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"Black No More"?
: Walter White, Hydroquinone, and the "Negro Problem"

Author(s): Eric Porter
Source: American Studies, Vol. 47, No. 1 (Spring 2006), pp. 5-30
Published by: Mid-America American Studies Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40604896
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"Black No More"?:
WalterWhite,Hydroquinone,
and the "Negro Problem"
Eric Porter
In an August1949 Look magazinearticle - "Has Science Conqueredthe

ColorLine?"- NAACP ExecutiveSecretary WalterWhiteponderedthesocial
implications ofmonobenzyl etherofhydroquinone, usedinrub-
an antioxidant
berandplasticsmanufacturing thathadrecently beenfoundtoremovemelanin
fromhumanskin.1Government investigators hadpubliclyidentified thiseffect
in 1940,afterinvestigating
complaints by black and Mexican workers ata Texas
tannery who developedpale patches of skin on their hands, arms and torsos
because of thepresenceof hydroquinone in theirprotective gloves.2Hydro-
quinonewouldeventually be usedmedicinally to treatsevereformsofvitiligo
(a disease involvingtheprogressive loss of melaninwhichmakesone's skin
the
appearmottled)byremoving remaining melaninfrompatients'skin,thus
evening out theirskintone.It has also been used as a fadingcompoundtotreat
differentkindsoflocalizedhyper-pigmentations andis stillfoundinoften-dan-
gerousskinlightening cosmeticproductssoldtopeoplewithdarkcomplexions
acrosstheglobe.3
In 1949,however,theultimatemedical,cosmetic,and social impactsof
hydroquinone were stillunknown.Whitewrotehis articleaftertravelingto
Chicago to meet withscientists engagedin researchon thesubstance.4 After-
wards, he took it uponhimself to speculate on its futurein ways thatechoed
GeorgeSchuyler's1931prototypical blacksciencefiction novelBlackNo More,
AmericanStudies,47:1 (Spring2006): 5-30

0026-3079/2006/4701-005$2.50/0
5
6 Eric Porter
inwhichDr. JuniusCrookman, a fictional Harlemphysician, devisesa wayto

inducevitiligo"atwill"and"solvetheAmericanraceproblem"byturning dark
skinspale.5Unfortunately forWhite,hisspeculations, whichmight be described
as a bad piece ofjournalismthatdegenerated intoan involuntary piece of sci-
encefiction,rendered hima lightning rodforcriticism. Forthecivilrights leader
seemedto suggestthathydroquinone provided a solution to the problems of
segregation, racism, and colonialism in the post-World War II world by en-
ablingnon-white peoplesto bleachtheirskins.
White'sarticlebaffledhiscontemporaries. Notonlydidhe seemto be ad-
an
vocating absurd, and
demeaning, physically damaging politicalstrategy; some
werealso struck the
by irony thatthe comments about hydroquinone fromcame
theblond-haired, blue-eyed Executive Secretary of the NAACP. Earlyin his
tenurewiththeorganization, Whitehadbeensentto theSouthto gatherinfor-
mationfortheorganization's anti-lynching crusadeanddidso,risking hislifein
theprocess,by passingas a whitetravelingsalesman.His careeras a "race
man"and his leadershipof theNAACP since 1931 bothaffirmed as well as
calledintoquestiondefinitions ofracialidentity, whichinturnprompted ques-
tionsabouthisroleattheorganization's helm.6
Whitewas at something of a personaland professional crossroadseven
the
before publication ofthe article.
He took a leave of absence from theNAACP
effectiveon June1, 1949.He had suffered a heart attack in 1947 and sincethen
had struggled had
withpoorhealth.His doctors suggested that he cut backhis
activitiesto prolonghis life.Whiteoriginally asked to take his leave in late
1948,buttheNAACP askedhimtodelayit.Subsequently, he asked to resignon
thebasis of his heartcondition, buttheNAACP boardwouldnotacceptthat
requesteither.Eventually,theorganization allowedhimtotakea one-year leave
ofabsence,witha decisionon hisreturn as leaderto be deferred tothefollow-
ingyear.(He was eventually reinstated as Secretary aftersomedebate.)During
hisleave ofabsenceWhitepursuedwithgreaterenthusiasm hisalternative ca-
reeras a publicspeakerand opinionmaker,agentofpostwarU.S. diplomacy,
andblack/white intermediary.Atthismoment, whenpowerful corporate, state,
and civicinterests wereincreasingly investedin resolving, at leaston thesur-
face,some of theprofounddiscrepanciesbetweentheostensiblyegalitarian
idealsoftheUnitedStatesand itssystemsof racialexclusion,theylookedto
relatively"safe" black publicintellectuals forguidance.A fewyearsearlier
Whitehad begunwriting a syndicated newspapercolumnforthewhitepress,
withtheNewYorkHerald-Tribune as hisprimary outlet.Shortly afterhisleave
began,Whitetraveledtheglobeas a participant in an NBC-sponsoredRound
theWorldTownMeetingoftheAir,a seriesof radiobroadcastschampioning
theUnitedStates'leadershipinthepostwarworld.7
Rumorsabounded,however,thattheunderlying reasonforWhite'sleave
fromtheNAACP was nothis healthbuthisrecentannouncement thathe was
divorcing hisAfrican American wife,Gladys,andhadbecomeengagedtoPoppy
Cannon,a prominent whitesocialiteandSouthAfrican Jewbybirth, withwhom
"Black No More"? 7
he had recently reignited a romancebegunduringthe 1930s.His marriageto

Cannon,onemonth afterhisleavebegan,raisedquestions forhisfamily, NAACP
boardmembers, andthebroaderAfrican Americanpublicaboutwhether hehad
outlivedhisusefulnessas a "raceleader."For some,"Has ScienceConquered
theColorLine?" confirmed suchsuspicions.8
White'smotivations forpublishing thispiece remainsomething ofa mys-
as
teryand, such, invite speculation. It would be easy to assume that White's
and
experiences privilege as a black person who could pass for white fueleda
viewthatentrenched racialhierarchies couldbe dismantled so easilyandsuper-
ficially.His biographer KennethJanken rejectsthe"tempting" conclusionthat
"Has ScienceConqueredtheColorLine?"was a "publicadmissionofwhathe
hadalwaysprivately believed. . . thathewantedtobe white,"bynotingWhite's
repeated, "extra efforts to accentuatehis solidarity and identification withthe
AfricanAmericanpeople."He suggestsinsteadthatWhite'spiece is a rather
inconsequential piece ofjournalismthatis bestunderstood as a "mischievous"
attempt to "bollix up a raftof histormentors on both sidesof thecolorline"and
establisha "maverick" reputation forhimself to furtherhisalternative careeras
a paidconsultant andopinionmaker.Indeed,White Cannon and soon took over
thesyndication of his column,and correspondence indicatesthatWhitewas
tryingtogetitplacedinLookpublisher GardnerCowles' stableofnewspapers.
Thus,"Has Science ConqueredtheColor Line?" mayhave well been a pro-
vocativefirst steptowardconvincing CowlesofWhite'slegitimacy as an expert
on raceunafraid to takeon controversy.9
WhatI willargue,however, is that,whatever White'sprofessional motiva-
tions,theideas embeddedin "Has Science ConqueredtheColor Line?" and
especiallyin a somewhatlonger,unpublished versionof thepiece,thereso-
nancesof theseideas withotherbitsof White'spubliccommentary, and re-
sponsesto theLook articlebyblackleadersand laypeoplealike- all givein-
sightintosomeofthepoliticalandmoraldilemmasrevolving aroundrace,sci-
ence,and civilandhumanrightsduringtheimmediate postwarperiod.More-
over,theyillustrate howa scientific, political,andmoralimperative toabandon
racialthinking hadentered African Americanpoliticalandpopulardiscourseby
theendofthe1940s.Thisimperative emanatedfromdecadesofresearchseek-
ingtodebunkraceas a biologicalcategory, anditwas givennewimmediacy by
boththehorrors ofNazi racialscienceputintopracticeand a post-Hiroshima
andNagasakifaithin science,technology, andrationalthought as vehiclesby
whichtoovercometheproblemsoftheworld(theracistandgenocidalapplica-
tionsofthebombingnotwithstanding). The notionthatracewas irrational and
irrelevant was increasingly prominent, albeitincomplicated ways,through the
1940swithina broader, transnational contextofacademicwriting, journalistic
reportage, andtherhetoric ofstatecraft. Butithada particular andno less com-
plicatedresonanceamongAfrican Americansduringtheimmediate post-World
WarII era.
8 Eric Porter
White'sarticleandthecontroversies iteliciteddemonstratehowdilemmas
aroundraceandrights, conditioned byscientific researchonrace,were,infact,
significantcomponents ofblackracialformations at mid-century.The impera-
tiveto movebeyondrace affectedotherpoliticaland personalchoices- for
example,nationalversusinternational theprimacy
affiliation, ofraceorclass in
social analysis,integrationist
versusnationalist civilrightsagendas,racecon-
sciousnessversuscolorblindnessinpersonaldeportment andinterpersonal re-
lations- facingAfrican Americans. Anditcausedpeopletopondertheuseful-
ness of thesense of blackvirtuethatconstituted theirown understanding of
whatitmeanttobe human.
This essaymovesnextto an assessmentof "Has ScienceConqueredthe
ColorLine?"andissuesthataroseas White,a middle-class "raceman"capable
of passingas white,triedto debunktheidea thatrace had a biologicalbasis
whilemaintaining a linkto his racialcommunity. The investigationcontinues
the
byexamining controversy surrounding White's piece,which demonstrates
howpoliticalleadersandlaypeoplealikeaddressedthelimitations andvaluein
racialaffiliationand racialtranscendence. In theprocess,it exploressomeof
theconceptual andpoliticalquestions aboutrace,science,andrights thatemerged
as blackleaderslikeWhitecontemplated theFaustianbargainof linkingdo-
mesticcivilrights strugglestoU.S. foreign policygoalsanda concomitant ethos
ofcolorblindness.The conclusionrevisitstheidea thatengagements withsci-
entificaccountsofraceweresignificant toAfrican Americanracialformations
atmid-century, anditponderstheimplications oftheseengagements inlightof
scholarlyclaimsabouttheimportance ofblackpoliticalcultures andracialdis-
coursesduringthisperiod.
Black No More?
An extant, unpublished draftof"Has ScienceConqueredtheColorLine?"
provides thefullestinsightintoWhite'sperspectiveon thesocial implications
of hydroquinone. As Whitehimselftriedto pointoutlater,itprovidesa more
nuancedand less advocativetakeon its subjectthanthearticlepublishedin
Look.Whitebeganthedraft byquotingatomicscientist Leo Szilard,whocalled
hydroquinone "a more explosivediscovery thantheatom bomb."Drawingfrom
existing which
research, demonstrated hydroquinoneabilitytolighten
's human
skin,White readilyadmitted thatquestionsremained side
regarding effects, the
dangers associatedwith depigmentation,and thesuccess and permanence of
thetreatment. Butevenas he failedto presentanyinformation that
indicating
this,or anyotherknownsubstance, couldbe usedto darkenone's skin,White
optimisticallypredicted thatwithintwototenyearsa substancewouldbe avail-
able thatmightenablea humanbeing"toadjusthispigmentation accordingto
hisneedsordesireswhich,ina worldmadeup oftwo-thirds non-whiteandone-
thirdwhitepeoples,mayshatter thecolorlineandthedangerousracismithas
"Black No More"? 9
Figure 1: WalterWhite,in a 1942 portraitby Gordon Parks. Courtesy

