Mixed Ethnic Groups
By Wayne Winkler
| Based on a presentation delivered at a meeting sponsored by MHA and the Atlanta Melungeon Project on Saturday, 18 November 2006, at the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library In 1946, William Harlan Gilbert, a researcher for the Library of Congress, wrote: In many of the eastern States of this country there are small pockets of people who are scattered here and there in different counties and who are complex mixtures in varying degrees of white, Indian, and Negro blood. These small local groups seem to develop especially where environmental circumstances such as forbidding swamps or inaccessible and barren mountain country favor their growth. Many are located along the tidewater of the Atlantic coast where swamps or islands and peninsulas have protected them and kept alive a portion of the aboriginal blood which greeted the first white settlers on these shores. Others are farther inland in the Piedmont area and are found with their backs up against the wall of the Blue Ridge or the Alleghenies. A few of these groups are to be found on the very top of the Blue Ridge and on the several ridges of the Appalachian Great Valley just beyond. Gilbert went on to write: There is little evidence for the supposition that they are being absorbed to any great extent into either the white or the Negro groups. Their native breeding grounds furnish a seemingly inexhaustible reservoir of population which periodically swarms into cities and industrial areas. The characteristics of illiteracy, poverty, and large families mark them as members of the more backward section of the American nation. Draft boards and the armed forces have found it difficult to classify them racially for military service. As a sizable native minority they certainly deserve more attention than the meager investigations which sociologists and anthropologists have hitherto made of their problems. |
We are fortunate that Gilbert and later researchers such as Edward Price and Calvin Beale did their work when they did, in the late 1940s to late 1950s. Their separate churches, schools, and other institutions made them easily identifiable. . As legal and social discrimination eased, these communities became less identifiable. Many of the members of these communities joined the postwar migration to urban centers. Others assimilated into the surrounding communities, and became identified as either white or black, depending upon their circumstances. Without the research done in the 1940s and 1950s, many of these populations would have disappeared without any record of their existence Many of us, whether we know it or not, share this mixed ethnic heritage. In 1946, Gilbert wrote, “There is little evidence for the supposition that they are being absorbed to any great extent into either the white or the Negro groups. …the vast majority cannot possibly hope to pass as “white” under the present social system.” Yet this is exactly what has happened. Many descendents of these populations today identify themselves as white or black -- often with Indian heritage. In many cases, our parents or grandparents moved away from the areas in which they were known as part of one of these mixed-ethnic populations. The low social status of these groups – often shunned by both whites and blacks – was the usual reason our ancestors didn’t tell us of our heritage. Who would want to hold their grandchildren on their knee and tell them, “We were considered the lowest trash in the county back where we came from."? The story of these mixed-ethnic communities involves race, or more precisely, the social and legal perceptions of race. Several years ago, the American Association of Anthropologists discounted the concept of “race,” feeling that it was an artificial concept devised to hold one groups superior to others in order to justify land theft and even genocide. The AAA prefers to discuss “ethnicity,” a broader measurement that includes not only genetics, but also culture, religion, language, etc. Scientifically valid or not, the concept of race has played a major role in American history. Conflicts affected not only African Americans, but also Native Americans, Asians, Mexicans – anyone with dark skin, especially those who had something whites wanted, whether land or labor. The issue of race still affects us today because until just recently, a virulent form of racism was considered the norm in America, even in academic circles. Until the mid-20th century, most scientists believed – and many colleges taught – that there were significant biological differences between the so-called races. The eugenics movement led to stringent segregation laws and even forced sterilization of those considered by the state to be “unfit” to reproduce. The scientists who promoted eugenic programs believed that one of the worst possible things was the mixture of the so-called races. Laws against “miscegenation” were enacted all over the United States. However, the so-called races had been mixing on the American continent since the first Spaniards arrived in 1492, and continue to do so today The groups we will be talking about today are descendants of people from at least