Writing a movie review is a little different for me, especially a movie eight years old. But there is a reason. Some time ago, readers asked for a discussion on racial passing and how that related to the Creole culture. Being such a broad and sensitive topic, I delayed writing about it for months in order to properly do research and write an objective and accurate article. Then, I read an article mentioning Betty Boop, no less, that made me feel compelled to write the post. One article led to a follow-up article. It seemed a topic difficult to get away from.
After writing Why Betty Boop Caused Trouble and One Drop Rule, I thought I was done with the subject—at least for a while. Well, that’s what I get for thinking. Nope. Once again, in the Creole community, the subject of racial passing was brought to the surface–this time due to areas of location. While a great many Creoles in the U.S. reside in Louisiana, it’s ludicrous to think that is the only area with a Creole culture presence. Creoles are not bound to the land like midcentury serfs and communities and families can be found across the nation and the world. And the argument was presented that the reason people do not know of Creole communities outside of Louisiana is that they moved from the area to pass for white. Of course, this led to a much-heated debate and name calling. Some claimed that never happened while others claimed that’s all that happened. More likely, it was probably a mixture.
It’s easy to understand the draw of both sides. In what some called the “Great Migration” after WWII, many Creole relocated from Louisiana to the west to work in oil refineries. Some of the persons who relocated probably did pass for white, either intentionally or accidentally. As generations passed, some may be unaware of their cultural history. Some claim it was because Creole were ashamed of their African blood and wanted to distance themselves. And that’s how I’ve come to writing a movie review.
Shortly after stumbling across this social media debate, I was flipping through the tube and ran across the movie, A House Divided released in 2010. I had no idea what it was about when I paused from my channel surfing. For those who do not know, A House Divided is based on the book Woman of Color, Daughter of Privilege written by Kent Anderson Leslie and published by the University of Georgia Press in 1995. It is the story of Amanda America Dickson (1849-1893), a Georgia woman with a Caucasian father who owned a large plantation in Georgia and mother who was an African slave.
The movie portrayed Amanda’s father as having a forced himself on her mother. When Amanda was born fair skinned, her biological grandmother was in awe. Amanda’s mother witnessed the response and rejected Amanda by refusing to hold or nurse her. Amanda was raised under the pretense that her biological mother had died in childbirth and was Caucasian. Legally, Amanda was a slave. However, she was never treated as such. It wasn’t until she became an adult and wanted to marry a Confederate soldier that she was informed of the truth.
When the soldier asked her father for her hand in marriage, Amanda’s father did not give his consent. She demanded to know why and was told at that. She went into denial and eloped despite her parents and grandmother’s warning. Some time later, her husband learned of her heritage and beat her. The marriage ended. (Or at least, this is what the movie led the audience to believe. It really glossed over whether the marriage was declared illegal or if there was a divorce or if they remained married and pretended they weren’t. The book may have covered this in better detail.) Whatever the case, Amanda ended up living in Maryland. Despite searching for her, her father was unable to locate her.
Now, this didn’t exactly make sense to me because it was stated that for eleven years her father financially supported her by sending money to a bank. If he knew the bank to send the money, it only makes sense he would know her whereabouts. But according to the movie, he did not. Amanda did not return to Georgia until after her father’s death. In the will, he left her 15,000 acres of land, making her the richest woman of color at that time.
Her uncle, who had failed in most of his business excursions, contested the will. Although he knew his brother was of sound mind when he made the will, he was outraged of being left out and that the inheritance had gone to a woman of color. Many arguments were presented, but it boiled down to race. The jury sided with Amanda, as well as a court of appeal.
Although Amanda was not Creole, her story does depict one that would affect a Creole person with African ancestry. Although Amanda physically looked Caucasian and was raised to think of that being her race, she was not accepted by the white community. There was a lot of hate directed towards her as well as the lawyer who represented her. When considering what she faced, it’s understandable why a person who is able to pass is willing to pass. At one point in the movie, Amanda states that she is tired of being “humiliated” and is willing to relinquish her claim. It is her mother who encourages her to fight for what is legally hers.
Amanda’s story took place in the 1800’s, yet in 2018, many of the same issues are being faced. For the readers who reached out to me after my previous two posts addressing the issue and stated that they did not understand the implications of racial passing, this is a movie to watch. It’s a little slow at the end and vague in places with large time gaps. There is no conclusion at the end that discusses what happened after the appeal case was settled, nor did the movie make clear that the legal battle took two years to be resolved. In lots of ways, the movie was anticlimactic in scenes, but that may have been 2010 standards. I wouldn’t pay to rent this movie, but if you can find it for free, it’s not a bad way to spend an hour and forty-five minutes.
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