Editing One-drop rule (section)

==Other countries of the Americas==
{{Main|Race and ethnicity in Latin America}}
[[File:Condoleezza Rice Colin Powell George W. Bush Donald Rumsfeld.jpg|thumb|left|[[Condoleezza Rice|Rice]] and [[Colin Powell|Powell]] (on the left) are considered black in the US. [[George W. Bush|Bush]] and [[Donald Rumsfeld|Rumsfeld]] (on the right) are considered white.]]

Among the colonial slave societies, the United States was nearly unique in developing the one-drop rule; it derived both from the Southern slave culture (shared by other societies) and the aftermath of the [[American Civil War]], [[abolitionism in the United States|emancipation]] of slaves, and [[Reconstruction era|Reconstruction]]. In the late 19th century, Southern whites regained political power and restored [[white supremacy]], passing [[Jim Crow laws]] and establishing [[racial segregation]] by law. In the 20th century, during the Black Power movement, black race-based groups claimed all people of any African ancestry as black in a reverse way, to establish political power.

In colonial [[Hispanic America|Spanish America]], many soldiers and explorers took [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous]] women as wives. Native-born Spanish women were always a minority. The colonists developed an elaborate classification and [[Casta|caste system]] that identified the mixed-race descendants of blacks, [[Amerindian]]s, and whites by different names, related to appearance and known ancestry. Racial caste not only depended on ancestry or skin color, but also could be raised or lowered by the person's financial status or class.

[[File:Lena Horne - 1941.jpg|thumb|[[Lena Horne]] was reportedly descended from the [[John C. Calhoun]] family, and both sides of her family were a mixture of [[African-American]], [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]], and [[European American]] descent.|210x210px]]

The same racial culture shock has come to hundreds of thousands of dark-skinned immigrants to the United States from [[Cuba]], [[Colombia]], [[Venezuela]], [[Panama]], and other Latin American nations. Although many are not considered black in their homelands, they have often been considered black in US society. According to ''The Washington Post'', their refusal to accept the United States' definition of black has left many feeling attacked from all directions. At times, white and black Americans might discriminate against them for their lighter or darker skin tones; African Americans might believe that [[Afro-Latin American|Afro-Latino]] immigrants are denying their blackness. At the same time, the immigrants think [[White Hispanic and Latino Americans|lighter-skinned Latinos]] dominate [[Television in the United States#Broadcast television in non-English languages|Spanish-language television]] and media. A majority of [[Latin Americans]] possess some African or American Indian ancestry. Many of these immigrants feel it is difficult enough to accept a new language and culture without the additional burden of having to transform from white to black. Yvette Modestin, a dark-skinned native of Panama who worked in [[Boston]], said the situation was overwhelming: "There's not a day that I don't have to explain myself."<ref name=WPost>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/12/26/people-of-color-who-never-felt-they-were-black/071e165f-48b7-4aaa-9d86-23e907cfbc7f/ |title=People of Color Who Never Felt They Were Black"|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Darryl|last=Fears|date=December 26, 2002}}</ref>

Professor J. B. Bird has said that Latin America is not alone in rejecting the historical US notion that any visible African ancestry is enough to make one black:

<blockquote>In most countries of the Caribbean, [[Colin Powell]] would be described as a [[Creole peoples#Caribbean|Creole]], reflecting his mixed heritage. In [[Belize]], he might further be described as a "High Creole", because of his extremely light complexion.<ref>[http://www.johnhorse.com/black-seminoles/faq-black-seminoles.htm FAQ on the Black Seminoles, John Horse, and Rebellion<!-- Bot generated title -->].</ref></blockquote>

===Brazil===
[[File:Ronaldo-14-05-2013.jpg|thumb|211x211px|The Brazilian footballer [[Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)|Ronaldo]] declares himself white, but 64% of Brazilians consider him pardo, according to [[Datafolha]] survey.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Folha de S.Paulo - Caras: Cor de celebridades revela critérios "raciais" do Brasil - 23/11/2008 |url=https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fsp/especial/fj2311200827.htm |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=www1.folha.uol.com.br}}</ref>]]
[[File:Camila Pitanga 25° PMB.jpg|thumb|211x211px|The Brazilian actress [[Camila Pitanga]] declares herself black, but only 27% of Brazilians consider her as such, according to [[Datafolha]] survey.<ref name=":0" />]]
People in many other countries have tended to treat race less rigidly, both in their self-identification and how they regard others. Unlike the United States, in Brazil, people tend to consider [[phenotype]] rather than [[genotype]]. A European-looking person will be considered white, even if they have some degree of ancestry from other races. Brazil has a racial category "[[pardo]]" ([[mestizo]] or [[mulatto]]) specifically for people who, in terms of appearance, do not fully fit as white, nor fully as black.

According to an survey of the [[Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics|Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistic]], to define their own race, Brazilians take into account skin color (73.8%) and family origin (61.6%), as well as physical features (hair, mouth, nose), mentioned by 53.5%. For 24.9%, culture and tradition also play a role in classification, along with economic origin or social class (13.5%) and political or ideological choice (2.9%). 96% of those surveyed said they can identify their race, which debunks the myth that many people in Brazil do not recognize the concept of race.<ref>{{cite web |date=2008 |title=Características étnico-raciais da população |url=http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/populacao/caracteristicas_raciais/PCERP2008.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903031653/http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/populacao/caracteristicas_raciais/PCERP2008.pdf |archive-date=2013-09-03 |access-date=2024-11-16 |publisher=IBGE}}</ref>

===Puerto Rico===
During the Spanish colonial period, [[Puerto Rico]] had laws such as the ''Regla del Sacar'' or ''Gracias al Sacar,'' by which a person of black ancestry could be considered legally white so long as the individual could prove that at least one person per generation in the last four generations had also been legally white. Thus persons of some black ancestry with known white lineage were classified as white, the opposite of the "one-drop rule" in the United States.<ref>Jay Kinsbruner, [https://books.google.com/books?id=qLSU-SiojsYC&q=Jay+Kinsbruner,+Not+of+Pure+Blood,&pg=PP13 ''Not of Pure Blood''], Duke University Press, 1996.</ref>