There is some evidence from life insurance and medical sources, that the
mulatto stands above the Negro but below the white in respect to his
health. There is considerable evidence that he occupies the same
relation in the intellectual world; it is a matter of general
observation that nearly all the leaders of the Negro race in the United
States are not Negroes but mulattoes.
Without going into detail, we feel perfectly safe in drawing this
conclusion: that in general the white race loses and the Negro gains
from miscegenation.
This applies, of course, only to the germinal nature. Taking into
consideration the present social conditions in America, it is doubtful
whether either race gains. But if social conditions be eliminated for
the moment, biologists may believe that intermarriage between the white
and Negro races represents, on the whole, an advance for the Negro; and
that it represents for the white race a distinct loss.
If eugenics is to be thought of solely in terms of the white race, there
can be no hesitation about rendering a verdict. We must unhesitatingly
condemn miscegenation.
But there are those who declare that it is small and mean to take such a
narrow view of the evolution of the race. They would have America open
its doors indiscriminately to immigration, holding it a virtue to
sacrifice one's self permanently for someone else's temporary happiness;
they would equally have the white race sacrifice itself for the Negro,
by allowing a mingling of the two blood-streams. That, it is alleged, is
the true way to elevate the Negro.
The question may well be considered from that point of view, even
though the validity of such a point of view is not admitted.
To ensure racial and social progress, nothing will take the place of
leadership, of genius. A race of nothing but mediocrities will stand
still, or very nearly so; but a race of mediocrities with a good supply
of men of exceptional ability and energy at the top, will make progress
in discovery, invention and organization, which is generally recognized
as progressive evolution.
If the level of the white race be lowered, it will hurt that race and be
of little help to the Negro. If the white race be kept at such a level
that its productivity of men of talent will be at a maximum, everyone
will progress; for the Negro benefits just as the white does from every
forward step in science and art, in industry and politics.
Remembering that the white race in America is nine times as numerous as
the black race, we conclude that it would be desirable to encourage
amalgamation of the two races only in case the average of mulattoes is
superior to the average of the whites. No one can seriously maintain
that this supposition is true. Biologically, therefore, there is no
reason to think that an increase in the number of mulattoes is
desirable.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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