Anne,

The "real jerk" (as you put it) was Walter Ashby Plecker (not  
Plucker). He was the Virginia Registrar of Vital Statistics from 1912  
until 1945. In some ways, he did enormous good for the state in terms  
of prenatal healthcare that lowered infant mortality rates and insect  
eradications (like ticks and mosquitoes) that carried nasty  
illnesses. At the same time, he pressed hard to maintain the alleged  
racial purity of white folks. People whose absolute "whiteness" could  
not be absolutely verified were classified as "colored," not  
"mulatto." Since his goal was to preserve white racial purity (and  
thus maintain Virginia as a strict biracial society), and because  
some Indians had intermarried (or at least procreated) with blacks,  
most Indians were systematically categorized as non-white and, hence,  
colored. In the racially charged Jim Crow era, "colored" became  
synonymous with "Negro." For example, in 1930, Plecker instructed  
federal census takers to record all non-whites as "Negro." For more  
on the racial integrity fights, see Helen Rountree's _Pocahontas's  
People_, pp. 219-242.

The "few governors back" who allowed VA Indians to correct their  
birth certificates was George Allen. He did this in 1997. Many tribal  
peoples with whom I have worked (and whose families have been deeply  
involved in the racial integrity fights since Plecker's assault)  
confidently say that George Allen did more for Virginia Indians than  
any other Virginia governor ever did. This is only mildly paradoxical  
given Allen's implosion and de facto capitulation to charges of  
racism during his recent Senate campaign.

Here is a partial history (with citations!!!) of Virginia's racial  
integrity laws:

1682--This is when the admixture of African blood came to symbolize  
that which was non-white. By act, the Assembly ordered Indian women  
tithables “to pay levies in like manner as negroe women brought into  
this country doe, and ought to pay.” This is the first linkage  
between Africans and Virginia Indians. (William Hening, ed.,  
_Statutes of Virginia_, II:490-492)

1691--Virginia passed its first anti-miscegenation law, “An Act for  
Suppressing Outlying Slaves.”  The Assembly banned intermarriage  
between a free “white man or woman . . . [and] any negroe, mulatto,  
or Indian man or woman bond or free.” (William Hening, ed., _Statutes  
of Virginia_, III:87) The is the law that first suggests a bi-racial  
Virginia.

1705--The Virginia Assembly passed a series of laws, that barred any  
“negro, mulatto, or Indian” from voting, holding office, or  
testifying in court proceedings (among other things like serving in  
the militia). (William Hening, ed., _Statutes of Virginia_, III: 
250-51) Again, this law effectively linked Indians and Africans as  
non-whites. These "black codes" mark the creation of a "biracial"  
culture in Virginia.

1723--Non-whites were permitted to testify against slaves (but not  
against whites until after the Civil War). (William Hening, ed.,  
_Statutes of Virginia_, IV:126-128)

1830s--The term "persons of color" came to describe both Indians and  
free blacks. The term "colored people" became more common later in  
the century and also had a more restricted meaning. There is a whole  
separate trajectory (not discussed here) on the transition in popular  
literature and legal codes from "colored" to "negro" to "black."

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE WORDING HERE!!
1833--"An Act for Certifying Indians" declared that Indians could  
receive a certificate, based solely on their white neighbors  
testimony, that Indians were "persons of mixed blood not being free  
negroes or a mulattoes." The certificate DID NOT declare the bearer  
as Indian; rather, it simply stated that individual was not a free  
negro or mulatto, and as such, the certificate protected the  
individual from the "pains, penalties, disabilities, and  
disqualifications imposed by law upon free negroes and mulattoes as  
free negroes and mulattoes." OUCH!! (_Acts of the Assembly_,  
1832-1833, p. 51)

1866--The Virginia Assembly defined Indians for the first time in  
Virginia’s history!!!!  “Every person having one-fourth or more of  
negro blood shall be deemed a colored person, and every person not a  
colored person having one-fourth or more of Indian blood shall be  
deemed an Indian.” (_Acts of the Assembly_, 1865-1866, pp. 84-85)  
This is the first time the Virginia codes use the term "colored person."

1910--Virginia defined a "colored person" as anyone with 1/16th  
African ancestry. (_Acts of the Assembly_, 1910, p. 581)

OK, HERE IT IS. THIS IS THE ONE DROP RULE/LAW!!
1924--Virginia’s Racial Integrity Law defined a “white person” as one  
“who has no trace whatsoever of any blood other than Caucasian.”  
Except . . . to account for the few Virginia elites who traced their  
ancestry to Pocahontas, the law allowed that "persons who have one- 
sixteenth or less of the blood of the American Indian and have no  
other non-Caucasic blood shall be deemed white persons." Notice, this  
law defines white people (and Pocahontas's descendants).  (_Acts of  
the Assembly_, 1923-1924, p. 468)

1930--The Assembly made the definition of non-whites more explicit:  
"Every person in whom there is ascertainable any Negro blood shall be  
deemed and taken to be a colored person, and every person not a  
colored person having one-fourth or more of American Indian blood  
shall be an American Indian; except that the members of Indian tribes  
living on reservations allotted them by the Commonwealth having one- 
fourth or more of Indian blood and less than one-sixteenth of Negro  
blood shall be deemed tribal Indians so long as they are domiciled on  
such reservations." (_Acts of the Assembly_, 1929-1930, pp. 96-97)

1954--The state began to ameliorate the racial identity of Indians:  
"members of Indian tribes existing in this Commonwealth having one- 
fourth or more of Indian blood and less than one-sixteenth of Negro  
blood shall be deemed tribal Indians." The tribal chiefs determined  
who were "tribal Indians." (_Acts of the Assembly_, 1954, p. 905)

1975--The state of Virginia repealed all laws that defined race.  
(_Acts of the Assembly_, 1975, pp. 1172-1174)

Hopefully, this will inject some sense of the facts into this  
discussion.

Best,
Ed

Edward DuBois Ragan, Ph.D
Lecturer in Virginia History
Department of History
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VA 23529-0091
Tel. 757-683-3949
[log in to unmask]


On Feb 16, 2007, at 5:59 PM, Anne Pemberton wrote:

> <snip>
> In Virginia, for several decades during the 20th century, there was  
> a real jerk in charge of birth registrations. He set his mind to  
> eliminating all Native Americans, and accordingly, listed all  
> people who were not 100% white as colored or "mulatto". All Native  
> Americans born under his "reign" were mulatto. I believe the man's  
> name was Plucker, but I am not at all sure.
>
> A few governors back, all the injured parties were allowed to  
> correct their birth records and receive a free copy of their  
> corrected birth certificate.
>
> Anne <snip>

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html