The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #111488 Message #2350133
Posted By: Azizi
27-May-08 - 10:58 AM
Thread Name: Racial Referents-Negro, Quadroon, etc
Subject: RE: Racial Referents-Negro, Quadroon, etc
Here's a link to the Redbone Heritage Foundation:
http://www.redboneheritagefoundation.com/
Under its name on the home page is this statement:
"Taking Pride in Who We Are"
**
Here is the organization's "About Us" statement:
"The Redbone Heritage Foundation is a not for profit organization chartered in the state of Louisiana. Our purpose is to foster research into the origins, the history, the culture, and the ethnicity of those people known as Redbones. Members will be encouraged to conduct such research in a scientific manner without prejudice or predetermined conclusions. Material pertaining to these people will be preserved, published, and made available to other researchers."
-snip-
This website may have been recently launched, as there are no other pages that I could access. Perhaps the information on the website is for members only. There is a "to join" feature on the home page, but I didn't click it.
**
The Melungeon Heritage Association is a multipage website with a number of features.
Here's that association's mission statement:
"ur mission is to document and preserve the heritage and cultural legacy of mixed-ancestry peoples in or associated with the southern Appalachians. While our focus will be on those of Melungeon heritage, we will not restrict ourselves to honoring only this group. We firmly believe in the dignity of all such mixed ancestry groups of southern Appalachia and commit to preserving this rich heritage of racial harmony and diversity."
-snip-
And here's an excerpt from one of the essays on their home page:
"Plecker's Infamous 1943 List
The head of Virginia's Bureau of Vital Statistics from 1912 to 1946, Walter Ashby Plecker, believed "there is a danger of the ultimate disappearance of the white race in Virginia, and the country, and the substitution therefore of another brown skin, as has occurred in every other country where the two races have lived together." This "mongrelization," in Plecker's view, caused of the downfall of several earlier civilizations. He was determined to prevent this in America, or at least in Virginia.
In January of 1943, Plecker sent a circular to all public health and county officials in Virginia, listing, county by county, the surnames of all families suspected of having African ancestry. The cover letter stated that they were "mongrels" and were now trying to register as white. The names listed in the southwestern Virginia counties included Collins, Gibson, Moore, Goins, Bunch, Freeman, Bolin, Mullins, and others described as "Chiefly Tennessee Melungeons." You can read more inside..."
[The word "inside" is hyperlinked on that page]
-snip-
Here's another excerpt from that home page:
"First Union Gallery
In July of 1997, members of an online mailing list decided to gather in Wise, Virginia, to celebrate their Melungeon heritage. The organizers expected about 50 people; instead, more than 600 showed up. First Union attracted people from all over America - researchers, writers, and most of all, people who were curious about their ancestry and were exploring their Melungeon roots, whether known or suspected. From First Union, the Melungeon Heritage Association was chartered. Inside, you'll find a photo gallery of that weekend in July 1997".