persons of color revisited

[Laurence Horn]

At 8:18 PM -0500 2/20/01, James A. Landau wrote:
>While we're at it, another term:
>
>"Also emancipated was Judy, a yellow woman, during her life, but her
>children, if she should have any, to be slaves. [Caldwell County Will Book B,
>p. 74, recorded 17 Mar 1845]"
>
>"Yellow" appears to mean a light-skinned person of mixed race.  I believe it
>is nowadays highly politically incorrect, although I have not heard any
>complaints about the state song of Texas, "The Yellow Rose of Texas", which
>quite possibly refers to the singer's mulatto mistress

That's what I'd always heard.  And then there's the racial
designation "high yeller" or "high yaller" ).  The RHHDAS gives it as
"high yellow" (which I've never seen or heard, but apparently is
common) or "high yaller" and glosses it curiously as 'a black [!]
person having light-brown skin-usu. considered offensive', with
glosses from a 1923 Dos Passos novel "Ought to see them high yallers
down there if you're stuck on girls".

larry