Miscegenation Quotes
At the time, many scientists and intellectuals thought erroneously—see related quotations—that hybrids would be inferior humans. What makes this quotation memorable is that although he acknowledged that empirically, mixed race people (human hybrids) were inferior, of offered an explanation that did not violate sound genetic science as most others did. He concluded that sociologically whites and black who would intermarry or interbreed would generally not come from the top echelons of either race. Therefore the lower half of each race would more likely produce offspring and provide them with an environment that was not optimum so genetics and nurture worked against the mulatto. At the time that may well have been so, and perhaps until recently it was so forth the majority of crossbreeds of many societies.
What he meant by “crosses” was cross breeding or what we would call inter-racial breeding. He was under the scientifically false assumption held by many racists that interracial breeding deteriorates the progeny. Actually, without diversity, species are subject to genetic problems which is why we have prohibitions on marrying siblings and other close relatives. He was also historically inaccurate in the Arabs and the other Semitic people of the Middle East were inbred with less intermarriage than most European whites.
It is ironic that Hitler obtained part of his sick philosophy from an American writer. Grant was advocating forced sterilization of mental defectives. However, in the context of Germany’s history of racism and anti-Semitism, Hitler carried the notion to its ultimate extreme. See {602054}
Bilbo was one of the worst racists who ever served in the Congress.
Bilbo was one of the worst racists who ever served in the Congress.
This classic quotation illustrates several things. First, the degree of racism that existed in 1944 in West Virginia. Second, not how young Robert Byrd immediately leaped from the possibility of integrating our fighting forces to interracial sex. That has been typical of white racism in America—a preoccupation with race and sex. Last, Byrd who became a member of the KKK, completely changed his mind over the year and ended up supporting the things that, as a youth were worse than the demise of the nation. He matured and grew on the race issue as much of the country did and ended as a strong supporter of equality and civil rights—including affirmative action.
This was a bomb-shell statement at the time. Advocates for equality and desegregation usually tried to avoid this issue and Black leaders in particular were afraid of a backlash if they included this issue in the argument for equality. Du Bois did not run from the issue. His position was used by segregation leaders to show what “evils” would befall the nation if segregation was ended. See {586739}.
At the time he was not Church president. The Mormon Church has had a very complex history regarding race; Blacks for example were prohibited from leadership positions in the Church. While not the only racist church, Mormon racism was more nuanced. Mormons aggressively sought Blacks and other ethnics for conversion into the church and on a personal and social level did not exhibit the antipathy towards non-whites that so many in other religions did. Yet their theology prohibited Blacks from certain leadership positions. Other religious racism was personal and social but not theological; Mormon racism was theological and not personal. Reforms have changed things slightly but critics of the church leadership at the start of the 21st century pointed to the attitudes of the President of the Church.
