobs that she would not have gotten. Went to banquets that she would have not been been able to sttend. She did keep her noticable black husband and black kids at home. That was the "don't ask, don't tell" policy back then. Her dad was the first "black" physician and medical professor back when bc they didn't know what he was. Again didn't ask, didn't tell.
"Johnny Cash wife family passed and even though her black ancestor was 6 generations ago she still looked obviously black.
I love this!!! My mom is from SC and I wish that I had this opportunity to connect to many previous generations.
I found my Great, great grandfathers name through a roster of slaves that was posted on the Rose Hill Plantation (Bluffton) website. Contact the family a couple of times and they removed the information off the site. We simply wanted to research our family history. The ancestors of Rose Hill Plantation got a little spooked by the request.
Always screenshot. Those racists are cowards. It's our birthright to access these documents and the land our ancestors worked
They could not have passed where i am from
I wish they would go to therapy though. Imagine finding out that parts of your life and identity are a complete lie.
Therapy?
@@cheezheadz3928 you don't think so?
We all need to go to therapy: both black and white. We are all suffering from Post Traumatic Slave Disorder (PTSD)!
@@MaLiArtworks186 ofcourse. But this was specifically about the families on the video
Therapy for finding out you have black ancestry? That's a reach, I doubt they feel any different than they did before. They are white and identify as white.
I am almost certain that if there were any other black folks in Nebraska they knew these folks were black and passing
When that family moved to Nebraska I'm sure it was that many black people there and no one probably never seem a light skin tone of black..why would those people question and the family knew that the family could turn all white with the children only marrying white very interesting.
Yes, I thought the same thing. The "passing" blacks just blended in to the new community. Thank you.
Wowww she can’t even say the word “black.”
Robin is such a TREASURE! Becky Jo and Jeannene grabbed that chance she gave to learn more and ran with it. I cannot imagine how much time and trouble this whole journey and filming cost Robin and the family, and many "white" cousins mostly miss out on these opportunities in the series. Makes me sad what they've lost.
That is a big job for him as he is aging, the family should pitch in and get him some help. The conversation was interesting she left for an opportunity but it’s unfortunate that she never came back.
The family is Mixed race not black. Black ancestry DNA yes but black 🧐 nope I’m not subscribing to the ones rule but good video
Blame the 1 drop rule
I pray y’all keep that beautiful land in your family!!!
We might be related way way back, I'm a Watson. Very interesting
Same thing I was thinking, my family is from Manning and they all look like kin.
lol she hit that hustle . So I’m pretty sure that’s apart of the many reasons why she’s always been questioned
😂😂😂
Seems like the whole church is mixed.
maybe most are family
@@jasminepearls1047 Yes, I thought the same. The family started the church anyway. Thanks.
Many families marry very light skinned people in small towns
The majority of people are mixed with something!
Yeah, they're Irish and African. They're ancestors were enslaved by Irish settlers so there was mixing.
We are what we are...it is good to have family that brings us back to the fold of love ❤️ ....Love of family.
Thank you for that comment. ❤
horible history when its comes to america race history
Yes, it is sad that some of our ancestors felt compelled to pass. In their mind, only way to "get ahead" in racist society. Then they passed the lie on to their children and grandchildren. As in the two ladies from Nebraska.
We are an accepting race of people. At least we in the south.If pink, yellow, green with a horn and a tail we will take you in. Whites in the south called a spade a spade.
Unfortunately.
It's amazing what we have done for the chance at a better life.
This was so great! Thank you for sharing.
I’m mixed passing as white and people don’t know wat it’s like til they can walk In them shoes but never lie about being half black but i can go anywhere in America and be white but Tupelo ms cause that’s where I grew up at
Ok, Memphis here.
Beautiful" everyone should know their roots.
Man this makes me wanna reconnect with my creole family in Louisiana
Do it! You won't regret it and they won't either!
You should
These people look Creole.
You definitely should. I'm a creole born amd raised in Louisiana. Nothing like family.
What part of LA does your family live in? I'm in Alexandria.
Something I want to point out is that during the 1940s, a total number of 155, 500 fair skinned African Americans crossed the color line. By 1950, 21% of Whites in the USA had Black ancestry within four generations. However, in the 19th Century, these fair skinned African Americans were known as Mulattos, Quadroons, and Octoroons. The historical event I mentioned was a statement said by Robert Stuckert, a Sociologist at Ohio State University. I saw that statement on the back of a book I own titled "Secrets Uncovered: J. Edgar Hoover- Passing for White?". The book is by Mildred L. McGhee-Morris, who is the third cousin of the former/deceased director of the FBI.
