August 19, 2025 • 11 mins
What does it mean to be part of the African diaspora? From the cruel weight of the one-drop rule to the richness of invention, science, and culture, this episode explores the power and resilience of Black identity across generations. Vanessa Riley takes us through the history of Black wealth, music, and innovation while addressing the so-called “diaspora wars” that threaten to divide communities. We look at how artists like Tyla and Rihanna embody the global reach of Black culture, how debates over who makes the best jollof rice reveal both pride and unity, and why Black history must be celebrated as a story of brilliance, survival, and creativity. This is a call for family, purpose, and solidarity across the diaspora—a reminder that our shared story is greater than any boundary.
Keywords (SEO): African diaspora, diaspora wars, Black identity, Black history, one-drop rule, Black innovation, Black culture, Vanessa Riley podcast, jollof rice debate, Tyla, Rihanna, Afrofuturism, Black excellence, global Blackness, African heritage, diaspora storytelling
The one-drop rule used to be the measure of Blackness in America. From the 1600s through the Jim Crow era, this rule held that any person with even “one drop” of African ancestry was considered Black, regardless of appearance.
In 1662, Virginia law held that racial status and freedom were tied to the mother’s status (partus sequitur ventrem). If your mother was enslaved, you were enslaved. So if your mother was Black, so were you. Virginia—the so-called “home of lovers”—added categories like mulatto (½ Black), quadroon (¼ Black), and octoroon (⅛ Black), trying to track how many generations removed someone was from Black ancestry. By the 1800s, many states considered you Black if you had 1/8 African ancestry (one great-grandparent). Louisiana, extra as ever, defined it at 1/16 (a great-great-grandparent). After Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) upheld “separate but equal” segregation, the one-drop rule hardened. By Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act of 1924, a person with any African ancestry at all was legally Black. The hardships and limitations of the past—like redlining that dictated where Black people could live, or Jim Crow laws that dictated how we lived—are major reasons for “passing,” hiding ancestry, and pretending to belong to the majority culture. Yet Black history in the United States is a story of resilience, brilliance, and immeasurable contributions to the nation’s progress. It is a history rich in invention—from Garrett Morgan’s traffic signal to Madam C. J. Walker’s beauty empire, George Washington Carver’s agricultural breakthroughs, and countless modern innovations in technology, medicine, and engineering. Gladys Mae West’s satellite math laid the foundation for GPS technology. Our history is steeped in science and scholarship—with pioneers like Dr. Charles Drew revolutionizing blood banking, Katherine Johnson calculating the trajectories to send and return astronauts from space, and Neil deGrasse Tyson expanding our imagination of the cosmos. Our history is one of wealth and entrepreneurship—from Newport’s Black Gilded Age to Black Wall Street in Tulsa, to contemporary business leaders who redefine prosperity against the odds. And don’t get me started on how Black artists have transformed music. Our fingerprints are on jazz, country, gospel, blues, and hip-hop. While we’re talking about music, let’s talk Tyla. Her meteoric rise with “Water” made her a global star, gaining awards and even a spot at the Met Gala. But because her next release didn’t match that first explosion, she was quickly branded a flop. Some say she was the first casualty of the diaspora wars. Folks took issue with a few odd interviews and typed up posts calling Tyla a flop because they thought she disrespected Black America. That’s unfair. Tyla needs time to grow and create her unique, lasting sound. Queen Rihanna herself needed a couple of years before Good Girl Gone Bad cemented her superstardom. Every artist must be given space to grow, to excavate, to find their voice. The same is true for writers. How many of us dreaded our sophomore novels? Like sophomore albums, sophomore books are hard. Lasting careers aren’t built in one viral moment, but through many seasons of growth and resilience. So I find it curious that social media insists the Diaspora Wars are here. That algorithms push the idea that Foundational Black Americans—descendants of U.S. chattel slavery—are beefing with people from the Caribbean and Africa. Immigrants arrive and celebrate their success. That success shouldn’t be held against proud Americans whose families endured slavery, Jim Crow, and every broken promise to Black people in America. For the record: we have no 40 acres, no mule, and often no bootstraps. Confession: I know I’m supposed to be off Twitter, but it’s got the international feeds and the mess. I’m addicted to both. Where else am I going to learn about the
Keywords (SEO): African diaspora, diaspora wars, Black identity, Black history, one-drop rule, Black innovation, Black culture, Vanessa Riley podcast, jollof rice debate, Tyla, Rihanna, Afrofuturism, Black excellence, global Blackness, African heritage, diaspora storytelling
The one-drop rule used to be the measure of Blackness in America. From the 1600s through the Jim Crow era, this rule held that any person with even “one drop” of African ancestry was considered Black, regardless of appearance.
