Allyson Hobbs

This book is a history of racial passing from the antebellum period until the civil rights era, with an epilogue commenting on the present era (late 20th to early 21st century). The first chapter presents passing in the antebellum period as status-based (from slavery to freedom) rather than race-based (from black to white). The second chapter covers Reconstruction, when the author contends that light-skinned African Americans who could have passed as white chose not to because of the optimism of the era. Chapter 3 looks at the establishment of the Jim Crow era that eroded the progress of the Reconstruction era, and the choices that some African Americans made to pass as white to pursue careers and other opportunities that were denied to African Americans. Chapter 4 provides case studies of three mixed race individuals (Jean Toomer, Nella Larsen, and Langston Hughes) and the racial identities they formed during the Harlem Renaissance. Chapter 5 examines the psychological impact of passing and provides examples of African Americans who chose to stop passing for white and to reassume black identities in the post-World War II era.

I found the premise of the book more interesting than its execution. If this were a theological argument, I would describe it as proof texting. It seems like the author chose examples to fit her hypotheses, rather than basing her hypotheses on assembled evidence. This is particularly apparent in chapter 2, which is all about individuals who chose not to pass during Reconstruction. Is it true that virtually no mixed race African Americans chose to pass in this era? Or did they pass so successfully that they didn’t leave a record trail for the author to find?… (more)

Author Allyson Hobbs tackles the topic of what it was like to be a black person with skin light enough to pass. Some chose to do so even with the risk of discovery. Those discovered often lost jobs and social position. "Passing" meant they could not associate with other black people, and the inability to interact with friends and family sometimes led them to embrace their blackness. While the author tells an important story, the book's academic writing style limits its audience. I believe the book's impact would be tremendous if written for a popular audience and with shorter sentences and more active verb choices instead of the passive tenses and "be" verbs typical of much academic writing. The author's citations demonstrate the breadth of her research.… (more)