PLEASE, PLEASE don't sell the land. This is a living testament to our ability, will, courage, and perseverance to overcome ALL obstacles. My family, the majority who still live in SC, make every effort to keep our family's land. It is a concerted effort. On another note, I am certain that if your family had stated that they were indeed African American, they would have faced the same obstacles in Nebraska that they encountered in South Carolina. I say this because TOO MANY people associate racism with the southern region of the U.S. when instead it has permeated every fiber of American life since before we became a nation.
Hello from Connecticut👩🏾👋🏾 this is an amazing series, I'm not sure how I happened to stumble upon today, but I can relate to this in my family very much. I cried at the church return scene.
David seems so jovial and happy! He seems like such a positive person. Always smiling! I love people like this!!
No way they didn’t know. They just look like they could be related to Lena Horne or her children. Don’t know and don’t wanna know, but u know. Interesting. Curious to know how many others are out there
Wow! They all look alike. Their eyes, facial features and definitely the relatives from Nebraska don’t look white to me. I could clearly see. They have some black lineage. My Aunt Pauline was light skinned, almost passed for white too. This is so fascinating. Reminds me of one of my favorite movies “Imitation of Life”. Race matters and is an issue. One of my new obese is passing for Hispanic/Latino. He has cut off all relation with his black side of the family. He learn Spanish and speak is fluently and also legally change his name to a Spanish name. It so sad some people would rather be any other race but black. A lot of people love the black culture but not the black people. Thank you, dear 💕!
Ironically the reason he can fit it is that so many Hispanics are mixed with black! The Caribbean, South America all had the slave trade...
Tanks to a DNA test, South Carolina is but one of MANY states my extended maternal family resides in.
What part?
i call bullshit on ' not knowing'
They were playing a dangerous game.....They were lucky a lot of others didn't fare as well.
Bohemia is a historical country that was part of Czechoslovakia from 1918-1939 and from 1945-1992. Since 1993 Bohemia has formed much of the Czech Republic. At one time, Bohemia was a province in Hapsburg's Austrian Empire, and before that part of the Holy Roman Empire. The French mistakenly called the Roma (Gypsies). Today the term may still be used to describe intellectuals and artists, or those who live an unconventional lifestyle. It would be interesting to know which meaning the person using the term had in mind!
Mixed race are mostly considered black though. There is super dark, dark, brown, light, white mixed. At least that is how we group our category.
Did he say he used to live at 60th and Market in Philly ?
If so , I know exactly where that is ! West Philly
And the el , the elevated Subway used to ride right past there ... 3 blocks further west and you were in Upper Darby ... no longer in Philadelphia County but Delaware County .
I know that neighborhood will but haven't been there in years
Don’t matter where you go, every Black family reunion is the same and ends with a banquet 😂😂😂
I want to thank this family for their amazing story that is similar to my own southern family roots. This story was well done 👍👍
I don't get how they never suspected or knew that they were Black cause they clearly look Black to me. Maybe because I look more racially ambiguous myself I can recognize others but I wouldn't mistake them as completely white.
Thank You Robin for this awesome documentary ! I'm very emotional watching this. I believe there many families around the country that have experienced similar experiences and are afraid to come to terms. .🤗
So they became Catholic to follow along with the Italian facade, I wonder?
I’m so confused as to why they didn’t know they are black. Also, their is no classical features to describe a “black/African” person. We come in many different shades without admixtures, our hair and eyes also comes in many different types such as straight/coily/kinky from the black to blonde. Our eyes can be dark brown to baby blue. Our noses can be big and narrow. Our lips can be thick or thin!
They all looked Black to me.
I don’t judge the woman for going to Nebraska &living as white. She had more opportunities,etc.
I bet there were more people who did this.......
I LoVe 💘 your fam, Lady Cloud! Pls give us updates in this year 2021
African American history is painful, if it means one has to abandon their family and become something else, it's horrid
Wow I’m a descendant of the summerton mullatos. Some simply disappeared.....I’m guessing this is what happened. Briggs , Bennett and Gibson
Robin is such a glue
I'm still don't understand how they passed for white and I'm lighter than them. I guess if you lie to yourself long enough
The white said,"that boat was to good for me" ..... Whites never change....lol
Jeannine knows the electric slide?