In 1662, Virginia law held that racial status and freedom were tied to the mother’s status (partus sequitur ventrem). If your mother was enslaved, you were enslaved. So if your mother was Black, so were you. Virginia—the so-called “home of lovers”—added categories like mulatto (½ Black), quadroon (¼ Black), and octoroon (⅛ Black), trying to track how many generations removed someone was from Black ancestry. By the 1800s, many states considered you Black if you had 1/8 African ancestry (one great-grandparent). Louisiana, extra as ever, defined it at 1/16 (a great-great-grandparent). After Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) upheld “separate but equal” segregation, the one-drop rule hardened. By Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act of 1924, a person with any African ancestry at all was legally Black. The hardships and limitations of the past—like redlining that dictated where Black people could live, or Jim Crow laws that dictated how we lived—are major reasons for “passing,” hiding ancestry, and pretending to belong to the majority culture. Yet Black history in the United States is a story of resilience, brilliance, and immeasurable contributions to the nation’s progress. It is a history rich in invention—from Garrett Morgan’s traffic signal to Madam C. J. Walker’s beauty empire, George Washington Carver’s agricultural breakthroughs, and countless modern innovations in technology, medicine, and engineering. Gladys Mae West’s satellite math laid the foundation for GPS technology. Our history is steeped in science and scholarship—with pioneers like Dr. Charles Drew revolutionizing blood banking, Katherine Johnson calculating the trajectories to send and return astronauts from space, and Neil deGrasse Tyson expanding our imagination of the cosmos. Our history is one of wealth and entrepreneurship—from Newport’s Black Gilded Age to Black Wall Street in Tulsa, to contemporary business leaders who redefine prosperity against the odds. And don’t get me started on how Black artists have transformed music. Our fingerprints are on jazz, country, gospel, blues, and hip-hop. While we’re talking about music, let’s talk Tyla. Her meteoric rise with “Water” made her a global star, gaining awards and even a spot at the Met Gala. But because her next release didn’t match that first explosion, she was quickly branded a flop. Some say she was the first casualty of the diaspora wars. Folks took issue with a few odd interviews and typed up posts calling Tyla a flop because they thought she disrespected Black America. That’s unfair. Tyla needs time to grow and create her unique, lasting sound. Queen Rihanna herself needed a couple of years before Good Girl Gone Bad cemented her superstardom. Every artist must be given space to grow, to excavate, to find their voice. The same is true for writers. How many of us dreaded our sophomore novels? Like sophomore albums, sophomore books are hard. Lasting careers aren’t built in one viral moment, but through many seasons of growth and resilience. So I find it curious that social media insists the Diaspora Wars are here. That algorithms push the idea that Foundational Black Americans—descendants of U.S. chattel slavery—are beefing with people from the Caribbean and Africa. Immigrants arrive and celebrate their success. That success shouldn’t be held against proud Americans whose families endured slavery, Jim Crow, and every broken promise to Black people in America. For the record: we have no 40 acres, no mule, and often no bootstraps. Confession: I know I’m supposed to be off Twitter, but it’s got the international feeds and the mess. I’m addicted to both. Where else am I going to learn about the
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to the Rite of Passage with Vanessa Riley, the
podcast where storytelling meets passion in every page turns into
a new adventure. I'm your host, Vanessa Riley, and together
we'll dive deep into untold histories, reflect on current events
through a historical lands, share behind the scenes writing insights,
(00:29):
and explore the ups and downs of the author's journey
from rich historical novels to unforgettable characters to pop culture's
intrusion on the written word. Hey, we're going to explore
it all.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
So grab your pen, your notebook, and let's begin our
journey through the written word.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Let's start your.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Right of passage unity with the one drop rule. The
one drop rule used to be the measure of blackness
in America from the sixteen hundreds through the Jim Crow era.
This rule held that any person with even one drop
(01:18):
of African ancestry was considered black, regardless of appearance. In
sixteen sixty two, Virginia law held that racial status and
freedom were tied to the mother's status. Partis secuaitour ventreum.
(01:38):
If your mother was enslaved, you were enslaved. So if
your mother was black, so were you. Virginia, the so
called home of Lovers, added categories like mulatto, half black, quadroon,
a quarter black, octoroon, one eighth black, trying to track
(02:02):
how many generations removed someone was from black ancestry. By
the eighteen hundreds, many states considered you black if you
had one eighth African ancestry one great grandparent. Louisiana extra
as Ever defined it at one sixteenth a great great grandparent.