Division,FSA/OWI Collection,
Libraryof Congress,Prints& Photographs
[LC-USF34-013344-C]
createdaroundtheworldas explosivelyandbasicallyas Dr. Szilardbelievesit

will."10
Whitenextset outto "presentsome of theracial,social,economic,and
politicalconsequenceswhichcould developwhenand ifthereis availablea
meansofracialtransformation atreasonablecost."Whitepointedtotheimpact
onthecosmeticsindustry, possiblyonthe"multi-million
dollarannualbusiness
ofwhitepeoplemakingthemselves and
dark," certainly,givenhydroquinone's
properties,onthemarket forskinbleachingcreamsintheblackcommunity. He
also addressedthequestionofwhether otherphysicalmarkers wouldstillde-
shouldpeoplechangetheirskincolor.Hairwouldnotbe a
fineracialidentities
10 Eric Porter
factor,he suggested, becausea hairstraightener "ofveryrealpermanence" had

recently beendiscovered.Plasticsurgery wouldtakecareoffacialfeatures.11
Whiteusedthisdiscussionofphysiognomy tocall intoquestionthenotion
of embodiedracialdifferences. "Thereis," Whiteargued,"amplebiological
reasonforthecircumstance thatthereis farless difference in thefeaturesof
Americansofvariousracesthanmostofus imagine."Plasticsurgery mightnot
be necessaryintheend,forAmerica'sfixation on"pigmentation" hadobscured
thefactthatpeople of different "races" sharefacialfeatures.He invitedhis
readersto observeblackpeopleandwhitepeoplein publicplaces andto note
thatmanyofthemhad features purportedly belongingto membersoftheother
group.Echoing Crevecoeur's Letters from American
an Farmer(1782)- albeit
in a moreinclusiveway- Whitesuggestedthatsocietywas moving"towards
thecreationofanAmericanpattern ofracialfigures," stemming fromthevari-
ety of "racialstrains" inthe United a of
States, longhistory miscegenation and
a centuries-long of
practice "passing"bylight-skinned blacks.12
Whitenextspeculatedaboutthebroadersocial implications of chamele-
onicprocesses.One immediate question was whether black peoplewoulduse
hydroquinone. "Contrary to the beliefs of a number of fair-minded, prejudice-
freewhiteAmericans whoknowaboutmonobenzyl hydroquinone," Whitewrote,
"itis exceedingly doubtful ifmanyofthefourteen-million identifiable Negroes
in theUnitedStateswouldavail themselvesof theopportunity to depigment
theirskins."For,evenifracewerea biologicalfiction, tangiblemodesofaffili-
ationalso definedblackidentities. Not onlymightpeoplebe loathto giveup
relationships withfriends and family, buta senseofculturalcommunity and a
collectivestruggle forfullcitizenship also drewthemtogether as a group.White
quotedan unnamed"Negroeditor,"identified in thepublishedversionof the
H.
piece as John Sengstacke of the ChicagoDefender."Negroesareproudof
theirheritage anddo notwantto lose itbymerging withthewhiteworld.They
wantfirst-class - -
citizenship notsecond-class as Negroes.Theyareproudof
theprogress theyhavemadeagainstterrific oddstowardattainment ofthatsta-
tus."13
Moreover,Whitecontinued, the"destruction ofthemythofwhitemoral,
military,andothersuperiority by World War II and thegrowingrevoltagainst
colonialism which is sweeping Asia and Africa can and maycreatea situation in
certainareasoftheworld where it can be dangerous to have a white skin."So
Whitereaffirmed his claimthat"one ofthemajordevelopments fromthedis-
of
covery monobenzyl hydroquinone may be scientific research to add instead
ofremovemelaninfromtheskin."14
Whiteconcludedbysuggesting thatoncehydroquinone was "perfected and
marketed," itcould "affect more profoundly racial relationsin the United States
andthroughout theworldthananyotherscientific discoveryto date."Quoting
sociologist Louis Wirth, White averred that "the progressof civilizationhas
beenan enlargement ofhumanfreedom - or humanchoice,"andhe surmised
thathydroquinone presented "a new avenueforenlarging therangeofhuman
"Black No More"? 11
freechoice."The logicofthepiece suggestedthatsuchfreedoms wouldcome

froma chemically-induced destabilization of racialcategoriesand themean-
ingsandvaluationsembeddedinthem.Thediscovery mightwellusherina new
era,"whereless importance willbe placeduponskincoloras a determinant of
humanabilityandacceptancethanhas everbeentruebefore."Andat thismo-
mentof growingmilitancy by coloredpeople throughout theglobe,he sug-
gested that thisscientificsolution might be the only avenue forpeace. "It re-
mainsto be seenwhether theabilityto decreaseor increasetheamountofpig-
mentation inthehumanbodywillbe usedto createa worldinwhichwhiteand
non-whitepeoplescanlivetogether inmutualrespectorwhether thedarkworld's
resentment againstexploitation and social disadvantage will burstintoviolent
revoltagainstwhiteracism."15
White'scomments inthearticledraftclearlyspeakto a faithin thepower
of science- encompassing in thiscase bothappliedtechnology and rational,
- to
objectiveinquiry disrupt racial hierarchies. Such views permeated public
discourseintheUnitedStatesandelsewhereduringthe1940s,andtheycan be
foundinWhite'sautobiography, A Man Called White, publisheda yearbefore
theLook article.There,Whiterecognizedthe"magicin a whiteskin"andthe
"tragedy, loneliness,exile,in a black skin.""All race prejudice,"he argued,
withtheexceptionof "thatwhichis deliberately uttered inbase attempts togain
politicalor economic advantage ... is founded on one of the mostabsurd falla-
in
cies all thought - thebelief that there is a basic difference between a Negro
and a whiteman."He notedrecentworkin biology,whichhad concluded,as
one scientist putit,that"thesaying'We areall brothers undertheskin'. . . has
a basis in scientificfact."He also ponderedtheimpactonAmericanracerela-
tions"iftheskinofeveryNegroinAmericaweresuddenly toturnwhite."Would
nottheresult,he asked,be thattheywouldtheywouldthenbe subjectto the
same "individualjudgmentin mattersof abilities,energies,honesty, cleanli-
ness,as arewhites?"16
In bothhisautobiography andthearticledraft, Whitesuggesteda wayout
of the regime of what Paul Gilroy, following Frantz Fanon, calls
"epidermalization" bypointing toa newconfiguration ofthehumanoutsidean
economyofracialdifference: onethatwas rootedinthebiologicalsamenessof
thehumanbodyundertheskin.17 Whitedrewupongrowingscientific evidence
to support thenotionofhumanequality.Biologists,geneticists, and social sci-
entists(mostfamouslyanthropologist FranzBoas) had been challengingthe
biologisticfoundations ofwhitesupremacy fordecadesandhadsoughtcultural
orenvironmental explanations fordifferences inhumanbehaviorortechnologi-
cal development. Suchavenuesofinquirytookon addedurgencyinthe1930s
and 1940s,as non-blackresearchers developedaffinities forAfrican American
politicalstruggles, blackresearchers established theirauthority inthescientific
and social scientificdebates,and all gainedknowledgeaboutand oftende-
nouncedNazi racialtheory putintopractice.18
12 Eric Porter
Suchideasweretakenup byliberalopinionmakersandantiracist activists

alike,andtheyenteredthepublicdiscoursemoregenerally throughthepopu-
larityandinfluence oftitlessuchas RuthBenedict'sPatternsofCulture(1934)
andRace: ScienceandPolitics( 1940),BenedictandGeneWeltfish's TheRaces
of Mankind (1943), M.F. AshleyMontagu's Man s MostDangerous Myth: The
Fallacyof Race 1
( 942), and,ofcourse,Gunnar Myrdal'sAn American Dilemma
(1944). Myrdal'sbook drewheavilyupontheexistingworkof and commis-
sionednewstudiesbyvariousscholars,including AfricanAmericanmembers
ofthe"Howardcircle"likeE. Franklin FrazierandRalphBunche,thusbring-
ingtheirworkto a widerpublic.As CareyMeWilliamssummarized thesitua-
tionin 1951:
Encouragedby new scientificfindings, the spokesmenfor

equalitybecame increasinglyinsistent
thattheold barriers
shouldbe removed, andatthesametimethedefenseofthese
beganto assumea ludicrousquality,shrill,falsetto,
barriers
croaking.Themoresupport thesenewscientificfindings
pro-
videdfortheAmericancreedof equality,themoreinterest
theyaroused - withtheresultthatthemyths formerlyusedto
have losttheirpowerto co-
rationalizeprejudicedattitudes
ercepeople'sthinking aboutracerelations.19
Black Virtuein thePublic Sphere

Yetthisscientific ofhumanequalityraiseddistinctive
definition andpress-
ingquestions for African Americans atthis historicalmoment, which was char-
acterized,as Whiteputit,by "thedestruction of themythofwhitemoral. . .
superiority."Therewas indeeda strong hopethatresearchprovinga biological
basis ofhumanequalitywouldundermine restrictive definitions ofthehuman
and insteadgranta fullspectrum of rightsand moraltreatment to people of
color.But whenWhitementioned theanticipated resistanceto usinghydro-
quinoneon thebasis ofgroupprideand a politicaldemandforcitizenship "as
Negroes," he referenced thecomplex historical processby which black people
hadredefined racefroma biologicalcategory intoa cultural, ethnic,andpoliti-
cal one thatservedmultiple purposes.
Scholarshave increasingly pointedto the 1940s as a criticalmomentin
blackpoliticalandsocialformations. NikhilPal Singh,forexample,describes
as comingto fruition during the 1940s, "theemergenceof blackpeople as a
distinctpeople and a -
public and the concomitant development of race as a
The
politicalspace."20 development of thisnational, collective sense of self-
awarenessandsemi-autonomous politicalspace - what he calls a "black public
sphere" - was indeed a complicated process; itwas a product of staterecogni-
tionandprotection (albeitminimal)ofblackinterests, local andnationalblack
cultureindustries,and a seriesof black social movements thatwereincreas-
"Black No More"? 13
inglyurban,national,andattimestransnationalintheirorientation.
Anditwas
anythingbutuniform in itscomposition,
itsself-conception,
oritsrelationship
to thenotionof"race":
To speakofan emergent blackpublicsphereorblacknation-

alityat theinception of the longcivilrightsera is notto en-
dorsea separatist politics black nationalism,
of nordoes it
infera singularorcorporate in fact,itmaydo
racialidentity;
theopposite.The modernity of theblackpublic/nation may
actually resultfrom the veryheterogeneity (in termsof re-
gion,occupation, class,andgender)increasingly arrayedand
negotiated underthe or
sign'Negro,' 'black,' as well as from
a growingawarenessofthelackofbiologicalfoundations for
anda wideningofthemeansandscope
racialdifferentiation,
ofintraracialandinterracial communication.21
In otherwords,complexmodesof affiliation andpathstowardcollectiveem-

