# Black parents have a White non-albino baby? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350 "2010-07-20T15:13:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sri\_Theo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sri\_Theo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sri_Theo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/1 "2010-07-20T15:13:47Z")
> **[The Sun](https://www.thesun.co.uk/)** > > The Best for News, Sport, Showbiz, Celebrities Can anyone explain the genetics behind something like this? Is it likely that both parents have some White ancestry and then its just a billion to one shot? Must have been one hell of a shock for the both of them… ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/2 "2010-07-20T15:16:52Z")
> [@Sri\_Theo](#): > > [News, sport, celebrities and gossip | The Sun](http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3060907/Black-parents-give-birth-to-white-baby.html) > > Can anyone explain the genetics behind something like this? Is it likely that both parents have some White ancestry and then its just a billion to one shot? > > Must have been one hell of a shock for the both of them… Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/3 "2010-07-20T15:31:43Z")
So a sociologist is visiting an African tribe. A year after he arrives, the chief’s daughter gives birth to a white baby. The chief is incensed, and corners the scientist. “What did you do to my child?” he screams “Nothing! Nothing at all! These things just happen sometimes because of genetic drift and random mutations. Take that flock of sheep in the pasture. You see how they’re all white except for that one black one out there? Sometimes these things just happen.” The chief backed away and eyed him suspiciously. Slowly he said “ok…fine. I won’t tell if you don’t.” ---
**Author:** ![Sri\_Theo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sri\_Theo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sri_Theo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/4 "2010-07-20T15:35:39Z")
OK but if he was cuckolded then surely the Baby would still be mixed race? The Mother is black after all. Unless you’re implying that the Sun is outright lying, which for all its sins I wouldn’t think. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/5 "2010-07-20T15:40:41Z")
Is that baby wearing a wig? I feel sorry for the 2 year old girl named Dumebi. Yes, that may be a real name in your native country but don’t you think that might lead to teasing where you now live? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/6 "2010-07-20T15:46:19Z")
How is the Sun so classy? Really. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/7 "2010-07-20T15:47:07Z")
It seems mysterious. Genetics experts are baffled, after all. They are both ethnic Nigerian and that means the chances of light-skinned genes in their background are pretty small. I’ll be interested to see the baby in the next few years. It’s unusual that the baby has that light-blond hair, but many babies with African ancestry are much, much lighter-skinned than their parents even when there’s no known white ancestry. There can be a huge variety in skin tones within one family. When my friend who has dark skin had her son, he was so light that everyone was teasing her about her ‘white’ baby and saying she must have cheated on the father (who was about as black as you can get). 3 years later little Cory looks just like his dad but with medium-brown skin (quite a bit lighter than both parents), nothing like the pale skin he had as an infant. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/8 "2010-07-20T15:49:51Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > Is that baby wearing a wig? > > I feel sorry for the 2 year old girl named Dumebi. Yes, that may be a real name in your native country but don’t you think that might lead to teasing where you now live? They live in South London where there is a very large Nigerian community (the largest Nigerian ex-pat community in the world IIRC), so I imagine she will fit right in. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/9 "2010-07-20T15:56:17Z")
Most babies are born with much lighter skin tone than they end up with, and most babies are born with blue eyes. Also, there is a wide range of things that can go worng with melatonin production or processing, it’s not red-eyed albino or nothing. I just think she’s a child with a melatonin lack, or a melatonin blocking problem. Otherwise, she looks a good deal like her Mom. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/10 "2010-07-20T15:56:31Z")
> [@Sri\_Theo](#): > > [News, sport, celebrities and gossip | The Sun](http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3060907/Black-parents-give-birth-to-white-baby.html) > > Can anyone explain the genetics behind something like this? Is it likely that both parents have some White ancestry and then its just a billion to one shot? > > Must have been one hell of a shock for the both of them… I think it was a shock for both of them. I think it was a \*surprise \*for one of them. Best wishes, hh ---
