Who was Pinky's white mother or dad?
Was she related to Ms. Em?
shareI think if that were the case they would've mentioned it. Ms. Em didn't have any children. But I think Pinky's lineage went that her grandmother probably had relations (or considering the time, was raped) with a white man, had a half-black half-white daughter who was Pinky's mother. Then her mother also had relations with a white man resulting in Pinky's appearance.
I don't speak whatever.
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Considering the last name idea, I always thought neither Pinky's grandmother nor her mother were married so thus the Johnson name just stuck automatically. Plus for the girls they usually favor their father's sides so being that (in theory of course) Pinky's mother's father was white and then Pinky's father was also white, the genes of the caucasian decent would pass onto them easier than if her father had been black.
As for that last idea you had, I have to call a NO WAY on that one. I have friends who are both black and it is possible for their children to come out light but not the way Pinky did in the film. She would've probably looked more like Nina Mae Mckinney if that were the case.
I don't speak whatever.
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If Pinkie was half black she would look something Hollie Barry (black father and a black mother) who is light skinned, but is clearly black. If she was one forth black she might have looked something like Lonette McKee ( German, Finnish and Swedish mother and African and Native American father according to one article) who often convincingly played black women who were trying to pass for white, during the eighties and nineties in role like Rose Oliver in the "The Cotton Club" and Julie in the Broadway revival of "Show Boat". Interestingly her older sister, Kathy, ones played the title role in a slave Gothic movie entitle "Quadroon".
In 1949 anyone in Hollywood with a background like Ms. McKee's was probably passing in real life so as not to wind up like Fredi Washington and the motion picture code prohibited interracial relationship between real mixed couple on screen. The role went to Jeane Crain (of Irish and British decent) who was too white for the part. Ava Gardner or Linda Darnell would have been a better choice.
I've never read the novel so I don't know if it goes into Pinky Johnson's background. My personal theory is that Judge, who seems to take a personal interest in Pinky, is her grandfather and her mother had her with an unidentified white man.
TAG LINE: True genius is a beautiful thing, but ignorance is ugly to the bone.
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Most African American have some level of European and/or Native American ancestry so veneration's are possible in real life.
Fredi Washington, who played Peola, was listed in the 1910 census as a "Mulatto".Her parents were married to each other and probably were given the hostility, if not out right legality, of interracial marriage in Georgia at that time.
She appeared in the "Emperor Jones" and other black oriented movies before getting the main stream part of Peola in "Imitation of Life". Her white skin and green eyes made her perfect for playing a character who was trying to pass for white but those parts were rare. She became a civil rights activist after making a few more movies.
TAG LINE: True genius is a beautiful thing, but ignorance is ugly to the bone.
I remember of a case in the south back in the 70s where two caucasians, blonde haired, had a baby and the baby looked "Mulatto". The husband insisted his wife cheated on him. They ended up finding out that HIS great-grandmother had black genes. It does happen.
A few years ago a black couple made headlines when the wife gave birth to a white (non-albino) baby:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npg_rXMaOoU
It happens, especially if you've got white ancestors, and vice-versa.
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Exactly - I have a friend with three siblings. Parents are mid-tone African American.... children range from 'could easily pass for white' based upon skin tone and features to 'looks very African American', dark skin, and features.
shareThis is why I never found the Huxtable kids on The Cosby Show that baffling. After all, Cliff's father and Claire's mother were light-skinned. It stands to reason they had white ancestors, like many African-Americans do. Genetics are unpredictable.