Keep in mind the "one drop" rule is not in isolation. Racism created the rule not
blacks and white people are not only the creators, but oft were its enthusiastic
enforcers. The "one drop" rule has served white agendas very well at times, which
is why, in part, in popular culture, many whites still generally accept it. But
as I show below, there are other reasons it is accepted. It is a complicated thing.
Blacks have accepted it too but it does not necessarily follow that it devalues more
authentic African people. In fact many blacks claim the opposite and are glad to flip the
script on whites. Some Whites may play up "contamination" propaganda, but many blacks
see it as a reasonable tool for pushback against white supremacy, exposing white
hypocrisy in how they changed and twisted in interpreting the rule- particularly
if whites had something material to gain. Another practical reason is that the one-drop rule
widened definitions of black to bring into the black community, people who could
"pass" at one level or another- opening up access to the resources denied by a
racist white society. A light-skinned "one drop black" for example could "pass"
to buy housing in a "no negroes allowed" area- opening up said area to black settlement
as the "white" buyer, resold to blacks. By such subterfuge, plenty of better housing was
opened up to blacks.
ANd blacks could claim more "soul brothers" at election and other times, soul brothers
that could undermine white supremacy, by virtue of the fact that "one drop" sometimes
softened racial barriers to SOME degree, or allowed more SUBVERSION of them. In view of
this blacks have practical reasons for supporting one-drop. They are not "irrational,"
and do not necessarily accept the "contamination" meme white people want to impose on them,
but to the contrary have flipped the script on whites.
Furthermore not all whites hold to a rigid "one drop" application and have been very
flexible when whites can gain something. White courts or juries for example have sometimes
looked the other way when reclassifying somebody as "black" would punish and deprive
innocent whites out of an inheritance, or punish innocent kids. "One drop" might SOMETIMES
be used to bash blacks but on the flip side whites could use it for gain. Resources set
aside for blacks under segregation, or an affirmative action quota, for example could
be claimed by whites, who for all intents and purposes look white but have "some drops"
in the blood to qualify. Yes, white right wingers also gained in politics by stressing "racial
purity"- so it paid off for them.
But white moderates too could use "one drop" to argue for a softer, kinder view of
transactions among the races. Why was snarling racism always necessary? After all, some
so-called "blacks", were really white people with "just a few drops." So why go about
beating up on black folk as evil beasts and such, when mostly "white" people were being
victimized? This moderate reasoning took on greater force in the case of interracial
marriages. How could my innocent, cute interracial grandkids be demonized as "contaminants"?
Cases of even strong racists easing up on their outlook in the face of innocent mixed children
testify as to the "softening" effect these transactions, over time, might have.
So both liberal whites and right-wing whites may have good reasons for accepting the
"one drop rule" given America's and to some extent Europe's racial problems.
In a PERFECT world, one-drop sounds bad, but in messy PRACTICE, both races have good reasons
for practical acceptance, from all sides of the political spectrum. Ironically,
"one drop," for all the "purity" propaganda gains some have made for it, has in some
respects broken down or allowed more subversion of racial barriers. Racists who
thought they were gaining all the benefits of the "purity" theme, have been often
unpleasantly surprised at actual outcomes. Indeed light skinned blacks have been
sometimes prominent in filing lawsuits challenging segregation and white supremacism.
The famous Plessy v. Ferguson was brought by a man fair enough to "pass" and who got
riled at unfair treatment on public transport. The "one drop rule" practically forced blacks
and people with very little black blood into a rough, "all in the same boat" unity opposing
white supremacy. White racists would have done better to figure out a more effective
"divide and conquer" strategy.
See examples below.
www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=%22light-skinned%22+lawsuit+segregation