(02:27):
After Plessy versus Ferguson of eighteen ninety six upheld separate
but equal segregation. The one drop rule, hardened by Virginia
Racial Integrity Act of nineteen twenty four, a person with
any African ancestry at all was legally black. The hardships
(02:54):
and limitations of the past, like red lining that dictated
where black people could live or Jim Crow laws that
dictated how we lived our major reasons for passing, hiding
ancestry and pretending to belong to the majority culture. Yet
Black history in the United States is a story of resilience, brilliance,
(03:16):
and immeasurable contributions to the nation's progress. It is a
history rich in invention. From Garrett Morgan's traffic signal to
Madame C. J. Walker's beauty Empire, George Washington Carver's agricultural breakthroughs,
and countless modern innovations in technology, medicine, and engineering. Gladys
(03:41):
May West's satellite math laid the foundation for GPS technology.
Our history is steeped in science and scholarship, with pioneers
like doctor Charles Drew revolutionizing blood banking, Catherine Johnson calculating
the trajectory's to send and return astronauts from space, Nil
(04:04):
de Grasse Tyson expanding our imagination of the cosmos. Our
history is one of wealth and entrepreneurship, from Newport's black
yielded age to black Wall Street and Tulsa to contemporary
business leaders who redefine prosperity against the odds. And don't
(04:27):
get me started on how black artists have transformed music.
Our fingerprints are on jazz, country, gospel, blues, and hip hop.
While we're talking about music, let's talk Tyler. Her meteoric
rise with Water made her a global star, gaining awards
and even a spot at the met Gala, But because
(04:50):
her next release didn't match the first explosion, she was
quickly branded a flop. Some say when she was the
first casualty of the diasper wars. Folks took issue with
a few odd interviews and typed up posts calling Tyler
(05:10):
a flop because she disrespected Black America. That's unfair. Tyler
needs to grow and create her unique, lasting sound. Queen
Rianna herself needed a couple of years before A Good
Girl Gone Bad cemented her superstardom. Every artist must be
given space to grow, to excavate, to find their voice.
(05:33):
The same is true for writers. How many of us
dreaded our sophomore novels Like sophomore albums. Sophomore books are hard.
Lasting careers aren't built in one viral moment, but through
many seasons of growth and resilience. So I find it
curious that social media insists the diasper wars are here.
(05:57):
The algorithms pushed the idea that foundational Black Americans, descendants
of US chattel slavery, are beefing with people from the Caribbean.
In Africa, immigrants arrive and celebrate their success. That success
shouldn't be held against proud Americans whose families endured slavery.
(06:18):
Jim Crow and every broken promise to Black people in
America for the record, we have no forty acres, no mule,
and often no bootstraps. Confession. I know I'm supposed to
be off Twitter, but it's got the international feeds and
the mess. I'm addicted to both, wor else? Am I
(06:40):
going to learn about the jaalaff wars that went down
because of Essence tweets? My first question was who made
the jawlaff Nigeria, Tomato Ford, spicy smoky rice, Ghana, refined
lighter aromatic rice, Senegal, the ogs the originators, rice cooked
(07:02):
in fish stock and local spices like tamarind Liberia, hardy
deeply spiced rice with a splash of coconut milk. Trinidad
and Jamaica are rice is rice and peas made with
coconut milk and caribbean curry. Yet none of this goodness
replaces baked mac and cheese. For me, I believe all
(07:27):
the tastiest foods and best chefs need to get along.
So why do we let petty divisions cloud the truth?
Whether it's an online squabble about food mac and cheese
versus Jalla fries, or disagreements about Essence, festival, publishing models,
or tic type virality. The danger is the same distraction
(07:50):
from unity. This is why I want to return to
the one drop rule. Historically it was a weapon to exclude, stigmatize,
and find blackness through the gaze of white supremacy. But
we can reclaim it as a tool of unity. One
drop is enough. One drop is enough to connect us.
(08:13):
Whether our roots are in Nigeria, South Carolina, Port of Spain,
or Kingston. One drop earns you a scoop of jallav
or the crispy edge of baked mac and cheese. Our
differences are not fault lines. They enrich, not divide. Our
shared survival, our collective brilliance, and our cultural triumphs are
(08:37):
what matter. So let's stop measuring each other's authenticity over tweets, accents,
or cultural quirks. One drop is enough. It makes us black,
it makes us family, and I, for one, won't be
running lab tests to decide whether I should root for
you or not. If you are of the aspar I'm
(09:01):
rooting for you, And if you're one of my listeners,
you're fam I'm rooting for you too. Books to help
us on our journey of unity are the Souls of
Black Folks by w Ed Dubois This is a foundational
(09:21):
text on black identity and cultural richness. Hidden Figures by
Margaret Lee Shutterley. This tells the untold story of black
women mathematicians at NASA. The African Diasper, A History through
Culture by Patrick Manning looks at inventions, art, music, and
(09:44):
culture as threads that tie the diasper communities together. Joelaf
f Rice and Other Revolutions, a novel in Interlocking Stories
by umlu Ijma Ojumuni, is fiction but deeply rooted in
diasporatize food ways and cultural exchange. This week I'm highlighting
(10:08):
the Litbar through their website and bookshop dot org. We
are four and a half months away from Fire, Sword
and Sea. Help me build a momentum for this historical fiction.
