How did the segregation laws work?

[GoldenBear]

How "black" did you have to be to be in that group? Where was the drawing line? I can't imagine someone who was 1/32 black was secluded..

 

[AlphaIVT]

if you have any black in you, yo'ure black. i think, thats how those whacko white people during the 19th century siad it.

 

[Soybomb]

Logic would say unless you mentioned a family name in the area wher eit was known that you had black lineage it wouldn't matter assuming you looked pretty white. In a community that didn't know your family background, just looking at you was a good way to tell how to treat you.

 

[CichliSuite]

That's an interesting point you bring up. For a long time the "one-drop" rule was not a dominant practice among American society. Lighter-skinned mulattos were often an invaluable buffer between whites and blacks, and even harbored slaves themselves.