powerment were in a sense moved forward by thepartialunmooring of race
frombiology.But thisfreedomfromtheconfinesof race thatenabledaction
andself-awareness necessarily broughtwithitquestionsaboutthebasis offu-
tureaffiliation.
White'spiece referenced theway thattheprocessof redefining race as
something otherthan biologyinvolved a of
rejection racially-determined sys-
temsofmorality thatdeniedAfricanAmericanstheirhumanity and,byexten-
sion,fullcitizenship. Oftensuggestedinsteadwas an alternative moralframe-
work,whichlocatedhumanworthnotas a giftofskincolorbutas a productof
a collectivestruggleforcitizenshipbyminority subjects.Thuswas blackvirtue
madecoterminous withhumanvirtue.Of course,a significant feature ofblack
thought, politics,and culturalproduction sincethepopularization of Boasian
anthropology andotherinvestigationschallenging thescientific
validityofrace
has beenthetensionsthathaveemergedwhensuchstudieshave,byextension,
called intoquestionthebasis of blackvirtueand redemptive constructions of
blackhumanity. One can see this,forexample,in theoften-discussed workof
W.E.B.Du Bois,whosoughtinvariousways,beginning inthe1910s,torecon-
cile thefreedomspromisedby the scientificdelegitimization of race witha
retentionofraceas botha category ofsocialanalysisandas a collectivesignof
positivemoralsignificance.22As blackpeopleinthelate1930sand 1940ssought
to incorporate theinsightsof scientificchallengesto theidea of race,while
maintaining andsometimes creatinga senseofduty,honor,orethicalbehavior
thatwerealso "arrayedandnegotiated underthesign'Negro' or 'black,'"they
oftenfoundthemselves facinga difficult
philosophical conundrum. Forthecon-
verseoftheend of racewas thequestionofwhethersocial realities - and,by
extension, good workson thepartof humanbeingswithdarkcomplexions -
requireda kindofpragmatic retentionoftheconcept.
14 Eric Porter
Whitehimself seemedtobe struggling withhisownpersonalethical-racial

dilemmaduringthisperiod,whichwas inflected withclass andgenderissues,
as wellas questionsaboutthesocialstatusofblackpeopleintheUnitedStates
andelsewhere. Thisis evidentinhisinterrogation ofhisownracialidentity inA
Man Called White. Fordespitehisrejectionofraceandhiswilltoassimilation,
heretainsa blackidentity thatis simultaneously beholdentothe"onedrop"rule
andsociallydetermined through good deeds.At thebeginning ofhisautobiog-
he
raphy, presents himself as "the paradox ofthe colorline." "I am a Negro.My
skinis white,myeyes are blue,myhairis blond.The traitsof myrace are
nowherevisibleuponme."Yet,he continues, "I amnotwhite.Thereis nothing
withinmymindandheartwhichtemptsmetothinkI am."23
Whiteposes thequestionof whyhe shouldremaina "Negro"whenhe
couldpass. His commitment to blackness,we soon findout,was solidifiedin
hisyouthwhenhis familybarelyescapedwiththeirlivesduringthe1906At-
lantaraceriot.Thereandthenhe realizedthatbiology,"invisible"as itwas in
his case, had definedhimin theeyesof othersas less thanhuman.ButWhite
tooksolace thathe was amongthevirtuouspeople,thathis "mindand spirit
werepartoftheracesthathadnotfullyawakened";hewas nota member ofthat
group who were "made sick and murderous bypride" and "whose story inthe
is
history of the world,a record of bloodshed,rapine, pillage."ThusWhite
and
retainsan investment injuxtaposinghis whiteskinand his black "mindand
thelatterofwhichis mostattuned
spirit," towhathe describesattheendofhis
bookas an essential"humankindness, decency,love ... theonlyrealthingin
theworld."24
Sciencemightindicatethattherewereno differences betweenraces,yet
thestoryofhowWhitewas, a sense,embodiedas blackbytheAtlantalynch
in
mobbecauseofhistory, ancestry, andtheapplication oftheone-drop rule,dem-
onstrates how race continuedto influencehis consciousness.Moreover,his
embraceofa virtuous black"mindandspirit"andhiscommitment tothe"race"
speakofanunderstanding ofraceatleastas determinative tohisthinking as the
empiricist rejectionof difference thatcontemporary biologyprovided.White
was,ineffect, responding simultaneously tothemoralimperatives todenounce
race,toclaimhisownhumanity, andtodefinean identity fromwhichtocommit
to serving"therace."
LosingFace
Thereis someindicationintheautobiography that,as a coldwarrioranda
light-skinnedblackman,Whitesaw hisroleas a raceleaderas somewhatpre-
cariousgiventhedevelopingcolorconsciousnessfuelingcivilrightsstruggles
intheUnitedStatesandanti-colonialist
strugglesabroad.He seemedtobe wor-
riedthatan increasinglymilitant, mightnotrecognizehis
mass constituency
blacknessor adhereto thesocial authority
or cautiouspoliticalstrategies
put
forthbyeliteleaders.Notingthat"theendofthewarbrought manysignsthat
"Black No More"? 15
thepatienceof theNegrowas wearingthin,"Whitecelebratedthiswhenex-

pressedinacceptablepoliticalactivismbutwas criticalofitwhenarticulated in
the"less commendable andoftenquiteembarrassing . . . belligerence andsurli-
nessofNegroestowardswhites."Whitedescribedinstanceswherehe himself
was "thevictimofsuchill-willuntilI escapedfromthesituation orwas forced
to letitbe knownthatI was notwhite."25
This questionof whetherWhitecould adequatelyserve"therace" also
emergedas a significant issue in thecontroversy thatfollowedpublicationof
thearticle.ManyintheAfrican Americancommunity werealreadyupsetabout
hisdivorcefromhisAfrican Americanwife,Gladys,andhismarriage toPoppy
Cannon.Carl Murphy, an NAACP boardmemberand publisherof theBalti-
moreAfro- American,forexample,conducteda campaigninAugustof 1949to
oustWhitefromhisNAACP positionduringhis leave. WhileMurphysaid he
had no problempersonallywiththemarriage, he claimedthatit had already
createda situation inwhichWhiteno longerhadthesupportoftheblackcom-
munity, accordingto a poll of"hundreds" ofpeopleintheBaltimorearea.26
PublicationoftheLookarticleaddedfuelto debatesaboutWhite'sleader-
ship.MembersoftheNAACP's leadershipwerenotat all happywithWhite's
articleand generallyvieweditas an embarrassment. AlthoughsomeNAACP
officialsdefendedWhite'smarriage - itwas,afterall, consistent withboththe
group'shistory of interracial and
leadership membership as well as withtheir
-
visionofequality otherofficials thoughtthat the combined effectofthemar-
riageandthearticleundermined hislegitimacy At
as a leader. theorganization's
meetingin Octoberof 1949, theNew Yorkbranchmovedto oustWhiteas
ExecutiveSecretary, a motionthatwas tabledby theNAACP boardof direc-
tors.27Meanwhile,theNew YorkAmsterdam News,BaltimoreAfro- American,
andChicagoDefenderreported thatthearticlehadraisedquestionsamongthe
African AmericanpublicaboutWhite'scapacityto headtheorganization.28
Whenanalyzingtheseresponsesto White,itmustbe notedthatwhilehis
originaldraftsuggestedthatthesolutiontotheraceproblemlayinthedestabi-
lizationof racialcategoriesstemming fromincreasesor decreasesin dermal
pigmentation, theLookpiecegavetheimpression thattheleaderoftheNAACP
was actuallypromoting theidea of mass skinbleachingas a viablemeansof
lettingblack people "live like otherAmericansand be judged on theirown
merits." Forstarters,Lookchosetorun,betweenthetitleandtheauthor'sname
andphotograph, theteaser,"A revolutionary chemicalcompoundhasbeendis-
coveredthatturnsblack skinlight.Whenit is perfected, Negroeswho use it
couldpass as white."The magazineaddedforemphasistwophotographs ofan
attractive,
bathingsuit-clad youngAfrican American woman,thesecondofwhich
was overexposedto lightenthemodel'sskintone.The captionraisedtheques-
tionofwhether "life[would]lookbrighter to herinthe'whiteman'sworld'if
shechangesthecolorofherskin."
Moreover,thedrafthad two long paragraphsdetailingthereasonswhy
blackpeoplemightnotwantto bleachtheirskins,buttheLook piece's argu-
16 Eric Porter
mentagainstwhitening was reducedto a shortparagraph revolvingaroundthe

Sengstackequoteregarding "first
class citizenship ... as Negroes."Andeven
thisquotewas bracketed by two fairlystrong statements in praiseofwhatmight
be achievedthrough theuse of hydroquinone as a skinlightener. The article
noted,"For[African Americans], monobenzyl provide way getthefair
will a to
treatment they'vealways wanted." As a rejoinder toSengstacke, itquotedLena
Home,whowas notmentioned intheoriginal:"Thiswouldbe thegreatest thing
forworldpeace and race relationsthathas everhappened."29 Therewas no
mention thatonemightwanttodarkenone's skininthecontext of"thedestruc-
tionofthemythofwhitemoral,military, andothersuperiority byWorldWarII
andthegrowingrevoltagainstcolonialism."Takentogether, thesechangesin
theLookversionsuggested that"a rangeofhumanfreechoice"wouldbe achieved
byembracing whiteness ratherthanbydestabilizing racialcategories.
Beyondhelping us to understand how out of favor Whitehad fallenwith
segments of the African American public and his colleaguesat theNAACP,
reactionstothearticle,toWhite'smarriage, andtothecombinedeffect ofboth
giveinsight intothemultiple systems ofidentification through which "race lead-
ers"and laypeoplethought ofthemselves andone anotherin racialtermsand
someofthecontradictions inherent intheseacts.Theyalso illuminate themoral
economyconditioning the choices members of the African American public
madeabouttheviabilityofraceat thismoment, includingthejudgmentsthey
madeaboutothers'choices.
JournalistandnovelistGeorgeSchuyler usedthecontroversy overWhite's
marriage as an opportunity (as withBlackNo More)tocritiquewhathe viewed
as theflawedlogicofpoliticalaffiliation basedonbiologyandfamilystatus.In
a draftofhis regularcolumnthatthePittsburgh Courierultimately refusedto
print,Schuyler ridiculedtheNewYorkNAACP Branch'sattempt tooustWhite
andblastedthebiologisticlogicof"racechauvinism" intheblackcommunity.
White'sstandingas a race leader,accordingto Schuyler, was precariousbut
remainedintactbecauseofthe"onedroptheory" ofracialidentification. How-
ever,hismarriage toCannonappearedtodilutehisracialstatus.Schuylersatiri-
callyproposeda systemof racialclassification, whichwould appeal to "Ku
Kluxers,the professionalAnglo-Saxons,AfricanNationalists,[and] the
Negrophiles" alike:"In thepastithas alwaysbeensomewhatdifficult to deter-
minewhoweretherealleadersbutwe needworry nomore.An anthropologist's
colortapeandan addingmachineareall thatwillbe needed,asidefroma fam-
ily tree.Couples would have theirchromatic place and keep it,withthejet
blacksleadingthelistandthePinkiesatthebottom.In thatcase Mr.Whiteand
a wholelotofotherswoulddefinitely haveto go."30
Otherobjectionsto White'smarriageacrossthe"color line" clearlydid
speakto whatKevin Gaines identifies as a nationalist and oftenmasculinist
"racialconservation" thatfrequently guidedblackupliftstrategies earlyinthe
twentieth century and resonatedin blackpoliticsduringsubsequentdecades.
Suchprojectsrejectedtheassumptions ofwhitesupremacist racialsciencebut
"Black No More"? 17
werestillproblematic intheirrelianceon biologicalracialcategoriesandtheir

