Wait. Those guys are black? Was I supposed to know that?
It's often pretty tricky.
Traditionally if freedmen could marry a white it was like hitting the lottery--one step closer for children to "pass" and enter white society. Weird stuff happens with genetics. You can have someone who is "mulatto" (1/2 black and 1/2 white) who looks almost fully white. You can have a "quadroon" (1/4 black and 3/4 white) who looks full African, etc.
It's said that mixed individuals used to keep their nails clipped very closely, because the color of the fingernail oftened was evidence of black ancestry.
Anyway, to your question, it used to be that claiming to be white was the goal. Today, you get more social benefit from being black, so it has switched in the opposite direction.
Edit: mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, etc., are extremely dated terms today
It's often pretty tricky.
Traditionally if freedmen could marry a white it was like hitting the lottery--one step closer for children to "pass" and enter white society. Weird stuff happens with genetics. You can have someone who is "mulatto" (1/2 black and 1/2 white) who looks almost fully white. You can have a "quadroon" (1/4 black and 3/4 white) who looks full African, etc.
It's said that mixed individuals used to keep their nails clipped very closely, because the color of the fingernail oftened was evidence of black ancestry.
Anyway, to your question, it used to be that claiming to be white was the goal. Today, you get more social benefit from being black, so it has switched in the opposite direction.
Edit: mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, etc., are extremely dated terms today