A method of determining racial classification in apartheid South Africa, an alternative to the one-drop rule
Jim Crow One Drop Has Nothing On South Afrika's Apartheid Pencil Test (Rule)
During the oppression of the apartheid in South Africa, one drop of sub-Saharan blood was not enough to qualify an individual as Black. South African law maintained a major distinction between those who were “Black” and those who were “colored.”
When it was unclear from a person's physical appearance which racial classification they belonged to,” the pencil test” was employed. This test involved inserting a pencil into a person's hair to determine if the hair was kinky enough for the pencil to get stuck. If the pencil did not fall right out of the person’s hair, that individual was deemed Black.
See Discovery Documentation on Apartheid:
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/...
When it was unclear from a person's physical appearance which racial classification they belonged to,” the pencil test” was employed. This test involved inserting a pencil into a person's hair to determine if the hair was kinky enough for the pencil to get stuck. If the pencil did not fall right out of the person’s hair, that individual was deemed Black.
See Discovery Documentation on Apartheid:
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/...
