Table of Contents

Author’s Note

Intro

Introspection

Mixed Black

American Black

Diaspora Black

Outro

Notes

Acknowledgements

About

About the Author

Dr. Yaba Blay is a scholar-activist and cultural creative whose work centers the lived experiences of Black women and girls. She has launched viral campaigns including #PrettyPeriod and #ProfessionalBlackGirl and has appeared on CNN, BET, MSNBC, and NPR. Dr. Blay's work has been featured in the New York Times, Ebony, Essence, and The Root. A thought leader on Black racial identity, colorism, and beauty politics, she is a globally sought-after speaker and consultant. Connect with her online at yabablay.com.

Reviews

“Black, beautiful, and bound to spark necessary conversations.”
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“An inherently fascinating, insightfully articulate, and impressively informative compilation of photo essays on the subject of Race in America, One Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race is an extraordinarily thoughtful and thought provoking read from cover to cover.”
—Midwest Book Review

“This book . . . powerfully delivers on its central promise to condense an extensive history of the battle for identity through skin color into a small space. Blay gives the reader time to digest the complex topic of Black identity and provides a catalyst for longer conversations among Black people of all shades, White people of all countries, and people of color everywhere.”
—Los Angeles Review of Books

“A gorgeous and evocative book. Through personal narrative, photographic portraits, and an astute historical backdrop, the reader is brought on a journey exploring both the borders and the depth of the complicated racial category ‘Black.’ Tears, laughter, and life-transforming ideas blossom on page after page.”
—Imani Perry, author of Breathe: A Letter to My Sons

“Highlighting the impact of immigration, transnationalism, culture, ethnicity, and immigration on the alleged black-and-white-ness of the US racial narrative, these poignant testimonies reassert that the lived experience of Blackness is far more than a mere social construct.”
—Joan Morgan, cultural critic and author of When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: A Hip-Hop Feminist Breaks It Down

“Blay broadens our ideas about what counts as Black and challenges readers to rethink Blackness not only as a category but as an experience. As a biracial Black woman, I think this book is not only a must-read but a must-share.”
—Amy DuBois Barnett, former editor in chief of Ebony

“When people ask, What does it mean to love Blackness, one answer is the work of Yaba Blay. . . . Yaba is one of the most brilliant and committed critics and advocates writing and thinking and working on behalf of Black people today.”
—Michael Eric Dyson, New York Times best-selling author

“One Drop visually stuns while showing us the many different and often surprising faces of Blackness that make up the Americas. In a world that shreds Black women’s self-esteem in big and small ways every day, we depend on Blay’s writing, Instagram tutorials, and undaunted compassion to put us back together again.”
—Brittney Cooper, author of the New York Times bestseller Eloquent Rage

“One Drop presents a nuanced exploration of racial identity that serves as a practical guide for thinking critically about what it means to be Black in the twenty-first century.”
—Tarana J. Burke, author, activist, and founder of the MeToo movement

“The one-drop rule has policed life both across and within the color line for centuries. Blay brilliantly and lovingly reframes our visions on the strength and vitality of our visual diversity."
—Mark Anthony Neal, Duke University