Journalist Susan Saulny has documented how a single decision made roughly a century ago [1] split her family into two distinct racial groups.
The story illustrates the profound and lasting impact of racial identity choices in the U.S. during the early 20th century. It highlights how individual decisions to "pass" as white could legally and socially sever familial ties for generations.
Saulny's research focuses on her great-uncle, who was born into a Creole family in New Orleans, Louisiana [2]. After moving to Chicago, Illinois, the great-uncle made the choice to identify as white [2]. This decision effectively removed him and his descendants from the Creole identity shared by the rest of the family.
Because of this choice, the family was split in half by race [1]. The descendants of the great-uncle grew up in a different social and legal reality than their relatives in New Orleans. This separation persisted for approximately 100 years [1], creating a deep divide between the branches of the family tree.
Saulny sought to bridge this gap by researching the family's history and documenting the journey to reunite the separated branches [2]. Her work examines the intersection of geography and identity, noting how the move from the multicultural environment of New Orleans to the rigid racial structures of Chicago influenced her relative's decision.
The process of reunification required tracing genealogical records and confronting the social costs of the original decision. By uncovering these links, Saulny provides a window into the complexities of Creole heritage, and the systemic pressures that led individuals to hide their ancestry to avoid discrimination [2].
“A single decision made roughly a century ago split her family into two distinct racial groups.”
This account serves as a case study on the sociological phenomenon of 'passing' in the United States. It demonstrates how the intersection of the Great Migration and systemic segregation forced individuals to make binary racial choices that resulted in the erasure of multi-ethnic identities, such as those of the New Orleans Creole community, across multiple generations.
