Showing papers by "Howard Winant published in 2022"
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01 Jan 2022
TL;DR: In 1982-83, Susie Guillory Phipps, a descendant of an eighteenth-century white planter and a black slave, was designated "black" in her birth certificate in accordance with a 1970 state law which declared anyone with at least one-thirty second "Negro blood" to be black as mentioned in this paper .
Abstract: In 1982-83, Susie Guillory Phipps unsuccessfully sued the Louisiana Bureau of Vital Records to change her racial classification from black to white. The descendant of an eighteenth-century white planter and a black slave, Phipps was designated "black" in her birth certificate in accordance with a 1970 state law which declared anyone with at least one-thirty-second "Negro blood" to be black. The legal battle raised intriguing questions about the concept of race, its meaning in contemporary society, and its use (and abuse) in public policy. Assistant Attorney General Ron Davis defended the law by pointing out that some type of racial classification was necessary to comply with federal record-keeping requirements and to facilitate programs for the prevention of genetic diseases. Phipps's attorney, Brian Begue, argued that the assignment of racial categories on birth certificates was unconstitutional and that the one-thirty-second designation was inaccurate. He called on a retired Tulane University professor who cited research indicating that most whites have one-twentieth "Negro" ancestry. In the end, Phipps lost. The court upheld a state law which quantified racial identity, and in so doing affirmed the legality of assigning individuals to specific racial groupings.
54 citations
TL;DR: Howard Winant Howard WinantUniversity of California, Santa Barbara Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFigures
Abstract: Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsTacit Racism. By Anne Warfield Rawls and Waverly Duck. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2020. Pp. 248. $82.50 (cloth); 27.50 (paper).Howard WinantHoward WinantUniversity of California, Santa Barbara Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Sociology Volume 127, Number 4January 2022 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/718063 Views: 188Total views on this site For permission to reuse a book review printed in the American Journal of Sociology, please contact [email protected]PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.