**Author:** ![PsyXe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@PsyXe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsyXe)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/11 "2010-07-20T16:02:40Z")
Yes, it’s quite possible, and the other way round too. And yes, if he had been cuckolded the baby would indeed have been mixed race; the chances of a baby with a black mother and a white father looking this white are probably nearly as low as with both parents black. It does almost certainly mean that there were white people in their ancestry, and shows just how ill-defined the boundaries of “race” are. We should link to this thread when people insist that there are absolutely defined races about which sweeping statements can be made 😛 ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/12 "2010-07-20T16:58:18Z")
Isn’t the Sun the british equivalent of the National Enquirer? I think Bigfoot is the real father. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/13 "2010-07-20T17:05:15Z")
> [@PsyXe](#): > > Yes, it’s quite possible, and the other way round too. And yes, if he had been cuckolded the baby would indeed have been mixed race; the chances of a baby with a black mother and a white father looking this white are probably \*\*nearly as low \*\*as with both parents black. It does almost certainly mean that there were white people in their ancestry, and shows just how **ill-defined the boundaries of “race” are**. We should link to this thread when people insist that there are absolutely defined races about which sweeping statements can be made 😛 Bolding mine. You don’t see the glaring contradiction in your post do you? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/14 "2010-07-20T17:14:49Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Also, there is a wide range of things that can go worng with melatonin production or processing, it’s not red-eyed albino or nothing. I just think she’s a child with a melatonin lack, or a melatonin blocking problem. Otherwise, she looks a good deal like her Mom. True. The are other forms of albinism than the one that results in white hair and pink eyes. In particular, the Kuna people of Panama and Colombia have one of the highest rates of albinism in the world (I have heard about one in 200). The form of albinism among the Kuna results in blond hair and blue eyes. It looks to me like the baby in the photo has a similar form, possibly due to a new mutation or a combination of rare alleles. [Kuna albino.](http://aboardlulu.com/Pictures/pix20090317/image048.jpg) [Two more, showing blue eyes.](http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/10/20/lifefocus/f_pg05weegi.jpg) These individuals are full-blooded Indians. Here are some [African albinos](http://www.disclose.tv/files/photos/3c69ccff8acc065L.jpg). Actually, I’d like to know exactly what the basis is of deciding the baby is not an albino. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/15 "2010-07-20T17:31:24Z")
Her features definitely look African to me. Why would it follow that a person with light skin must have European descent? Didn’t the parents say they’re pure Nigerian? I’ll go with the random mutation explanation. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/16 "2010-07-20T17:37:07Z")
Isn’t The Sun a tabloid that often has questionable reporting? That baby is not a new born, it’s at least a month old. I think it’s a pack of lies. ---
**Author:** ![Racer1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@Racer1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Racer1)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/17 "2010-07-20T18:49:13Z")
Apparently, they haven’t ruled out albinism… [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10697682](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10697682) On an unrelated note, I feel I must also post this link I found on the same page about a guy getting tasered in the nuts… [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-10701733](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-10701733) ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/18 "2010-07-20T19:23:03Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > I think it was a shock for both of them. > I think it was a \*surprise \*for one of them. Win! ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/19 "2010-07-20T19:55:16Z")
> [@Racer1](#): > > On an unrelated note, I feel I must also post this link I found on the same page about a guy getting tasered in the nuts… Well if THAT won’t bleach the old hereditary chromosones I don’t know what will 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350/20 "2010-07-20T20:07:07Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > Is that baby wearing a wig? > > I feel sorry for the 2 year old girl named Dumebi. Yes, that may be a real name in your native country but don’t you think that might lead to teasing where you now live? Didn’t Shemp of the Three Stooges go “ebi, ebi, ebi” when he was upset (or maybe it was ebee, ebee, ebee) 🙂 The baby has the same nose as her brother and the mother not the father [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-parents-have-a-white-non-albino-baby/547350.md?page=2)