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The Fetish For Authentic Race In American Law, Christopher A. Bracey

Christopher A Bracey

This article offers an interdisciplinary and transhistorical account of race authentication as it has evolved over the past two centuries within American law and culture. As 21st century Americans, we find ourselves in the midst of an authenticity revival – a reaction to the increasingly vapid and digitized world in which we live. We generally crave authentic items and experiences, and this impulse has gained increased traction in the racial context. Most commentators agree that American society has become increasingly multiracial, and that race now takes on diminished significance as a determining factor of one’s life chances. Yet there are …