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Full-Text Articles in Legal History
A Race Or A Nation? Cherokee National Identity And The Status Of Freedmen's Descendants, S. Alan Ray
A Race Or A Nation? Cherokee National Identity And The Status Of Freedmen's Descendants, S. Alan Ray
Michigan Journal of Race and Law
This Article examines the Cherokee Freedmen controversy to assess whether law and biology can function as sufficient models for crafting Cherokee identity at this crucial moment in the tribe's history. The author will argue that while law and biology are historically powerful frames for establishing tribal self-identity, they are inadequate to the task of determining who should enjoy national citizenship. The wise use of sovereignty, the author suggests, lies in creating a process of sustained dialogical engagement among all stakeholders in the definition of Cherokee citizenship on the question of Cherokee identity. This dialogue should ideally have been undertaken before …
Can Money Whiten? Exploring Race Practice In Colonial Venezuela And Its Implications For Contemporary Race Discourse, Estelle T. Lau
Can Money Whiten? Exploring Race Practice In Colonial Venezuela And Its Implications For Contemporary Race Discourse, Estelle T. Lau
Michigan Journal of Race and Law
The Gracias al Sacar, a fascinating and seemingly inconceivable practice in eighteenth century colonial Venezuela, allowed certain individuals of mixed Black and White ancestry to purchase "Whiteness" from their King. The author exposes the irony of this system, developed in a society obsessed with "natural" ordering that labeled individuals according to their precise racial ancestry. While recognizing that the Gracias al Sacar provided opportunities for advancement and an avenue for material and social struggle, the author argues that it also justified the persistence of racial hierarchy. The Article concludes that the Gracias al Sacar, along with their present-day …