Monday, July 13, 2015

Effa Manley: Another White Woman Passing as Black

With all the talk of Caitlen Jenner in the news, everyone is familiar with the term trans-gender. Now, with the recent story of Rachel Dolezal, should a new term be created for what she did? In other words, if someone chooses to racially pass, should they be considered trans-racial? If you're unfamiliar with the term "passing," here's a definition from Wikipedia:

Racial passing refers to a person classified as a member of one racial group attempting to be accepted as a member of a different racial group. The term was used especially in the U.S. to describe a person of mixed-race heritage assimilating into the white majority during times when legal and social conventions...classified the person as a minority, subject to racial segregation and discrimination.

Back in the days of segregation, lots of mixed race individuals of black and white ancestry chose to pass as white for social and economic reasons.  Effa Manley, however, was a white woman who chose to pass as black!  Her biological parents were white, but she was raised by her white mother, and her step-father who was African-American.

I'd never heard of Effa Manley, but here's some of her story from Negro Leagues Legacy.  See the link for the complete article "The First Lady of Black Baseball," by Aimee Crawford.

Effa Manley was ahead of her time.


A born entrepreneur, Manley was the only female in the history of Negro Leagues.  Effa and Abe ran the Eagles, a Negro National League team, from 1935-48. And her considerable influence extended beyond baseball as well; she was also active in the black civil rights movement.


Effa Manley was a fascinating individual, and the first person I'd ever heard of to "pass as black!" Had you ever heard of her, or perhaps someone else who chose to pass as something other than white?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!


Jennette Marie Powell said...

I've never heard of Effa Manley. Fascinating story! Just goes to show that in this case at least, nurture trumps nature.

Maria McKenzie said...

Hi, Jennette! Good point;).

William Kendall said...

This is the first I've heard of her, Maria.

Maria McKenzie said...

Hi, William! Learning about her was new to me, too. Penny Marshall is directing a movie about her that's coming out in 2016.

Norma Beishir said...

Thank you, Maria, for sharing stories of people many of us might never have otherwise known!