# Can white people have black roots? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 15, 2005, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099 "2005-11-15T02:23:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/21 "2005-11-15T10:01:37Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > Not tto highjack the thread or anything but I saw a commercial a few weeks ago for 20/20 I believe that said something to the effect of “Meet the twins: One black, One white…” > > I never got the chance to see that episode air. It left me quite puzzled though. Is this possible? If that’s the case I’m thinking of, it was a fertility clinic mixup—they fertilized some of a woman’s eggs with her husband’s sperm, and some with the sperm of a black donor. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/22 "2005-11-15T12:35:58Z")
My best friend’s mother was considered to be black growing up (she’s 87 now). When my friend was a teenager, his father told him that his mother is black, and he could barely believe it. In terms of her skin tone, she seems white. So it’s all a matter of how you define “black.” ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/23 "2005-11-15T12:43:27Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > Not tto highjack the thread or anything but I saw a commercial a few weeks ago for 20/20 I believe that said something to the effect of “Meet the twins: One black, One white…” > > I never got the chance to see that episode air. It left me quite puzzled though. Is this possible? Yes, if they’re not identical twins. I believe the twins you’re referring to are in England. The mother had sex with two men in a very short period of time. Each guy fertilized one egg. There you have it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/24 "2005-11-15T13:40:38Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > If that’s the case I’m thinking of, it was a fertility clinic mixup—they fertilized some of a woman’s eggs with her husband’s sperm, and some with the sperm of a black donor. Apparently somebody didn’t clean the speciem jar very well, and one sperm from a black donor fertilized one egg. I have native American ancestry and a brother who is very dark, yet I look as white as a person can. Someone once told me I couldn’t be part native American because “you don’t look it.” ---
**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:** [November 15, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/25 "2005-11-15T14:16:04Z")
Russian poet [Aleksandr Pushkin](http://www.r-ds.com/images/ImagesOpera/pushkin.jpg) had 1/16 African ancestry. While there are traces of his heritage in his appearance, in the US he would probably be accepted as “white” unless his ancestry were known. I would guess offhand that a significant percentage of people with 1/8 African ancestry appear to be “white” (in the sense of appearing to be European enough to be accepted as pure European; of course, only under the “one-drop rule” would people with 7/8 white ancestry be classified as “black,” no matter what their appearance); at 1/16 many people would look “white”; at 1/32 most people would appear pure “white.” ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/26 "2005-11-15T14:25:26Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Once upon a time, the entire human race was what we would now consider black. Five generations is more than enough time for those genetic influences to be suppressed. Especially given, IIRC there are relatively few genes actually involved in skin color. Given one ancestor in 32, the chances are quite good that he might have not inherited ANY of those genes from that particular ancestor. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2005, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/27 "2005-11-15T14:33:32Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Especially given, IIRC there are relatively few genes actually involved in skin color. Given one ancestor in 32, the chances are quite good that he might have not inherited ANY of those genes from that particular ancestor. We had a thread on inheritance of skin color a while ago. Given two people who appear to be intermediate in skin color between African and European, there is a small but significant probability (IIRC something like 1/64) that any one of their offspring would appear to be pure European (or pure African) in skin color. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/28 "2005-11-15T14:53:11Z")
> [@TipsyMcStupid](#): > > No kiding… > > Well sheesh… I live up to the username… Nah, no problem. Honest question if you didn’t know this stuff already. Don’t sweat it, and welcome to the Board! ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/29 "2005-11-15T15:39:27Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > We had a thread on inheritance of skin color a while ago. Which I started. > **[Can two light-skinned people have a dark-skinned child?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=306172)** > > A friend and I were talking about a famous local artist who apparently has a fixation on infidelity; a lot of his songs are humorous stories about women cheating on their spouses. One of those songs is about a couple of white - or presumably... ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/30 "2005-11-15T16:13:19Z")
> [@TipsyMcStupid](#): > > No kiding… > > Well sheesh… I live up to the username… Come to learn, stay to teach. Who knows what obscure fact someone may need, & you may know. Be welcome. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/31 "2005-11-15T16:32:56Z")
