One-drop rule

Definition

The one-drop rule was a social and legal principle in the United States that classified as Black any individual with any amount of African ancestry. It emerged in the 20th century to enforce racial segregation and the disenfranchisement of people with African descent under the guise of racial purity.

Related terms

Racial Segregation: The enforced separation of different racial groups in a country, community, or establishment.

Jim Crow Laws: State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.

Civil Rights Movement:

A decades-long struggle by African Americans to end legalized racial discrimination, disenfranchisement, and racial segregation in the United States