Race, Blood, and What the Alligator Knows: A Review of What Blood Won't Tell

16 Pages Posted: 16 Dec 2011

See all articles by Jason Gillmer

Jason Gillmer

Gonzaga University - School of Law

Date Written: March 1, 2010

Abstract

When we speak of race we often speak in hermetically-sealed categories: black, white, Native American, Asian, and so forth. Yet, as Ariela Gross demonstrates in her latest book, What Blood Won't Tell, the real excitement is at the margins — that area of law and space occupied by people who do not fit neatly into one category or another. For it is here that the difficult questions are posed — about race, about status, about property, and about citizenship. This Review Essay follows What Blood Won’t Tell to these places, and in the process it explores both how the meaning of race has changed throughout our history and how ordinary people have been active agents in its formulation. The Essay also digs deeper into some areas raised by Gross, and contemplates possible subjects for future inquiries.

Keywords: race, identity, legal history, slavery

Suggested Citation

Gillmer, Jason, Race, Blood, and What the Alligator Knows: A Review of What Blood Won't Tell (March 1, 2010). Southern California Law Review, Vol. 83, No. 3, 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1972521

Jason Gillmer (Contact Author)

Gonzaga University - School of Law ( email )

721 N. Cincinnati Street
Spokane, WA 99220-3528
United States

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