It just seem that Becky Jo was stuggling to come to terms with being black and I don't think that perhaps she has shared much of her black heritage with her children.
Until you walk in someones shoes....
That land was so gorgeous!!
What a beautiful family you all have! I’d LOVE to have a church like that. Awesome music!
My mother’s mother married a white man and passed for white. When my mother was five she was put up for adoption because she couldn’t pass but her brothers did. I’m not sure where her family is now. Somewhere in northern Virginia I believe
Wow.
That's horrific, at 5, to be given away by you'd parents..I'm so sorry
My grandmother mom and aunts and uncles are all enrolled members of their tribe. But we lived with white people and I am white looking. My grandmother went to Haskell Indian School. I think she felt better for me to not have to deal with issues involved with being racism. But I am like the maker of this film nosey as heck and don't leave it alone. When I asked to learn her language Lakota she told me it would only bring me hurt.
The pain and consequences of Racism in this country are so Real!!! I pray for all of our healing! My mom’s family looks white, but we’re all black. Go w your gut. You owe it to your ancestors! This is your land! 💕
🏆As an African American this is such a gift to us!!! I’ve never seen my roots down south! With family that can also pass but didn’t. But maybe there’s a branch that did! Great job with this doc! 🥰 and thank you! The connection that you all have is amazing! I wonder if that fact that your White Slave Masters gave you all land (wealth) is the difference in your legacy story... someone study that! Lol please!
My son is black & Italian ❤
Black folks always welcome lost family memes with open arms.
They can be colourist themselves though!
Great documentary! Can I ask what the song at the end of the credits is called?
Robin, you have a beautiful family and rich history, thanks for sharing!
Beautiful church.
It's amazing how the family members favor, you can tell they are all family!!! Strong genes
This is supposed to be a heat warming series but instead I'm slightly repulsed. The 'white side' of the family want to reconnect after years of deliberately avoiding their relatives . What for ?
Facts
Getting ready for reparations.
"Repulsed"? This video barely skimmed the surface and you know nothing about them and their life stories. If it wasnt heartwarming then you were watching with a negative lens.
I am Puerto Rican and my Parents are as well they both look white as do all my siblings, but me I don't look black or white they say I look like I'm Indian because of my long black straight hair . in the black community I was not accepted nor in the white Community . My Parents fought for me to be Admitted into our club pool , that they had bought a membership too. My Parents and siblings could go but I could not . Sign said NO Blacks or Negroes Allowed . We came to Va in 1968 from Puerto Rico , my dad was in the Army he was an Engineer . He served in WW2 and 3 tours in Vietnam and wanted to Retire in Va after serving 32 yrs in the Military . At Fort Belvoir Va . When he did Retire he got a job as 1 of head Engineers working on the Bay Bridge . GREAT PAY for our large family . He Sued and won our case against the Club . I always ADMIRED my dad and always said don't ever get that man MAD .
I need to go to work but this caught me!!! I’m from sc and this is definitely a thing!!!
What a beautiful series. It says so much about the courage and the hard work it took to survive and pass on something to your children in difficult times when black people had limited options. I can understand sadly why some had to have everything behind and start again in some place far away where nobody knew who you were
They family did what they needed to do to survive
Um, they knew
I truly enjoyed this your family is so blessed to have kept up the family reunion all of these years. it's nothing like family hope the Nebraska family get to know their other side. You all are a wonderful family.
Beautiful document.....protect your Family Land
Not that I would want to, but if these people could pass I could pass also along with about a quarter of my whole family.
They did not like the black experience. It was too much for them, LOL.
There is nothing to LOL about.
@@kic.7679 there is LOL
who looked this up after watching Passing on Netflix ???
Me lol
So they moved to a "better life". Was it really better? Was it? Does anyone see the LOVE in the south? Did they really move for a "better" life? Really?
We are still pure mule Riders! Stop saying we are there race because we dont ride mules! We are still Egyptian here stop lying because of our mule Rider name!
I have three beautiful nieces who pass for white. You would not know their mom is fully black and father is white. My other niece mom is white and father is black. They blended very well in the white community but they identify as black.
How these people didn’t know they was black though? 😂😂😂
wouldn’t their birth certificates indicate their true identity
You guys lied to yourselves for years. That family photo was a bunch of light skinned ppl with hair died blonde
Y'all hair a little nappy around the edges. How y'all doing in Neblackska