White families have begun to acknowledge mixed-race connections after centuries of denial. But the attitudes of some Native Americans have not evolved in the same way. Both the Seminole and the Cherokee tribes have employed discriminatory policies to prevent black members from receiving tribal benefits - and to strip them of the right to vote in tribal elections.I was shocked when I read this, and surprised I hadn't come across the story before.
It reminds me of a conversation I once had with a friend's father. He's an old man now and he's seen it all. “All this talk about human rights is fine,” he said, “but tell me, how human do you have to be?"
UPDATE
Talking about black and white: I missed this post by Dean Esmay from earlier in the week about racism in Chicago in the '70s and '80s. The comments, there were thirty-eight last time I looked, are also well worth reading and if you're especially interested (and I'm going to get all normative here and tell you that you should be) then check out the trackbacks as well.
