Passing and Perceived: How Historical Records and Interpretations from These Records Impact Identification of Unknown Individuals.

Sydney S. Garcia, SNA International
Cortney N. Hulse, SNA International contractor supporting the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Brian D. Padgett, Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State
Fadi Abdelhalim, University of Southern California

Since the legalization of chattel slavery in the United States, individuals have been channeled into racialized groups based on skin color, and other phenotypic and cultural features. The widespread publication and dissemination of these categories deepened racist ideology, segregation, and social inequities that persist today. Further, they shaped internal biases towards others and influenced how we identify ourselves. Typically, being white-passing provided safety and more career opportunities; therefore, people who were perceived as White sometimes chose to live their life with that label. We argue that this concept can be applied to other areas of identity, to include religion and ethnicity. Historically, there are examples where military personnel practiced their religion and culture in secret during and following various wars such as World War II, but even as recently as the events that followed 9/11. The concept of “passing” has been discussed in various fields; however, despite passing being documented since the 1800s, it is rarely considered when reviewing historical documentation, records, and photographs. Through anthropological examples, we will discuss how conflicting personnel records and first person accounts present challenges in the identification process of unknown individuals. We will touch on the importance of the historical context of passing while rereading historical sources helps current scholars, particularly in the field of biological anthropology, address potential misrepresentations and identify gaps in population affinity assessments of individuals waiting to be identified. This presentation addresses three core topics on the overarching question of what historical documentation can truly tell us? 1. It discusses passing and how assumptions and perceptions of others appear in historical records; 2. It challenges the audiences’ own biases when conducting research using historical sources; 3. It broadens the concept of identity to increase awareness of patterns of inaccuracy in some historical records.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 68. Race to the Archives