New Orleans is made up of many different types of people and cultures; it is an eclectic melting pot of people and traditions. One of the oldest and most influential being Creole. By definition a Creole is...
1. a person born in the West Indies or Spanish America but of European, usually Spanish, ancestry.
Or
2. a person born in Louisiana but of usually French ancestry.
Or
3. (sometimes lowercase) a person of mixed black and European, esp. French or Spanish, ancestry who speaks a creolized form of French or Spanish.
The Creole culture is complex and widely debated; many people ask the question "What makes a real Creole?" I have live in Louisiana for most of my life and have seen many different types of Creole peoples and traditions, but still couldn’t give a true, acceptable definition of a Creole. In today’s culture there is a fine line between races that is not based on color alone. This was seen earlier and is still seen today. Passing is when a person of one racial group chooses to be a part of another racial group. Many light skinned black people would pass as white to reap the benefits. Passing tore families apart and caused many social problems.
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Great post Megan but could you give us the source of this definition. I think it is very interesting that the definition your cited emphasizes Spanish ancestry! This is definitely worth further discussion!
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