Why is it said that when African-Americans are light-skinned, it is because of "white genes"?

Question

I am just curious...I have heard before that when African-Americans are light-skinned, it is because of some "white blood" they have in them, even a small amount. I overheard these people saying Beyonce was mixed with white because of her lighter eyes and skin. Is this true? Couldn't it just be variation of skin tones among a group of people, just as whites range in skin tone and it's not necessarily because of some "non-white genes". I always thought this seemed racist, like people of pure African descent can't have variation in skin tones.

Answer 1

Uh, because for A LOT of us who are descended from American slaves that is EXACTLY what it means. We are West Africans...they tend to be extremely dark and now we have red hair, skin as fair as a white person, and blue eyes???!!!

Did we hit an evolution spiral that made this so? NO, we had children with white people. Did you know two black people can have a baby that looks positively caucasian???? Its the white genes people.

Granted, not all of Africa is dark (and no, I'm not talking about the Europeans and Arabs). But for us Slave Descendants, its the creme in our coffee!!!!

Answer 2

They can have variation in their skin tones but a lot of the slave owners had sex with the slaves so there were a lot of mixed babies that came from out of that. It still continues when whites and blacks have children their kids are of lighter skin tone. Generally a pure African is of darker skin color and darker eye color. So to have lighter skin and lighter eyes definitely means that you have some sort of other genes mixed in. May not necessarily be white but there's something else there.

Answer 3

When African slaves were first brought to america, they were dark skinned. Over the years of raping of slaves and even consentual sex between whites and blacks, there have been white genes mixed in and therefore the result is that somewhere down the line there may be white blood in some african -americans. Its the same way in northern africa where the arabs have mixed with black africans causing mixed race africans and arabs. This why racism is so stupid because there are very few pure "races" left in the world. Most people have some type of ethnicity within them they don't even know about. There is hardly "pure white" or black anymore.

Answer 4

No, it's really probable. If you meet people from Africa, their skin is darker than most African-Americans'. There is variation, but not as much as there is here. Because slave masters raped slaves, and because there were consensual affairs and marriages, European traits are in African-Americans.

The reverse is true, too. Some light-skinned blacks "passed" for white, and some mixed children were never told their true racial identity. As a white Southern woman, I've been told my people are Irish, Scottish, and Dutch--but I've met people from those countries, and they don't tan like I do or have a nose that's sort of broad and short like I do. I've since learned that remote black and Seminole ancestors are very likely.

It's not racism, honey. It's the truth.

Answer 5

I don't know that such things as black genes and white genes exist. Human genes exist and some of those genes determine skin color.

The vast majority of African Americans are descended from people who originated in West, Central and East Africa and most of these people are dark skinned. Recent immigrants of African decent from the Carribean generally are also descended from people from the same areas of Africa.

Many, indeed most, African Americans have some non-African ancestry both as a result of the experience of slavery and (more often than not) forced sexual encounters with whites, and more recently through quite voluntary intteracial relationships. These have produced the variations in skin color that are widley known to exist within the African American community.

Light eyes are a recessive trait, so they are highly unlikely to appear in a person of African decent unless the person has some non-African ancestry. It could be that although both parents are African-American, both have some non-African ancestry that shows up in the appearance of their children. This is often the case and it is not racist to observe that this is so nor is the observation usually intended to be offensive. It's just a widey understood fact.

Also, please note that due to the "one drop rule," the idea of who is black is far more expansive in America than it is in most Carribean and Latin countries. This point was brought home to me recently during a visit to Puerto Rico. The overwhelming majority of people I saw were clearly of some recent African ancestry, but the majority of people there (approx. 80% by official stats) consider themselves white. The same dynamic plays out across the Carribean and Latin America. This results in much smaller, and politically much weaker "black" communities in these countries.

Ironic that a rule that was meant to subjugate blacks by perpetuating a pool of permanently enslaved people turned out to have fostered a powerful group identity that has been used to advance in the political and economic areas.

Answer 6

Not necessarily, technically their is a scientific reason relating to levels of melanin that, in essence, explains why it is more likely for a black person to be born light skin, even if their 100% and their parents are dark, then if a white person was born darker for some reason. It is like an on/off switch in your DNA asking questions like: "Should I continue producing color in the skin?" and generally if the parents did, the DNA will say yes. But sometimes things happen and out of nowhere a black person is born with light skin. But the opposite is genetically much rarer. Understand? As for Beyonce, her mom is part creole.

Answer 7

Star, that is a very good question. As sad as it may be, the variation could very well be hereditary from caucasian in the family. However, as even more sad as it may be, there is no "pure" race anymore--at least not hardly in the United States. Races have been with races that were with races.....

So on so forth--Most white people in the US have Native American or Black in them, and blacks have white, and puerto rican, and native american, and vice versa. One big melting pot, I say!

It is because of this that I say there should be no racism anymore in any way....we're all mutts! ( I dont mean that in a bad way, but it's true!)


PS, Africa has a lot of Native "White" People. So if one of them came here and had to fill out a job application, would it be correct to check the "African-American" box?

Answer 8

Yea, i mean if youre light somewhere down the line you do have something in you whether it be white, or asian, or what have it. But somethimes.......and i have to get scientific on you mutations do happen just like if you were to be albino, that make it so youre lighter, or you have a varation of skin tone than your parents

Answer 9

I think that is closer to racism to think that you are pure black or pure white, if you go up in your lineage far enough i´m 100% sure that there is a relative who is black, white, indian or whatever. The pure race was only looked and supported by racists.

Answer 10

real black people who are like 100% african descent are usually dark. my parents are dark but i came out light, i look mixed, but it because i have native american and white in me, the native american is most recent, my great grandmother was cherokee, so yea because of different genes anything can happen no matter how many generations ago it may have been. it is obvious beyonce has something other than black in her have u seen her mother, her mom is even lighter, one of her great great grandparents could have been something other than black!!!