crafting of racial community andleadership inpatrilineal andpatriarchal terms.31
To theextentthatMurphy'spoll accurately portrayed the sentiments of blacks
inBaltimore, itsuggestedthatbymarrying outsideoftherace,Whitewas seen
as turning his backon theracialbodypoliticimaginedas a familyand calling
intoquestionhisownmoralauthority.
Yetotherresponsestothecombinedeffect ofWhite'smarriage andarticle
wererootedinemergent definitions ofracethatmovedbeyondbiologyandthe
family. White'sarticleand marriageraisedquestionsaboutvariousmodesof
group identification anda collectivesenseofblackvirtuethatwereinstrumen-
taltothevisionofa pluralyetegalitarian societythatfueledcivilrights struggles
during the 1940s and beyond, and that workedin uneasysymbiosiswithan
integrationist ethos.Atthismoment thatwitnessedtheincreasing visibilityand
self-consciousness of theblackpublicsphere,leaderssuchas Whiteenabled
and gave self-awareness to theirconstituents, butthispublicsimultaneously
demandedfromtheseleadersappropriate modesofcommunication andservice
to theblacknation.It thusseemsclearthatWhite'smarriageand his article
providedmeansfora referendum forotherpre-existing concernsabouthislead-
ership at both a and
practical a symbolic level. It is also clearthatthepublic
outcry over both and
episodes(White'smarriage article) linked dissatisfaction
withWhitetobroaderconcernsabouttheviabilityandmoralstatusofraceand
racialaffiliation.
Variousblackleaderspointedly rejectedtheassimilationist challengeraised
by White'sarticle.Black nationalist JamesLawson,presidentof theUnited
AfricanNationalist Movement, dismissedthearticleas an exampleofWhite's
poormoralbehavior:namely,a racialself-contempt thatLawsonthought was
also expressedthrough hismarriage to Cannon.EdithAlexander, a local Balti-
moreleader,did notthinkblackpeople would avail themselvesof thetreat-
ment,butshedidexpresssomeanxietythattheycouldbenefitfroma stronger
senseofgroupawareness."I don'tfeelthatcoloredpersonswouldgiveup the
pridein theirownrace in orderto makesocial gainsthrough a synthetic pro-
cess. It's timethatwe getproudofbeingcolored."And S. VincentOwen,Ex-
ecutiveSecretary of theSt. Paul UrbanLeague,used themomentto affirm a
senseof blackvirtuenecessaryforpoliticalaction.He suggested,"mostcol-
oredpersonswouldrather see ourdemocracy actuallygeta chancetoworkfor
all- regardless ofcolororclass. Certainly, theywouldrather havea first-class
citizenship as coloredpersonsthanto hopeto be acceptedin a whiteworldby
changingthecoloroftheskin."32
Membersoftheblackleft,on theotherhand,saw intheLook articlecon-
troversy an opportunity to commenton theNAACP's retreat fromthemoral
imperative to struggleforhumanrightsacrosstheglobe.AlphaeusHuntonJr.
oftheCouncilofAfrican Affairs, whichwas currently movingfurther totheleft
and losingsupportof mainstream civil rightsleaders,ridiculedWhite'spro-
posal and said "a chemicalchangeof skinpigmentation as a solutionto the
18 Eric Porter
problemsofracerelationsis abouton a parwiththeatomicbombformulafor

gainingworldpeace."33In thewake of theHolocaustand thebombingsof
Hiroshimaand Nagasaki,such commentswerea powerfulcondemnation of
moderntechnologiesand theirgenocidalapplications, as well as an implicit
critiqueofthefailuresofthescienceofhumansamenesstoaddressadequately
capital'sroleinthecreationofracialhierarchies.34
Communist WilliamPatterson, ExecutiveSecretary
oftheCivilRightsCon-
gressand author ofthe We
exposé ChargeGenocide, which heandPaulRobeson
submitted as a petitionto theUnitedNationsin 1951,made explicitconnec-
tionsbetweenWhite'sarticleand themoralfailingsof themainstream civil
rightsmovement because of its retreat
from anti-colonialist
internationalist,
politics.White'sproposal"wouldbe laughable,"he argued,"wereitnotsucha
grievousinsult"to "coloredpeople"intheUnitedStatesandacrosstheglobe.
Mr.White's'solution'woulddisarmthecoloredpeopleinthe
UnitedStatesand thescoresof millionsof colonialpeople
nowrisingagainstoppression.He bidsthemsuffer insilence
thevilenessofgovernment-inspiredterror
andoppression, to
awaitthecomingof an insultingand degrading'chemical
Messiah.' Mr.White's'solution'is notan unexpectedone.
UnderhisguidancethetopleadersoftheNAACP havefailed
evertoseriously
challengethegovernment's mailed-fist[sic]
treatmentofcoloredpeoples.35
(Color)blindedBy Science
Hunton'sandPatterson's critiquespointtowardthecomplexgeo-political
stakesof thisimperative to move beyondracialthinking. Theysuggestthat
White'sscientificallysupported to
challenge legacies of racism shouldbe un-
derstoodin lightofthevarietyofuniversalisms beingimplemented to support
domesticand globalpoliticsduringthe 1940s. WorldWarII, of course,had
helpedbringabouta crisisin whitesupremacy. Even as therace war against
Japanraged inthePacific,thestruggle Hitler's
against racistregime(andknowl-
edge of the Holocaust at theend of thewar) made the existenceof whitesu-
premacy in theUnited States all themore contradictory.This was notloston
AfricanAmericanactivists, whoarguedthata successfulstruggle againstfas-
cismabroadmustbe accompanied a
by dismantlingof racism athome. As Singh
observes,thePittsburgh Courier's"doublevictory"campaign(whichlinked
victoryoverseastoendingprejudiceathome)"starkly confirmed [that]themoral
statusofAmerican nationhood andthestatusofblacknationality within America
wasnowinextricably intertwined. Theprofound irresolution
regarding mean-
the
ingand substanceof universalcitizenship, posed again and againthroughout
U.S. history,couldno longerbe sustainedorupheld."36
"Black No More"? 19
Yetthemoralscenesurrounding civilandhumanrightsstruggles was also

deeply conditioned and constrained by the linkages that emerged among U.S.
foreign policy, the fate ofthe colonized world, black activism,and ideas about
citizenship duringWorldWarII andtheearlyCold War.As Singhpointsout,a
seriesof competing universalisms mediatedtheserelationships, rangingfrom
thenationalist, imperialist, "civilizing"missionput forth in Henry Luce's "Ameri-
can Century" toW.E.B. Du Bois's calls for"HumanRightsforall Minorities"
thatlinkedthefateofAfrican Americanswiththatofcolonizedsubjectsacross
theglobe. Of course,thefateof visionslike Du Bois's was eventually to be
displacedby Cold War needs. And the moral of
imperative global human rights
was conveniently overlooked whenevaluating thefateofAmericanallies'colo-
niesorwas subsumedbya "functionalist argument" concernedwiththeelimi-
nationof racismin theUnitedStatesand elsewhereprimarily as a meansof
countering Soviet propaganda and of improving the United States' reputation
andinfluence inthedecolonizing world.Thusdevelopeda "color-blind univer-
salism,"predicated on the assumption thattheUnited Stateswas the moral cen-
teroftheworld,thatraceandracismwereerodingin theUnitedStatesand in
thecolonizedworld,andthatU.S. foreign policywas anything butracist.More-
over,as Gerald Home the of
argues, discrediting anti-racist, anti-colonial move-
mentsas "'red' slowed down the movement against colonialism and - perhaps
notcoincidentally - gave 'whitesupremacy'a newlease on life."37
WalterWhite'sandtheNAACP's roleinthispoliticalandconceptualshift
attheendofthe1940s,as therangeofacceptableblackprotest diminished, are
well documented. Duringthewarandintheimmediate postwarperiod, White
and theNAACP analyzedracismas a historicaland globalphenomenon and
optimistically linkedAfricanAmericanfreedom to thesuccessfulliberation of
thecolonizedworld.Such efforts can be seen in White'sparticipation in the
UnitedNationsfounding conference andhis subsequentlobbyingefforts with
UnitedNationsandUnitedStatesgovernment officials.Yet,as Jankenargues,
Whiteincreasingly recognizedthatemerging Cold Waraimswouldsupersede
thestruggleforglobalhumanrights - thelattermade clearwhentheUnited
StatesblockedtheUnitedNations'consideration forDu Bois's andtheNAACP's
humanrightspetition, AnAppealto theWorld, at theendof 1947 in largepart
becauseof theSovietUnion'ssupportforit.Withgrowingpressurefromthe
Truman administration, andinexchangeforconcessionsondomesticcivilrights
issues,Whiteseparateddomesticand international rightsissues and puthis
organization's supportbehindanti-communism. Althoughhe continued to ad-
vocateratification ofthe1948 UnitedNations'resolution onhumanrights, White
distancedhimselffromtheAppeal.He also helpedpurgetheblackleft(includ-
ing Du Bois) fromtheNAACP, attackedcriticsof U.S. racismabroad,and
supported President HarryS. Truman's PointFourforeign which
policyinitiative,
attempted to stemsocialismin the"ThirdWorld"through economicdevelop-
mentprogramsand sharedtechnicalknowledge.Not onlydid thisinitiative
20 Eric Porter
pave theway forprivateinvestments by U.S. corporations in thesoon-to-be