three distinct ethnic groups, and so were labeled “tri-racial” by 20th century researchers. These groups suffered a unique brand of discrimination, both legal and social. They didn’t fit into the black-and-white structure of American society, and complicated life for those whose duty it was to enforce segregation laws To a large degree, this uniquely American mixed ethnic heritage essentially disappeared in the last half century. Descendents of many of these groups are researching and reclaiming this heritage Groups such as the Melungeon Heritage Association and the Redbone Heritage Foundation are celebrating not only a rich ethnic diversity, but the survival of our people under very difficult conditions. We also hope to establish a model for multi-ethnic identification as Americans become more ethnically diverse How this interest in our mixed ethnic heritage grew is a good story, and I’ll get into later. Before I do, let’s look at the people that are the focus of this meeting. In 1946, Gilbert concentrated on what he considered ten major groups • Brass Ankles and Allied Groups of South Carolina • Cajans and Creoles of Alabama and Mississippi • Croatans of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia • Guineas of West Virginia and Maryland • Issues of Virginia • Jackson Whites of New Jersey and New York • Melungeons of the Southern Appalachians • Moors and Nanticokes of Delaware and New Jersey • Red Bones of Louisiana • Wesorts of Southern Maryland |
Gilbert and later researchers noted that most of the members of these groups were identified by family names. Some researchers even noted that there were family names shared by several groups. Because these groups were considered isolated local phenomena, little attention was paid to possible connections between the groups Most of those who have written about our people concentrated on origin theories, and nearly all of these groups have folklore about their origins. Most of these stories involved someone from outside – sailors, pirates, explorers – who intermarried with Indians. My main focus today is not to delve into these various theories, but to identify these groups and report the latest research. NOTE: The next part of this presentation was drawn from William Gilbert’s 1946 article. You can access that article here. Following the work of William Gilbert, Edward Price wrote about the Melungeons in the mid 1950s. Price was a geographer and focused on where these populations lived. He pointed out the significance of the names “Goins” and “Chavis,” which are found in several multi-ethnic populations. Calvin Beale worked for the Census Bureau in the 1950s, and became interested in ethnically-complex populations because of inconsistent census listings over the years. He studied the 1950 census results for a county-by-county survey of mixed ethnic populations. Brewton Berry came to the subject through study of southeastern Indian tribes. Like Gilbert, Berry considered these populations primarily the remnants of historic Indian tribes. His 1963 book,Almost White, is a valuable portrait of these groups at the end of the Jim Crow era. Later researchers, such as Jean Patterson Bible, Brent Kennedy, and me focused primarily on the Melungeons, although I tried to put them in the context of the mixed ethnic populations mentioned by the writers I spoke of earlier. The way I got into Melungeon research was fairly simple: I discovered my heritage at a fairly young age. My Dad came from Hancock County, Tennessee, and we visited there often. In the summer of 1968, I saw a mention of “Melungeons” in a newspaper. I’d never heard of Melungeons before, and later came to understand why I hadn’t heard about them. In Hancock County, this subject was taboo – even the word was taboo. Some of my relatives finally told me of our own Melungeon heritage. The reason for the newspaper article was that an outdoor drama was being produced in Sneedville, the county seat, about the Melungeons. The Melungeons were in a unique position, relative to the other mixed ethnic groups, in 1968. They had the advantages of Vardy School, the Presbyterian mission school that provided state-of-the-art educational opportunities for many Melungeons in Hancock County. (See DruAnna Overbay’s Windows on the Past. Many Vardy graduates stayed in Hancock County and became community leaders, a situation which rarely happened in most other mixed-ethnic communities of that time. Hancock County has traditionally been one of the poorest in the United States, and President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty brought VISTA and other resources to the area. An economic development study indicated an outdoor drama might bring tourists to the county. The idea of doing a story on the Melungeons would not have been suggested even five years earlier. The stigma of Melungeon ancestry had not abated to any significant degree, particularly since nearly everything written about the Melungeons had been bad since magazine and newspaper articles began appearing in the 1840s. Most recently, a 1947 Saturday Evening Post article had enraged the whole county, Melungeons and non-Melungeons alike. However, in 1965, Jesse Stuart published