TOO WHITE TO BE BLACK, TOO BLACK TO BE WHITE: THE NEW ORLEANS CREOLE
If the “melting pot” theory ever existed in America, it happened in New Orleans. This presentation examines a group of marginalized mixed-race Americans who are phenotypically both multicultural and multiethnic. This documentary is the first authentic treatment of a group of Americans who proudly identify themselves as “Creoles.” It provides first-hand accounts of their experiences in New Orleans. After reconstruction, the supreme court decision, Plessy V. Ferguson (1896), divided America into two worlds: one white and one disenfranchised black. The Creole stories they tell in this documentary speak to the social history of the United States where the fruits of the American Dream were rewarded to those with European features, light skin, and “good hair.” Often, survival meant giving up one’s “gens de couleur” [colored people] identity to assimilate into white America. The process of “becoming a productive American” has been fraught with both rejection and racism for Creoles of color…….this is their story.