“Colonial White Mater Privilege”: An Above-Ground Railroad to Freedom & Land Reclamation for the Mulatto Descendant (circa 1700s-1800s) Article
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Recommended Citation
Cynthia Hawkins DeBose, “Colonial White Mater Privilege”: An Above-Ground Railroad to Freedom & Land Reclamation for the Mulatto Descendant (circa 1700s-1800s), 55 How. L.J. 455 (2012)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
This article provides a unique analysis of anti-miscegenation case law from the Colonial Period. The article discusses the utilization of “Colonial White Mater Privilege” (a theory coined by the author) by mulatto descendants of a White matriarch to regain their freedom and property rights. Part I discusses the applicable anti-miscegenation statues. Part ll presents the theory of Colonial White Mater Privilege. Part lll discusses race-mixing in Colonial Maryland. Part IV presents the history and cases involving the author’s ancestors (the author traces her genealogy back to the 1600s). Part V tests the theory through all seventeen of the applicable Maryland state cases from the 1700s and 1800s. Part VI illustrates that, as a vestige of slavery, economic disparity continues for Black families into the 21st century.