'Colonial White Mater Privilege': An Above-Ground Railroad to Freedom and Land Reclamation

Abstract

This article provides a unique analysis of anti-miscegenation case law from the Colonial Period. The article discusses the utilization of “Colonial White Mater Privilege” (a theory coined by the author) by mulatto descendants of a White matriarch to regain their freedom and property rights. Part I discusses the applicable anti-miscegenation statues. Part ll presents the theory of Colonial White Mater Privilege. Part lll discusses race-mixing in Colonial Maryland. Part IV presents the history and cases involving the author’s ancestors (the author traces her genealogy back to the 1600s). Part V tests the theory through all seventeen of the applicable Maryland state cases from the 1700s and 1800s. Part VI illustrates that, as a vestige of slavery, economic disparity continues for Black families into the 21st century.

Keywords: Slavery, Colonial Era, Maryland, Property Rights

JEL Classification: K00