former colonies,butit also leftoversight withEuropeanpowersin countries
thatwerestillundercolonialrule.38
As mentioned earlier,Whiteinpartused his"leave ofabsence"to devote
moretimeto international statesmanship. In Julyof 1949, he announcedto
NAACP branchpresidents that,duringtheleave of absence,"I shallcontinue
myefforts through newspaper columns,articles, booksanda limitednumber of
speakingengagements to do what I can to carry the Association's messageto
theUnitedStatesandtheworld."39 In Decemberofthatyear,he optimistically
observed"thatthereis almosta revolution takingplace intheUnitedStatesas
thepeoplethemselves wake-up to the enormous damageto ourprestigebythe
continuationofdiscrimination hereat home."In otherwords,Americaneeded
to changeitspracticesat homein orderto competewiththeSovietUnionin
carvingoutspheresofinfluence inthenewlyandsoon-to-be independent colo-
niesinAsia,AfricaandtheCaribbean.Theendof 1949 sawWhitelobbyingfor
economicandmilitary aidforNehru'snewgovernment as a meansofpre-empting
Sovietinfluence inIndia.40
As Whiteand otheractorsputcompeting universalisms intoplay in the
geo-political
sphere, the intellectualand political scenewas profoundly condi-
tionedbyscientific researchdebunking perceived wisdom about race.
Although
suchan underpinning was deployedin fairly radicalantiracistandanti-imperi-
alistwritingssuchas Du Bois's 1945 Colorand Democracy,thepoliticaland
moraldemandfora fullyrealizeduniversalcitizenship rootedin sciencewas
articulatedmostvisiblyin theU.S. publicsphereby GunnarMyrdal's1944
studyAnAmericanDilemma,theculmination ofsevenyearsofresearchspon-
soredby theCarnegieCorporation. As Myrdalputit: "The AmericanNegro
problemis a problemin theheartof theAmerican.. . . Thoughourstudyin-
cludeseconomic,social,andpoliticalracerelations, at bottomourproblemis
themoraldilemmaoftheAmerican."41
Withinthemoralstanceinherent inMyrdal'sconceptualization ofraceand
nationalbelongingwe gainfurther insightintothelimitations ofthelogicpro-
posedbyWhiteinhisarticle.Myrdal'smoralimperative basedonthescientific
proofofhumansamenessplayeda criticalroleinchangingconceptions ofrace
and strugglesto securerightsthroughout thedecade and intothe 1950s.The
NAACP's Legal DefenseFundand its allies citedit in briefsfora seriesof
landmark desegregation cases culminating in 1954inBrownv.BoardofEduca-
tion(ChiefJusticeEarlWarrenalso referred to itin his opinionon theBrown
decisionitself).Thiscall toactionbasedon commonbiologywas also foundin
UNESCO's 1950 and 1951 statements on race,whichweretheresultof a UN
Economicand Social Councilresolution thatcalled uponUNESCO "to con-
siderthedesirability ofinitiatingandrecommending thegeneraladoptionofa
programme ofdisseminating scientific factsdesignedtoremovewhatis gener-
allyknownas racialprejudice."Myrdalwas onthecommittee thathelpeddraft
"Black No More"? 21
thefirstofthesestatements underthedirection ofphysicalanthropologist M.F.

AshleyMontagu,fromwhose own workhe had drawnin An AmericanDi-
lemma.The UNESCO groupevenwentso farintheir1950 statement to argue
thattherewas a biologicalbasis for"theethicof universalbrotherhood," al-
thoughthiswas qualifiedinthe1951 statement afterobjectionsfromphysical
anthropologistsandgeneticists whosaidtherewas no scientific basisforsucha
claim.42
But,as variousscholarshaveargued,Myrdal'sunderstanding ofwhatrace
actuallywas, ifnotsomething withrootsin biologicalfact,helpedshape an
ultimatelylimitedresponseto thecauses ofand solutionsto racialinequalities
intheUnitedStatesandelsewhere.Myrdalandhiscollaborators drewheavily
on sciencedebunking racebutdidso ina waythatrejectedhistorical materialist
understandings of racismin thecontemporary world.As PennyVon Eschen
notes,"In theretreatfromexplanationsgroundedin politicaleconomy,. . .
Racismwas portrayed as a 'disease,' and as a psychologicalor spiritual prob-
lem,or as a characteristic of backwardpeopleswhichcouldbe eradicatedby
'modernization' or,inmorepsychologicallanguage,'maturity.'"43
Myrdal'semphasisonmodernization also locatedwithintheUnitedStates,
anditsstatedcommitment to extenduniversalrights, a "ideologicalcertainty"
thatitwouldovercomeitsracialhistory. The implications ofsucha proposalin
thedomesticspherewas a statedimperative towarda nationalhomogeneity
againstwhichbothracistexclusionsandblackcolorconsciousness weredeemed
contrary to national ideals. Moreover, by explainingpersistent racial hierar-
chiesas productsofa "viciouscircle"ofracialdiscrimination andblacksocial
pathology, Myrdal'sstudywas predicatedon thelegitimacy oftheU.S. nation
- and,byextension,
state thebroaderfabricofwhitesociety - as thearbiters of
racialjustice,as well as on thegoal of assimilationforblacksintoAmerican
society(and byextension, Western "civilization")as themostlegitimate solu-
tionto blackdemandsforequality.44 Indeed, Lee Baker has documented how
Myrdal was and
directly indirectly assisted by those scholars who had been
influenced byBoas's theoriesofracialequalitybutwhoplayeddownthecul-
andhistoricist
turalrelativist aspectsoftheanthropologist's intellectuallegacy,
directingtheirattention not to validatingdifference but to determining how"the
Negro"mightbestassimilateintoAmericansociety.As Bakerastutelynotes,
"Myrdal'sthemeappealedto theAmericanpublicbecause he fashionedthe
Negroproblemintoa moraldilemmaforWhitesanda formidable [moral]task
forBlacks,to assimilateandworkthemselves outofpoverty."45
Myrdal'sdeployment of scienceagainstrace also linkedthestrugglefor
civilrightsin thedomesticsphereto thestruggleforhumanrightsin a global
context.Butagainitdidso ina waythatemphasizedtheprimacy ofthe"Ameri-
can Creed"andnarrowed thefieldofvisionwithwhichraceandracismmight
be perceived.As Singhprovocatively suggests, byarguing thattheUnitedStates'
successesintherevamping oftheglobalorderwouldbe predicated on thesue-
22 Eric Porter
cessfulinclusionofAfrican AmericansintheU.S. bodypolitic,Myrdalvindi-

catedthegoals ofblackactivistsand intellectuals duringthe1940s.However,
he also helpedestablishthemorenarrowpoliticaland discursiveterrain upon
whichleaderslikeWhitewouldoperate.For Myrdal'sstudyimplicitly posi-
tionedtheUnitedStatesas heirapparent tothe"civilizingmission"oftheEuro-
peanimperial powerswhilepresenting thepromiseofblackinclusionwithinits
bordersas themoraljustification fortheexpansionof the"U.S. global mis-
sion."46
Whentakeninthispoliticalandintellectual context, then,thedifferent ver-
sionsof"Has ScienceConqueredtheColorLine?"areindeedcomplicated texts,
reflectingWhite'scomplexpositionas a publicintellectual negotiating compet-
ingontologicalandpoliticalimperatives vis-à-visrace.Theycritiquethelarger
refusalto fullyacknowledgeblack people as rights-bearing membersof the
humanspecies,whilespeakingofWhite'sunderstanding ofthelinksbetween
racismat homeand in thecolonizedworld.Yet,thearticlesalso reflectthe
ideologicalturnofthemainstream civilrights movement inthelate1940s,which
involveda newunderstanding of racebased on a rejectionof historicism and
politicaleconomy, a faithin"modernization," and an ultimatelynationalist and
scientifically
legitimatedwilltoward assimilation.
Moreover, White'sembraceofscienceas a meansof"enlarging therange
of humanfreechoice"expresseda color-blind ethosthatwas homologousto
thatwhichunderwrote theCold WaraimsoftheUnitedStatesintheimmediate
post-war period.White's argument, especiallyintheLookversionbutalso inits
earlierincarnation,assumedthatscience'sunderwriting of "humanfreedom"
woulddo so alongthelinesoftheimperialpoliticaland culturalsystemsand
racialstatecraftoftheUnitedStates.WhenWhiteominously wonderedin the
draftwhether hydroquinone would help createa peaceful world characterized
by "mutualrespect"or whether it would "burst into violent revolt,"his state-
in
mentspokeof thesphereof Sovietinfluence thenewlydecolonizedworld
butalso offearsofan un-American, irrational,andthusun-manageable, popu-
lationofcoloredpeopleacrosstheglobe.Therefore, evenas he thought to ex-
pand definitionsof the he
human, gave validation to what was ultimately an
exclusionary brand ofuniversalism that affirmed U.S. moral superiority and not
onlylocateda standard forhumanvaluationanda basis forextensionofrights
intheUnitedStatesbutassumedthatthesecouldbe delimited bytheU.S. na-
tion-stateanditspolitical,military,andeconomicinterests.
"I OnlyWantto Be Free"

The finalfewmonthsof 1949 saw Whiteattempting to save face.In Sep-
tember,he helda pressconference,inwhichhe announcedthathismarriage to
Cannonwas a privatematter thathadno bearingonhiscapacityforleadership.
He characterizedtheLook articleas a matter
of factualreportingwitha bitof
speculationandinsistedhe was notadvocatingthatpeoplechangethecolorof
"Black No More"? 23
theirskin.47He repeatedthisdefensein a September24, 1949 articlein the

ChicagoDefender,inwhichhe wrappedhimselfinthecloakoffactualreport-
ing and said he neveradvocatedthatpeople bleach theirskins.He invoked
Schuyler'sBlackNo More,statingthatlikethis"widelypraisedand enjoyed"
novel,his article"ridiculedtheidiotictheoryofjudginga manon thebasis of
hiscolor."Misinterpretation,Whiteargued,cameas a resultofthearticlebeing
abridged,and he took thisopportunity to emphasizethatthemostbeneficial
transformationsto humanskinmightinvolvedarkening it.He thenreferenced
andoffered quotes from the "avalanche" ofletters
from readersfromacrossthe
globe thatasked where hydroquinone could be purchased.
Although theirmoti-
vationsforwantingthesubstancewerevaried,Whiteused theseinquiriesto
suggestthatopinionsofthe"people"mightwellhavebeendifferent fromthose
oftheirleaders.In a partingshot,he admonishedhis criticsforactingirratio-
nallybybuyingintothemythofrace:
Those who are thevictimsof distorted thinkingaboutrace

ought to be theverylastto succumb to the deliberately cre-
atedfalsehoodsof theracists.. . . Above all else, theyneed
abilitytorecognizethesituationwhena writer pointsouthow
unsound,dangerous,
scientifically and are
idiotic mostofthe
contemporary notions
about 'race.' To do otherwise is todem-
onstratethatthevictimsof racismhave swallowedthelies
and mythswhichtheiroppressorshave createdto makethe
worldbelievethattheyareinferior.48
Although thelogicofWhite'smulti-pronged defensewas contradictory at

best,49he had a pointaboutthe which
letters, weresent toLook, to theNAACP,
andto himdirectly. Rangingfromthecuriousto theinsightful to thetrulybi-
zarre,theseletters werewrittenbyAfrican AmericansandwhiteAmericans, as
wellas bypeoplefromSouthAfrica,Japan,LatinAmerica,theCaribbean,and
Europe.Andwithinthem,we finda criticaldialogueon thecauses andimpact
ofracism,an assessmentoftheontologicalbasis ofrace,anda responseto the
demandthatpeoplegiveup theirinvestment inrace.
Somecorrespondents wereinterested
inWhite'sarticleforaestheticorhealth
reasons.A numberhad littleinterestin hydroquinone butwereinsteadcurious
toknowwheretheycouldpurchasethe"permanent" hairstraightener.OnePhoe-
nixbeautician, whohadhimselfbeendevelopinga hairproduct, proposedgo-
ing intobusinesswithWhiteto bringhis own productto AfricanAmericans
preparing to pass.50Severalreaderswereinterestedinobtaining hydroquinone
as a curefortheirownskinailments.One camefroma manwhowas suffering
fromwhiteblemishesthatdidnottan,whichheblamedonhisaddiction to"tea"
(marijuana);he had recently beenon a "tea spree,"he toldWhite.51 The most
bizarreresponsemayhave come froma Germanémigré"leatherchemist"in
24 Eric Porter
theDominicanRepublicwhohadobservedhowtannery workers intheHaitian