Daughter of the Legend, a sympathetic portrayal of the Melungeons. With just this bit of encouragement, Vardy-educated Melungeons had enough self-esteem to accept not only the prospect of an outdoor drama about the Melungeons, but the very idea of taking pride in this heritage. The outdoor drama, Walk Toward the Sunset, ran from 1969 – 1976. Interest in Melungeons and other mixed-ethnic communities abated after the play ended. Unfortunately, by the time interest resumed in the 1990s, a large portion of the Melungeons and other mixed-ethnic populations had effectively assimilated or moved away from home areas Brent Kennedy’s 1994 book, combined with the growth of the Internet as a genealogical tool, led to the first Melungeon Unions and formation of MHA. Other similar groups were not so quick to follow suit. Some of the mixed-ethnic groups identified by Gilbert in 1947 have applied for state and/or federal recognition as Indian tribes. Some have succeeded in gaining state recognition as tribes, but federal applications have almost all been rejected. The Croatans won state recognition in 1880s, and gained limited federal recognition in 1950s, followed by a name change to Lumbee. Gilbert and others identified several historic tribes from Virginia as “tri-racial,” but most of these tribes have state – but not federal – recognition. MHA was formed to celebrate the entirety of our multi-ethnic heritage, not just one element of it. We hoped to spread this idea to other groups, and from the beginning, the Redbones of Louisiana were interested. The Redbone Heritage Foundation was founded in 2005, and we are very pleased to be working together to further understanding about our unique places in American history. Much of the research since the 1960s has focused on determining the validity of folklore about the origins of these mixed-ethnic populations, particularly the Melungeons. Many modern researchers believe these groups were simply descendents of Colonial-era mixtures of African, European, and Native American ancestry, and reject as “folklore” the ideas about sailors, pirates, or explorers connecting with Indians in pre-Colonial times. In the late 1960s and again in the early 1990s, blood studies were done to determine possibility of Portuguese ancestry among Melungeons in Hancock County. The results suggested it is possible but did not conclusively prove the Melungeon oral tradition of “Portyghee” descent. In the 1990s, Brent Kennedy suggested the Melungeons were of partial Turkish descent, and prompted the first of several DNA studies. The tests, which were prohibitively expensive a little over a decade ago, are now affordable and in wide use. The study begun by Kennedy was never conclude, but a study by Jack Goins of “core” Melungeon families indicates more African ancestry in Melungeons than had previously been assumed by some. Other studies some Melungeon families match populations in North Africa and India. Recent scholarship has shed considerable light on the ethnic diversity of early America. We know that many, if not most, of the first Angolan slaves in Jamestown in 1610 were literate and Christian. As a result, many were indentured for a specified period of time rather than enslaved for life. Many free African-American families lived and owned property during Colonial era. Meanwhile, eastern Indian tribes decimated by disease brought in outsiders from all backgrounds. Dr. James Nickens has found historical references to “Gypsy” and “East Indie Indian’” in a Collins family ancestor. (See Nickens’ notes here.) A recent study of DNA from Brent Kennedy and his brother Richard suggests large component of Siddhi – a group which emigrated from Ethiopia to India and became the originators of the Roma or Gypsy people. The Melungeons and other ethnically-complex populations have all but disappeared. The social conditions that set them apart from their neighbors gave them a cohesive collective identity. When those barriers were broken – or when members of these groups joined the great migration from the rural south to the industrial north in the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s – these groups lost much of that identity. So what does all of this mean for us today, aside from the historical curiosity and relative obscurity of the subject? I certainly believe the history of our people is worth recording for posterity, but what relevance does this history have for us today? I think there are three things about this story that are important today. First, the story of the Melungeons and other ethnically-complex populations adds more to our knowledge of early American history. It is now apparent that early America, from the founding of Santa Elena and Jamestown, was much more ethnically diverse than history has suggested, and there was much more mixing between ethnic groups than we have assumed. Many Europeans of all backgrounds left the English settlements to live with the Indians, while other Indians became part of the “free colored” fringe of Anglo/American society. Legal and social restrictions on intermarriage came slowly to Colonial-era America – the first laws prohibiting marriage between Englishmen and non-whites