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Gunnar Myrdal died in 1987, less than 70 years ago.
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Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - I. The Approach - 3. Facets of the Negro Problem - 3. The White Man’s Theory of Color Caste
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58 An American Dilemma
This attitude of refusing to consider amalgamation—felt and expressed
in the entire country—constitutes the center in the comflex of attitudes
which can he described as the ^^common denominator^^ in the froblem.
It defines the Negro group in contradistinction to all the non-colored
minority groups in America and all other lower class groups. The boundary
between Negro and white is not simply a class line which can be success-
fully crossed by education, integration into the national culture, and
individual economic advancement. The boundary is fixed. It is not a tem-
porary expediency during an apprenticeship in the national culture. It
is a bar erected with the intention of permanency. It is directed against the
whole group. Actually, however, ‘^passing” as a white person is possible
when a Negro is white enough to conceal his Negro heritage. But the dif-
ference between “passing” and ordinary social climbing reveals the distinc-
tion between a class line, in the ordinary sense, and a caste line.
This brings us to the point where we shall attempt to sketch, only in an
abstract and preliminary form, the social mechanism by which the anti-
amalgamation maxim determines race relations. This mechanism is per-
ceived by nearly everybody in America, but most clearly in the South.
Almost unanimously white Americans have communicated to the author
the following logic of the caste situation which we shall call the ^^white
man^s theory of color caste?^
(1) The concern for “race purity” is basic in the whole issuer the primary
and essential command is to prevent amalgamation; the whites are
determined to utilize every means to this end.
(2) Rejection of “social equality” is to be understood as a precaution to
hinder miscegenation and particularly intermarriage.
(3) The danger of miscegenation is so tremendous that the segregation
and discrimination inherent in the refusal of “social equality” must be
extended to nearly all spheres of life. There must be segregation and
discrimination in recreation, in religious service, in education, before
the law, in politics, in housing, in stores and in breadwinning.
This popular theory of the American caste mechanism is, of course, open
to criticism. It can be criticized from a valuational point of view by main-
the other good stuff brought over to the new continent, might create a race of unsurpassed
excellence: a people with just a little sunburn without extra trouble and even through the
winter j with some curl in the hair without the cost of a permanent wavej with, perhaps,
a little more emotional warmth in their souls } and a little more religion, music, laughter,
and carefreeness in their lives. Amalgamation is, to the ordinary American, not a proper
subject for *^okes at a\\, otAesa \t can be down to tbe \cve\ oi dvit^ atoi\ta, wberc,
however, it enjoys a fa\ored place. "Referred to society as a whole and viewed as a principle,
the anti-amalgamation naxim is held holy; It Is a consecrated taboo. The maxim might.
Indeed, be a remnant of something really in the **tnorcs.** It is kept unproblematiCy which is
certainly not the case with all the rest of etiquette and segrregation and
pattemsi for which this quality is sometimes erroneously C’aimed.
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