cityofPort-au-Prince had suffereda depigmentation oftheskinsimilartothat
of theTexas plantworkers.He had kepttheindustrial accidenta secretfora
decade,butnowproposedthathe andWhitestarta businesstogether todistrib-
utehisownbleachingproductintheUnitedStatesandCanada.52
Butsomeblackreaderswhocontemplated White's"scientific" rejectionof
race and chemicalsolutionto therace problemrespondedin waysthatshow
how his articlecaused themto pondercompeting visionsof racialprideand
universalism and to questionthebases of theiridentities. Theythusgive us
additional insightintotheeveryday moral scene regarding inblackAmerica
race
atmid-century. A ColoradomanusedtheoccasionofthearticletopraiseWhite's
personalandpoliticalcommitment to blackness.He laudedWhite'srecordof
achievement "in dealingwiththishellish'race' situation intheUnitedStates"
and congratulated himfornotpassingand fornotmarrying a whitewoman
earlier.Thisreaderalso wenton to chastisehispeopleforupholdinga racially
determined definitionofhumanworth.As to race,"there'sone and onlyone,
THE HUMAN RACE." Unfortunately, he continued, "Ourso-calledNegrois
naturally polyglot, andthese United Statesof ours have madehima poly-racist.
He talksaboutthefatherhood of God and thebrotherhood of man . . . glibly
aboutracialunity, butdeepdownthinks'manyraces'andlongsfor'blacksu-
premacy.'"53
Perhapsthemostinteresting responsecamefroma New Yorkwomanin a
letterto theAmsterdam News.She foundherselfchallengedbyWhite'sarticle
inwaysthatwereunexpected toher.Shemadeitclearthatshewas "notashamed
ofbeingcolored";inherbrownskinshe"often[felt]superior whensitting near
somewhitepersonwhosecomplexion (tome) is nothalfas attractive."She also
expressed her lovefor Negro men and said:"I never had or will have any doubts
thattheyarelessthanequaltoanyothermen."Yetshestillbelievedthatsheand
otherblackpeoplefaceda daunting threatto theirpsychesbecauseofa legacy
ofracism. "On certaindays ofmental depressionitseizes one likestarkpain,.
. . and thepainnearlychokesyouto death."And whileshe appreciated what
blackleadershad accomplishedin recentyears,shethought itwouldbe "gen-
erations. . . beforethecoloredmanwill be free."Therefore, perhapshydro-
quinonewas theanswer,even "if it meantsacrificing ourcomplexions"and
admitting thata longstruggle forrightsand social equalitywas fornaught.As
sheconcluded:
don'tgive a darnaboutbeingwhiteskinned.I
I truthfully
only want to be free.If I am treatedone way or anotherI'll
knowitis sincerely myownshortcomings,notduetopreju-
dice becauseI am dark.A lotofpeoplewon'tcommitthem-
selvesthiswayandI don'tblamethembecauseit's a shame
thata humanracecouldbe so degradedas toforcesomeofits
membersto wantto go againstnature'sintentions. All ofus
"Black No More"? 25
are aware,however,ifthischemicalcan work,it could end

theNegroproblem.54
White'sarticleopeneda space forthiswomanto demonstrate herinvest-

mentinraceas a politicalidentity, communalfeeling,embodiedaesthetic, and
determinant ofvirtue.In somewaysracehad workedwell forheras a human
beinginthe1940s,and in somewaysithad not.The pleasuresof identity and
hersenseofvirtueforged ina politicalcontext werecounterbalanced byracism's
continuing impacton herpsyche.She hadno desireforwhiteness, butshe did
long for fullstatus as a human being, whether thatwas achieved through secur-
ing fullcultural and politicalcitizenship for black or
people by the less appeal-
ingchoiceofgoing"againstnature"andeliminating blackidentities.
In theend,White'sarticleand itscontroversies providea richopportunity
formakingstillvaluableinquiriesintothecomplexities ofblackracialforma-
tionsata crucialhistorical moment. The racialambivalenceofthewriter ofthe
Amsterdam Newsletter, likeWhite'sambivalence, demonstrates howscientific
challengesto race at mid-century playeda rolein thecomplicated, and often
contradictory, processesby which black identitieswere constructed, theorized,
and lived,byposinga seriesof dilemmasrevolvingaroundrace,science,and
rights.Morespecifically, White'sfollyandresponsesto itillustrate howthese
identitieswereoftencreatedin lightofa seriesofmorally-charged choicesre-
volvingaroundtheexistenceornon-existence ofrace.
Scholarstodayfrequently examinethemiddleofthetwentieth century as a
moment thatwitnessed whatHowardWinantcalls"a worldwidecrisisofracial
formation"withan eye towardswhatit can tell us aboutthepresent.55 This
moment has beenviewedas the source of a critical or
cosmopolitanism healthy
anti-racism thatavoidstheessentialist shortcomings ofblackracialformations
ofthecivilrightsand,particularly, post-civilrightseras,or,froma somewhat
differentperspective, itis seenas undermining a globalhegemonic racialproject
thatmasksitselfinthecommon-sense beliefthatraceis no longerrelevant.56
Ratherthanunderstanding theearlypost-WorldWarII moment simplyas a
timeofracialcertainty, theWhiteepisodesuggestsa complicated terrain upon
whichblackpeoplewerethinking aboutandlivingrace.Theseyearswitnessed
an important stageinan ongoingdialecticofracialavowalanddisavowal.This
hadlongbeena fundamental component ofblackpoliticalcultureshistorically
forgedin thecontextof globalracialoppressionsbased on racialparticularity
and racelessnessalike. But theweightof thegrowingscientific researchde-
bunking race,a broaderclimateoftechnoscientific andtheracialas-
certainty,
pectsofWorldWarII, theCold War,theHolocaust,Hiroshima,and anticolo-
nialandantiracist struggles worldwideconditioned thedialecticatthismoment
andgave ita particular resonance.
Clearly,African Americans'relationships withscience- as rationalobjec-
-
tivediscourse,andas appliedtechnology werevexedatmid-century, as they
26 Eric Porter
had been beforeand would be later.Afterall, knowledgeproduction in the

modernerahas beenundergirded bywhatDavid Theo Goldbergterms"racial
knowledge," a legacythatbothdrewauthority from"established scientificfields
oftheday,especiallyanthropology, naturalhistory andbiology"and"hasbeen
historically integralto theemergenceof theseauthoritative scientific fields."
Scientific has
(i.e.,racial)knowledge helped create the restrictive definitions of
"thehuman"(or"infrahumanity," inPaulGilroy'swords)andexclusionary sys-
temsof morality thathave supported modernity's historyof racialand racist
exclusionanditsconcomitant regimesofslavery, colonialism, andapartheid.57
Indeed,suspicions of various (mis)applications of science on black bodieshas
figured prominently in African American folklore going back to thenineteenth
century, as Patricia Turner, SpencieLove, and others have documented.58
Such ambivalenceaboutsciencecontinued to resonateinAfricanAmeri-
canletters andpopulardiscourseatmid-century. A suspicionofmedicalexperi-
mentation runsthrough RalphEllison's1952 novelInvisibleMan,forexample.
Black people wereremindedof theoppressiveapplicationsof appliedtech-
nologiesand"rational," "objective"sciencebythedropping ofatomicbombs
on Hiroshimaand Nagasaki.WhilesomeAfricanAmericanssupported these
actsandthequickendtothewartheysupposedlyfacilitated, they confirmed to
many theracism and barbarism of the supposedly more "civilized" U.S. na-
tion.59Also contributing totheblackcommunity's suspicionsaboutsciencedur-
ing this period were the controversies engendered firstby thearmedforces'
decisionto excludeAfricanAmericansas blood donorsduringWorldWarII
andtheirsubsequentdecision,afterblackprotests, to segregatethebloodsup-
ply.60
Yet,as present-day Afrofuturist criticsremindus, scienceandtechnology
havealso provideda vehicleforchallenging theillogical,irrational, andmythi-
cal aspectsofraceandracism.Theyhavepresented the raw materials forstak-
ingoutnewandsometimes oppositional definitions ofthehuman,conceptual-
izingredemptive constructions of racializedbodies,and formulating alterna-
tivesystemsof knowledge.And,at times, as at mid-century, they have pre-
senteda challengetoblacksubjectstothinkhardaboutthebases oftheiriden-
titiesandtheirplace inthesocial order.61
Ultimately, as a resultofthepopularization ofscientific researchchalleng-
ingthebiological foundations of race,the World War II and immediate postwar
periodwitnessed manyblackpeoplerethinking whatitmeanttobe blackand,at
thesametime,pondering whatitmeantto be humaninbothrace-oriented and
species-oriented ways.Theypondered the relevance of race in the faceof timely
moralimperatives to abandontheconceptin favorof thepotentialfreedoms
thatscientific "proof of theinsubstantiality of racialcategoriesmightoffer.
Scientific awareness of the fictiveness of race presented newpossibilitiesfor
reconstituting the human and politicalsubject. Yet to go downthispathalso
meantpotentially calling into questionpolitical and social formations situated
inracialexperience andpotentially lettinggo of a powerful analytic under-
for
"Black No More"? 27
standingtheway theworldoperated.And somebeganto recognize,however

incomplete theiranalysis,thatthismoralimpetusto letgo ofracewas coming
tolightata politicalmoment, as Goldbergreminds us,when"racialhistoricism
[a racialrulebasedon assumptions ofhistorical
development] couldclaimvic-
tory inthe name ofracelessness, the of
sewing assumptions (nowhistoricized)
racialadvancement silentlyintotheseamsofpost-warandpostcolonialrecon-
struction."62Itis crucialtokeepthesedilemmasinmindandaddthemtoanaly-
ses ofthemotivations forthedeployment ofraceandcolorblindness inintellec-
tualproduction, politicalactivism,and theways black peopleengagedtheworld
onan everyday level.Wecanthenthinknotso muchinideologicaltermsabout
how race has becomeirrelevant or inevitable,
butto contemplate thevarious
and
possibilities pitfallsaccompanying actsofracial whether
identification, we
seektodetermine whichchoicesaroundracecontinue toholdvalueinthepresent
orareinterested inhowracializedsubjectslivedandthought abouttheirlivesat
mid-century.
Notes
I wishto thankthefollowingindividualsand institutionsfortheirhelpwiththisproject:the