didn’t come until the end of the 17th century, and did nothing to reduce the far greater number of out-of-wedlock liaisons. And most of the Jim Crow laws, codifying the legal definitions of “race,” began in the late 19th century following Reconstruction and varied from state to state. Clearly, the terms “white,” “black,” and “Indian” have had different meanings – and different consequences -- at various times in our history. Again, this is history – but a simplistic view of our past often leads to a simplistic view of our future. And it terms of ethnicity, our future is anything but simple. Which leads to my second point: Many who descend from parents of different ethnic groups now choose to consider themselves as mixed ethnic persons rather than as one or the other. As America becomes more ethnically mixed, so-called racial categories are losing their meaning. Already, we have examples of well-known people do not fit into any of the traditional “racial “ categories, nor do they especially try to define themselves in that way – golfer Tiger Woods, Senator Barack Obama, and pro wrestler/actor Dewayne Johnson (“The Rock”) are just three of the more well-known examples. Our people have historically never been fit into categories. In several old census reports, one individual would be listed one census as “free person of color” or “FPC.” In the next census, he might be a “Mulatto,” and in the next “white.” Since it is highly unlikely this individual radically changed his or her complexion over the years, one can see that “race” was in the eye of the beholder (the census taker), and definitions were very fluid. I feel people should be able to identify their ethnic background in a way that suits them. I have no desire to ignore any of my ancestors by identifying myself as “white,” “Indian,” or “African-American.” I am all of these things (and more, if my DNA tests are any indication). In April of 2005, my son was born and before we left the hospital, I was filling out a form of a type I had never seen before (it hadn’t been used when my daughter was born). They first asked for my ethnic background. I checked all that applied. The same question was asked for his mother. Then they wanted to know my son’s ethnic background. I checked all the answers from both previous questions. Then they asked a third question: what ethnic background do I consider my son to be. On this question, they offered the option “Other_________.” I filled in “Melungeon” and turned the form in. I wasn’t surprised when I got a call 15 minutes later from the office; they wanted to clarify a few things. Apparently I was supposed to check only one category per question. I told them that to do so would not be accurate and I didn’t want to be dishonest on a government form. They also had no idea what a “Melungeon” is. I mentioned that I have a book that would explain it if they were interested. But the bottom line seemed to be that I had to pick one ethnic identity for my son. I really hated to give this poor hospital office worker a hard time; they have a rough enough job as it is. So I politely explained that I could not label my son one thing or another. If the state chose to do so, that was their prerogative. After all, they’re the ones who make the definitions anyway. Some of us simply don’t consider ourselves to be of just one ethnic group. I don’t know what they ended up labeling my son on this form. Probably “Martian.” |
A hypothetical example might be the daughter of an Irish father and an African mother, both of whom come from large, close-knit families who are proud of their respective heritages. Why should little “Oprah O’Toole” have to consider herself “black” or “white?” Why should society or the government assign her a category? These are complex questions, and I don’t claim to have all the answers. There are certainly political reasons that ethnic groups want to claim as many members as possible on census reports. And I am sympathetic to those reasons. I also believe, however, that we have the right to identify ourselves as we choose. My own preferred choice would be “none of the above.” The third, and I feel the most important, reason this subject is relevant today is that we Americans are a divided people. Despite all the gains made during the civil rights era, there are still deep divisions among us, and many of those divisions have to do with what is commonly called “race,” and in some ways those divisions are worse now than they were thirty years ago. Today, many Americans who have always considered themselves “white,” or “black,” or “white with an Indian great-great-grandmother,” or whatever, are learning more about their ancestry. The work of the Melungeon Heritage Association, the Redbone Heritage Foundation, and many independent researchers and authors, is demonstrating for many people that their ethnic background is a lot more diverse than they had assumed. They discover a kinship lot of people who don’t look like they do. At our gatherings, they often get to meet each other and to recognize their kinship, either familial or cultural. I can’t think of anything that we need more in this world than an understanding our basic kinship to one another. |