> [@The Gaspode](#): > > 1/4 black - [Mariah Carey](http://www.omguide.com/images/Mariah_3.jpg). I think this picture answer quite well the OP… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/32 "2005-11-15T17:14:37Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Especially given, IIRC there are relatively few genes actually involved in skin color. Given one ancestor in 32, the chances are quite good that he might have not inherited ANY of those genes from that particular ancestor. I suspect one problem the OP has is that he or she has bought into the “Black genes are dominant” saying. Even if there were such things as “Black genes”, and even if they were “dominant”, your point is well taken. You only get half your genes from any one parent, and after 5 generations, that’s a lot of chances to lose most of those “Black genes”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/33 "2005-11-15T17:17:27Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I think this picture answer quite well the OP… That’s not a good proof at all, since she is almost certainly wearing lots of make-up and has most likely died her hair and altered its texture. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/34 "2005-11-15T17:24:20Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Russian poet [Aleksandr Pushkin](http://www.r-ds.com/images/ImagesOpera/pushkin.jpg) had 1/16 African ancestry. While there are traces of his heritage in his appearance, in the US he would probably be accepted as “white” unless his ancestry were known. He was actually 1/8 black – his [great-grandfather](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Petrovich_Gannibal) was Ethiopian, a fact that was celebrated at the time. Interestingly enough, the British royal family, who are about as white as white gets, culturally speaking, have African ancestors, who at one point were trotted out as a justification for British rule in Africa. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/35 "2005-11-15T17:36:22Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > He was actually 1/8 black – his [great-grandfather](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Petrovich_Gannibal) was Ethiopian, a fact that was celebrated at the time. Thanks. The site I checked gave the relationshop as great-great-grandfather, but my Encyclopedia Britannica confirms that Wiki has it right. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/36 "2005-11-15T17:47:45Z")
I’m Metis (a mixture of French Canadian/Native blood). I’ve got your typical Native poker-straight black hair, but I’m pale as pale can be. Some people think that I dye my hair or that I’m goth, but nope, it’s my luck of the draw with genes. I know a woman who’s half Mohawk and is just as pale as me, but with wavy blonde hair. None of her features are what you would describe as Native. She got all the genes of her Irish side. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/37 "2005-11-15T19:05:21Z")
Another thing to remember is that “black” tells you little about how black someone is. The guy mentioned in the OP may very well have an ancestor that is black, but for all we know that ancestor could be as mixed as Mariah Carey. Just because someone is black doesn’t mean they are “fresh off the boat from West Africa” black. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/38 "2005-11-15T19:17:52Z")
> [@](#): > > We had a thread on inheritance of skin color a while ago. Given two people who appear to be intermediate in skin color between African and European, there is a small but significant probability (IIRC something like 1/64) that any one of their offspring would appear to be pure European (or pure African) in skin color. One could even, from those parents, get one child who appeared pure “white” and one who appeared pure “black”, perhaps even (fraternal) twins. This could happen without any mix-ups of parentage at all, just a single monagomous couple. Genes for darker pigmentation are generally dominant over those for lighter pigmentation, but as **John Mace** points out, this does not necessarily mean that the offspring of a dark person and a light person will be dark. Even in a simple one-gene-locus case, the darker parent could be carrying a light gene, hidden by the dominant dark gene. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/39 "2005-11-15T19:31:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Genes for darker pigmentation are generally dominant over those for lighter pigmentation No, this is not correct, at least not for human skin color. As descibed in the thread on the inheritance of skin color, most of the genes involved in human skin color do not show a dominant/recessive type of inheritance pattern, but are instead what is called “co-dominant.” Offspring show an phenotype intermediate between those of the parents, rather than showing either one or the other phenotype (as in the case of brown/blue eyes, for example). Since there are several different genes involved in skin color, each with two or more variant alleles, a large range of phenotypes can be produced. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099/40 "2005-11-15T19:44:31Z")
Re: Pushkin. Many sources refer to him as a Black poet. At least, that used to be the case. I haven’t seen it much lately. This may have been a way to credit his African heritage or a reflection of the one drop is enough to taint you theory. Also, keep in mind that the genetic variation within groups that are referred to as races is much greater than the average variation from one race to another. This is probably part of the reason that the concept of race is losing currency as a stable and immutable concept. But it helps explain why the notion of white blood or black blood is such a tenuous one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-white-people-have-black-roots/331099.md?page=1)