University ofNew Mexico's ResearchAllocationsCommittee, fora grantwhichmademy
reviewof WalterWhite'spaperspossible; Rudolfoand PatriciaAnaya,fora week-long
residencyat theirwriters'retreat
inJemezSprings,New Mexico; LauraBriggs,MattWray,
and audiencemembersat the2002 AmericanStudiesAssociationmeeting, UC SantaCruz,
andUCLA, forcomments on earlierversionsofthispiece; threeanonymous readersforand
theeditorsofAmericanStudies,fortheirthoughtful comments on thepenultimate
version;
Flora Price,TorieQuinonez,RobertTeigrob,and AngelaThibodeaux,forassistancewith
researchon thistopic;and CatherineRamirez,forcarefulreadingsofmultipledraftsofthis
essay and manydiscussionsaboutscience,race,and humanism.Of course,any errorsor
oversightsare entirely
myown doing.
1. WalterWhite,"Has Science ConqueredtheColor Line?,"Look,August30, 1949,94-

95. Reprinted in NegroDigest (December1949), 37-40.
2. Louis Schwartz,EdwardA. Oliver,Leon H. Warren, "OccupationalLeukoderma,"US
Public HealthReport55: 25 (June21, 1940).
3. For a surveyof thedevelopment of hydroquinone as a treatment forvitiligosee David
B. Mosher,JohnA. Parrishand ThomasB. Fitzpatrick, "Monobenzylether of Hydroquinone: A
Retrospective StudyofTreatment of 18 VitiligoPatientsand a ReviewoftheLiterature," British
JournalofDermatology 97: 669 (1977), 669-679.Hydroquinone is oftenfoundin levelsof 1.5%
to 2% in cosmeticandover-the-counter medicinalproductssold intheUnitedStatesand Europe.
However,it is foundin levels up to 4% in othercountries.See International Programmeon
ChemicalSafety, GuideNo. 1001: Hydroquinone. availableathttp://www.inchem.org/documents/
hsg/hsg/hsglOl.htm.
4. WalterWhite,to JohnJohnson, Ebonymagazine,December5, 1949,Box 2, Folder107
(JohnsonPublishers),WalterFrancisWhiteand Poppy CannonWhiteCorrespondence, Yale
Collectionof AmericanLiterature, BeineckeRare Book and ManuscriptLibrary(Hereafter re-
ferredto as WhiteCorrespondence).
5. George Schuyler,Black No More: Being an Accountof the Strangeand Wonderful
Workings ofScience in theLand of theFree,A.D. 1933-1940(New York:The MacaulayCom-
pany,1931).
6. Schuyler,in Black No More,based the characterWalterWilliamson Whiteand de-
scribedhimas "a tall,heavy-setwhitemanwithpale blue eyes,"whose commitment to racial
upliftwas based on thefactthathis "great-grandfather, itseemed,hadbeena mulatto."Schuyler,
BlackNo More,94. WhenWhitelobbiedthefilmindustry earlierin the 1940s in an effortto do
awaywithoffensive representationsof blackAmericans,actressHattieMcDaniel,fearful ofthe
effecton establishedblack actorsplayingstereotypical roles,suggestedthatWhitelackedthe
authority to representAfricanAmericansbecauseof his dilutedblood quantum.KennethRobert
28 Eric Porter
Mr.NAACP (New York:The New Press,2003),

Janken,White:TheBiographyof WalterWhite,
271.
7. Janken,White,325-355.
8. Ibid.,94, 325-347;MadelineWhiteto WalterWhite,May 10, 1949,Box 5, folder225
(MadelineWhite - Walter'ssister),WhiteCorrespondence; Alice Whiteto WalterWhite,June7,
1949,Box 2, Folder72 (Alice GlenWhite),WhiteCorrespondence; HenryLee Moon,publicity
release,May 10, 1949,NAACP papers,volume 17, reel 23, frame896; AlfredBakerLewis to
Carl Murphy, BaltimoreAfro-American, August30, 1949,NAACP papers,volume17, reel 23,
frame922.
9. Janken, 341-348;WalterWhiteto GardnerCowles,Cowles Publishing,
White, Novem-
ber9, 1949 and WalterWhiteto GardnerCowles,Cowles Publishing, November28, 1949,Box
4, Folder125 (Look Magazine),WhiteCorrespondence. For otherbrieftreatments ofthisarticle
see SanderL. Gilman,MakingtheBody Beautiful:A CulturalHistoryof AestheticSurgery
(Princeton,N.J.: PrincetonUniversityPress, 1999); Susan Gubar,Racechanges: WhiteSkin,
Black Face inAmericanCulture(New York:OxfordUniversity Press,1997).
10. Undatedmanuscript, Whitecorrespondence, Box 4, Folder26 (Look Magazine,draft
of articleby W.W . . . Responsesto article,A-Z), 1-4.
11. Ibid., 4-6.
12. Ibid.,6-7. Whiteciteda statisticthat35,000 "'white'Negroesannuallydisappearinto
thewhiteworld."AlludingtorecentresearchWhitesuggestedthat20 percentofwhiteshad some
blackancestrv.
13. Ibid.*7-8.
14. Ibid., 8.
15. Ibid., 8-9.
16. WalterWhite,A Man Called White:TheAutobiography of WalterWhite(New York:
The VikingPress,1948),3, 363-365.White'squoteof"brothers undertheskin"speaksto Carey
McWilliams'volumeof the same titlebut in thiscase is takenfromFairfieldOsborn's Our
PlunderedEarth(Boston:Little,Brownand Company,1948).
17. Accordingto Paul Gilroy,Fanon,inBlack Skin,WhiteMasks,identified "a historically
specificsystemformakingbodies meaningful by endowingthemwithqualitiesof 'color.' It
suggestsa perceptual regimeinwhichtheracializedbodyis boundedandprotected byitsenclos-
ingskin."Paul Gilroy,AgainstRace: ImaginingPolitical CultureBeyondtheColorLine (Cam-
bridge:HarvardUniversity Press,2000), 46.
18. Elazar Barkan,the RetreatofScientific Racism: ChangingConceptsofRace in Brit-
ain and the UnitedStatesBetweenthe WorldWars(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity Press,
1992); Carl Degler,In Search of HumanNature: The Decline and Revival of Darwinismin
AmericanSocial Thought (New York:OxfordUniversity Press,1991); Jonathan ScottHolloway,
Confronting the Veil:AbramHarris,Jr.,E. FranklinFrazier,and Ralph Bunche,1919-1941
(Chapel Hill: The University of NorthCarolinaPress,2002); WilliamH. Tucker,The Science
and PoliticsofRacial Research(Champaign,IL: The University of IllinoisPress,1994).
19. CareyMcWilliams,BrothersUndertheSkin,RevisedEdition(Boston:Little,Brown
and Company,1951), 13.
20. NikhilPal Singh,Black Is a Country:Race and the Unfinished Strugglefor Democ-
racv ( Cambridge:HarvardUniversitv Press.2004), 214.
21. Ibid.. 50.
22. See, forexample,W.E.B. Du Bois, "Races," Crisis,August1911, 157-158;W.E.B. Du
Bois,DuskofDawn: AnEssay TowardanAutobiography ofa Race Concept.(NewYork:Harcourt,
Brace and Company,1940). Both are discussedin AnthonyAppiah,"The UncompletedArgu-
ment:Du Bois and theIllusionof Race," CriticalInquiry,12: 1 (Autumn1985), 21-37.
23. White,A Man Called White,3.
24. Ibid., 3-4, 11-12,365. Kevin Gainesperceptively notesthatWhite'sautobiographical
descriptionofhisracialidentity formation duringtheAtlantaraceriotspeaksofhis concernwith
thisidentity fourdecades later.See Uplifting theRace: Black Leadership,Politics,and Culture
in theTwentieth Century (Chapel Hill: The UniversityofNorthCarolinaPress,1996), 48-51.
25. White,A Man Called White,344.
26. Carl Murphyto PalmerWeber,August31, 1949,NAACP papers,volume17, reel23,
frame925-26. See also SK Brysonto NAACP, October15, 1949,NAACP papers,volume 17,
reel24, frame120.
27. WilliamHastieto Carl Murphy, October3, 1949,NAACP papers,volume17,reel24,
frames128-129;AlfredBakerLewis to Carl Murphy, Afro-American, August30, 1949,NAACP
papers,volume17, reel23, frame922; NAACP PressRelease, October13, 1949,NAACP pa-
pers,volume17,reel23, frame994; WalterWhiteto JohnJohnson, Ebony,November9, 1949,
Box 2, Folder107 (JohnsonPublishers), WhiteCorrespondence; WalterWhiteto JeanGilchrist,
Look magazine,December12, 1949, Box 4, Folder 125 (Look Magazine), WhiteCorrespon-
dence.
"Black No More"? 29
28. S.W. Garlington, "WalterWhite'Loses Face' WithWanna-Be- WhiteStory,"New York

Amsterdam News,August27, 1949, 2; "Leaders Ridicule White'sSolutionof Race Problem
ThroughBleach,"BaltimoreAfro-American, August27, 1949, 12.
29. It is unclearwhetherHome evermadethisstatement. See Janken,White,342.
30. GeorgeSchuylerto WalterWhite,withattacheddraftof"Viewsand Reviews,"May 9,
1950,NAACP papers,volume17,reel22, frame58-61.
31. Gaines, Uplifting theRace, 120-127.See also Paul Gilroy,"It's a FamilyAffair,"in
Gina Dent,ed., Black Popular Culture(Seattle:Bay Press,1992), 303-316.
32. "LeadersRidiculeWhite'sSolutionofRace ProblemThroughBleach,"Baltimore Afro-
American,August27, 1949, 12.
33. Ibid.; PennyVonEschen, Race AgainstEmpire: Black Americans and Anticolonialism,
1937-1957 (Ithaca: CornellUniversityPress, 1997),115-116; BrendaGayle Plummer,Rising
Wind:Black Americansand U.S. ForeignAffairs, 1935-1960(Chapel Hill: University of North
CarolinaPress,1996), 126. It shouldbe notedthatin theimmediate aftermathofthebombingof
Hiroshimaand Nagasaki,Whiteand otherNAACP boardmemberswereinitiallycriticalof the
UnitedStates'decisionto use thisweapon.Whitewas particularly incensedbyChurchill'sdesire
to keep thebombin "Anglo-Saxon"hands.Paul Boyer,By theBombs Early Light:American
Thoughtand Cultureat theDawn of theAtomicAge (New York:Pantheon,1986), 198.
34. CareyMeWilliamsalso criticizedanalysesthatconcludedthatscienceprovedthatra-
cial differences are largelyirrelevantbutthatfailedto takeintoaccountthewayracewas largely
an inventionused to controlthe laborforce.In his words:"Racial mythscan be deflatedin a
mannerthatcreatestheillusionthatdiscrimination is simplybased on an unfortunate misunder-
standingaboutrace; clearup thismisunderstanding and all will be well. Unfortunatelytheevi-
denceindicatesthata real look at racialdifferences does notnecessarilycorrectbiased views."
BrothersUndertheSkin,2nd Ed., 314.
35. "LeadersRidiculeWhite'sSolutionofRace ProblemThroughBleach,"Baltimore Afro-
American,August27, 1949, 12. One reporter defendingWhiteagainsthis criticsarguedthat
muchoftheoppositionto thearticleand themarriagewas partof a broadercampaignby mem-
bersoftheleft,includingPatterson, to discredithimin theblackpress.See CC DeJoie,Jr,draft
ofLouisiana Weekly article,datedSeptember10, 1949,Box 4, Folder 121 (GeneralCorrespon-
dence.Li-Lz). WhiteCorrespondence.
36. NikhilPal Singh,"Culture/Wars: RecodingEmpirein an Age of Democracy,"Ameri-
can Quarterly, 50: 3 (September1998), 474.
37. Singh,"Culture/Wars," 478-484,502-503; Plummer, RisingWind,127-128,146, 176-
177; GeraldHome, "Race fromPower:U.S. ForeignPolicy and the GeneralCrisisof 'White
Supremacy"DiplomaticHistory23: 3 (Summer1999): 454. For an overviewoftheCold War's
impacton civil rightsstrugglesand vice versa,see MaryL. Dudziak, Cold WarCivil Rights:
Race and theImage ofAmericanDemocracy(Princeton:Princeton University Press,2000).
38. Janken,White,261-263; KennethR. Janken,"FromColonial Liberationto Cold War
Liberalism: WalterWhite,theNAACP,andForeignAffairs, 194 1-1955,"EthnicandRacial Studies
21: 6 (November1998), 1074-1095;CarolAnderson,"FromHope to Disillusion:AfricanAmeri-
cans,theUnitedNations,and theStruggleforHumanRights,1944-1947,"DiplomaticHistory
20: 4 (Fall 1996), 531-563;ManningMarable,Race, Reformand Rebellion:TheSecondRecon-
structionin Black America,1945-1990,Revised Second Edition(Jackson:University Press of
Mississippi,1991), 22; Von Eschen,Race AgainstEmpire,109-110;Plummer, A Rising Wind,
140, 180-188,200.
39. Whiteto NAACP branchpresidents, NAACP papers,July11, 1949,NAACP papers,
volume17,reel23, frame919.
40. WalterWhiteto GeorgeCornish,New YorkHerald Tribune,December12, 1949,Box
1, Folder40 (Co-Cz, GeneralCorrespondence), WhiteCorrespondence; MethodistInformation,
Press Release, December12, 1949, Box 4, folder138 (MethodistStudentMovement),White
Correspondence.
41 . GunnarMyrdal,AnAmericanDilemma: TheNegroProblemand ModernDemocracy,
(New York:Harperand Brothers,1944), xliii.
42. Also participating in thedraftingor revisingof the firstUNESCO statement wereE.
FranklinFrazierand OttoKlineberg,fromwhose workMyrdalhad also drawn.Lee D. Baker,
FromSavage toNegro:Anthropology and theConstruction ofRace, 1896-1954(Berkeley:Uni-
versityofCaliforniaPress,1998), 182,209; Degler,In SearchofHumanNature,204; UNESCO,
Race and Science (New York:ColumbiaUniversity Press,1961), 493-495. UNESCO followed
up thestatement witha seriesof pamphletspublishedduringthe 1950s and 1960s through the
series"The Race Questionin Modem Science."The pamphletsandthefulltextsofthe 1950 and
1951 UNESCO statements on race maybe foundin Race and Science.
43. Von Eschen,Race AgainstEmpire,155. See also Singh,"Culture/ Wars,"487.
44. Singh,Black is a Country, 38-39, 142-146.
45. Baker,FromSavage to Negro,177-182,194.
46. Singh,Black Is a Country,135-136,148-150.
30 Eric Porter
47. HenryLee Moon toWalterWhite,September 20, 1949,NAACP papers,vol. 17 reel23,

frame931. NAACP publicistMoon gave Whiteexplicitinstructions to respondto questions
alongtheselines.In addition,in keepingwiththeNAACP's social vision,he toldWhiteto avoid
givinganysenseof apologizingforthemarriage. As to theLook piece,Whitewas also warned
notto "belabor"thepointaboutbeingmisrepresented by theeditingprocess.He had,afterall,
approvedthefinaldraft.
48. WalterWhite,"You Got Me Wrong,"ChicagoDefender,24 September1949, 1-2.As
NegroDigest madeplans to reprint thearticlein December,Whiteunsuccessfully triedto per-
suade themagazineto runtheentirearticleratherthanthepreviouslypublishedversion.Walter
Whiteto JohnJohnson, Ebony,November9, 1949; Ben Burns,Ebony,to WalterWhite,Novem-
ber 14, 1949; Secretary of WalterWhiteto Ben Burns,Ebony,December5, 1949.All contained
in Box 2, Folder 107 (JohnsonPublishers),WhiteCorrespondence. Whitealso wroteto Look,
defendinghimselfagainstwhathe termed"the fantasticand inaccurateinterpretation of my
article"and attempting, again unsuccessfully, to get the entirety
of the articlepublishedin a
futureissue.WalterWhiteto Editor,Look Magazine,September27, 1949; WalterWhiteto Edi-
tor,Look Magazine,October11, 1949;WalterWhiteto HaroldClemenko,Look Magazine,Octo-
ber 11, 1949; WalterWhiteto GardnerCowles, Cowles Publishing, November9, 1949; Walter
Whiteto GardnerCowles, Cowles Publishing,November28, 1949; All containedin Box 4,
Folder 125 {Look Magazine),WhiteCorrespondence. Whiteappearsto have been interested in
maintaining some legitimacy in theeyes ofLook publisherGardnerCowles, in whosenewspa-
pers,as notedearlier,he was trying to geta regularcolumnplaced.
49. Jankennointsoutthecontradictions in White'sdefense See TankenWhitP14V14S
50. EmmetY. Clark,Los Angeles,CA, to WalterWhite,October3, 1949; David J.Frazier,
Long Beach,CA to WalterWhite,undated;H.A. Tuthill,managingdirector, ChemicalResearch
Institute,Miami,Ohio, tö WalterWhite,October17, 1949; JohnK. Webber,Phoenix,AZ to
WalterWhite,October18, 1949. All containedin Box 4, Folder 126 {Look Magazine), White
Correspondence. WendellSuel, Dayton,Ohio, to WalterWhite,September29, 1949, Box 5,
folder173 (Readers'letters, K-Z), WhiteCorrespondence.
5 1. RuthCostello,Jamaica,LongIsland,toWalterWhite,undated,Box 4, Folder126{Look
Magazine),WhiteCorrespondence; Mrs.ThedaEssex to WalterWhite,September1, 1949; Box
5, Folder172 (Reader's letters A-J),WhiteCorrespondence. Anonymousletterto WalterWhite,
August15, 1949,Box 5, folder173 (Readers'letters.K-Z). WhiteCorrespondence.
52. WillyC. Günther, DominicanRepublic,to WalterWhite,October31, 1949, Box 4,
Folder126 (Look MaeazineVWhiteCorresnondence
53. JamesAtkins,Denver,CO, to WalterWhite,October3, 1949,Box 1,Folder7 (General
correspondence, Amer.Fo - AzV WhiteCorrespondence.
54. ClarissaAnderson, "WomanReaderSatisfiedwithherBrownSkin,TalksofNew For-
mula,"Amsterdam News,September24. 1949. 18.
55. HowardWinant,The Worldis a Ghetto:Race and DemocracySince WorldWarII
(New York:Basic Books,2001), 135.
56. See, forexample,thefollowing, whichdiffer in theirprescriptions
significantly forthe
present:Gilroy,AgainstRace; David Hollinger,PostethnicAmerica:BeyondMulticulturalism
(New York:Basic Books, 1995); Singh,"Culture/ Wars";Winant,The Worldis a Ghetto.
57. David TheoGoldberg, RacistCulture:Philosophyand thePoliticsofMeaning(Maiden,
MA: Blackwell,1993), 149; Gilroy,AgainstRace, 44-45.
58. PatricaTurner, I HeardIt ThroughtheGrapevine: RumorinAfrican-American Culture
(Berkeley:University ofCaliforniaPress,1993); SpencieLove, One Blood: TheDeath and Res-
urrection of CharlesR. Drew (Chapel Hill,The University ofNorthCarolinaPress. 1996V
59. Bover.Bv theBomb'sEarlv Lieht. 198-199.
60. Love, One Blood, 16-17.
61. For an introduction to the criticalworkof Afrofuturists, see the special issue on
Afrofuturism in Social Text.Vol. 20:2. (Summer.2002V
62. DavidTheoGoldberg,TheRacial State(Maiden,MA: BlackwellPublishers, Inc.,2002),
210.

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"Black No More"?

: Walter White, Hydroquinone, and the "Negro Problem"

You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references.

In an August1949 Look magazinearticle - "Has Science Conqueredthe

AmericanStudies,47:1 (Spring2006): 5-30

inwhichDr. JuniusCrookman, a fictional Harlemphysician, devisesa wayto

he had recently reignited a romancebegunduringthe 1930s.His marriageto

Figure 1: WalterWhite,in a 1942 portraitby Gordon Parks. Courtesy

createdaroundtheworldas explosivelyandbasicallyas Dr. Szilardbelievesit

factor,he suggested, becausea hairstraightener "ofveryrealpermanence" had

freechoice."The logicofthepiece suggestedthatsuchfreedoms wouldcome

Suchideasweretakenup byliberalopinionmakersandantiracist activists

Encouragedby new scientificfindings, the spokesmenfor

Black Virtuein thePublic Sphere

To speakofan emergent blackpublicsphereorblacknation-

In otherwords,complexmodesof affiliation andpathstowardcollectiveem-

Whitehimself seemedtobe struggling withhisownpersonalethical-racial

thepatienceof theNegrowas wearingthin,"Whitecelebratedthiswhenex-

mentagainstwhitening was reducedto a shortparagraph revolvingaroundthe

werestillproblematic intheirrelianceon biologicalracialcategoriesandtheir

problemsofracerelationsis abouton a parwiththeatomicbombformulafor

Yetthemoralscenesurrounding civilandhumanrightsstruggles was also

pave theway forprivateinvestments by U.S. corporations in thesoon-to-be

thefirstofthesestatements underthedirection ofphysicalanthropologist M.F.

cessfulinclusionofAfrican AmericansintheU.S. bodypolitic,Myrdalvindi-

"I OnlyWantto Be Free"

theirskin.47He repeatedthisdefensein a September24, 1949 articlein the

Those who are thevictimsof distorted thinkingaboutrace

Although thelogicofWhite'smulti-pronged defensewas contradictory at

theDominicanRepublicwhohadobservedhowtannery workers intheHaitian

are aware,however,ifthischemicalcan work,it could end

White'sarticleopeneda space forthiswomanto demonstrate herinvest-

had been beforeand would be later.Afterall, knowledgeproduction in the

standingtheway theworldoperated.And somebeganto recognize,however

I wishto thankthefollowingindividualsand institutionsfortheirhelpwiththisproject:the

1. WalterWhite,"Has Science ConqueredtheColor Line?,"Look,August30, 1949,94-

Mr.NAACP (New York:The New Press,2003),

28. S.W. Garlington, "WalterWhite'Loses Face' WithWanna-Be- WhiteStory,"New York

47. HenryLee Moon toWalterWhite,September 20, 1949,NAACP papers,vol. 17 reel23,

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