Please spread the word and preorder this disruptive narrative about
lady pirates in the sixteen hundreds. They are women, many
(10:33):
are black and indigenous. All want a better life. Piracy
is legal. It's their answer. This saga releases January thirteenth,
twenty twenty six. The link on my website shows retailers
large and small who have set up pre orders for
(10:54):
this title. Show notes include a list of books mentioned
in this broadcast. You can find my notes on substack
or on my website Vanessareilly dot com under the podcast
link in the about tab. If you're ready to move
with purpose and power, hit that like button and subscribe
(11:18):
to write a passage. Never miss a moment. We have
work to do. Let me help you recharge. Thank you
for listening. Hopefully you'll come again. This is Vanessa Riley
no
Welcome to the Rite of Passage with Vanessa Riley, the
podcast where storytelling meets passion in every page turns into
a new adventure. I'm your host, Vanessa Riley, and together
we'll dive deep into untold histories, reflect on current events
through a historical lands, share behind the scenes writing insights,
(00:29):
and explore the ups and downs of the author's journey
from rich historical novels to unforgettable characters to pop culture's
intrusion on the written word. Hey, we're going to explore
it all.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
So grab your pen, your notebook, and let's begin our
journey through the written word.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Let's start your.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Right of passage unity with the one drop rule. The
one drop rule used to be the measure of blackness
in America from the sixteen hundreds through the Jim Crow era.
This rule held that any person with even one drop
(01:18):
of African ancestry was considered black, regardless of appearance. In
sixteen sixty two, Virginia law held that racial status and
freedom were tied to the mother's status. Partis secuaitour ventreum.
(01:38):
If your mother was enslaved, you were enslaved. So if
your mother was black, so were you. Virginia, the so
called home of Lovers, added categories like mulatto, half black, quadroon,
a quarter black, octoroon, one eighth black, trying to track
(02:02):
how many generations removed someone was from black ancestry. By
the eighteen hundreds, many states considered you black if you
had one eighth African ancestry one great grandparent. Louisiana extra
as Ever defined it at one sixteenth a great great grandparent.
(02:27):
After Plessy versus Ferguson of eighteen ninety six upheld separate
but equal segregation. The one drop rule, hardened by Virginia
Racial Integrity Act of nineteen twenty four, a person with
any African ancestry at all was legally black. The hardships
(02:54):
and limitations of the past, like red lining that dictated
where black people could live or Jim Crow laws that
dictated how we lived our major reasons for passing, hiding
ancestry and pretending to belong to the majority culture. Yet
Black history in the United States is a story of resilience, brilliance,
(03:16):
and immeasurable contributions to the nation's progress. It is a
history rich in invention. From Garrett Morgan's traffic signal to
Madame C. J. Walker's beauty Empire, George Washington Carver's agricultural breakthroughs,
and countless modern innovations in technology, medicine, and engineering. Gladys
(03:41):
May West's satellite math laid the foundation for GPS technology.
Our history is steeped in science and scholarship, with pioneers
like doctor Charles Drew revolutionizing blood banking, Catherine Johnson calculating
the trajectory's to send and return astronauts from space, Nil
(04:04):
de Grasse Tyson expanding our imagination of the cosmos. Our
history is one of wealth and entrepreneurship, from Newport's black
yielded age to black Wall Street and Tulsa to contemporary
business leaders who redefine prosperity against the odds. And don't
(04:27):
get me started on how black artists have transformed music.
Our fingerprints are on jazz, country, gospel, blues, and hip hop.
While we're talking about music, let's talk Tyler. Her meteoric
rise with Water made her a global star, gaining awards
and even a spot at the met Gala, But because
(04:50):
her next release didn't match the first explosion, she was
quickly branded a flop. Some say when she was the
first casualty of the diasper wars. Folks took issue with
a few odd interviews and typed up posts calling Tyler
(05:10):
a flop because she disrespected Black America. That's unfair. Tyler
needs to grow and create her unique, lasting sound. Queen
Rianna herself needed a couple of years before A Good
Girl Gone Bad cemented her superstardom. Every artist must be
given space to grow, to excavate, to find their voice.
(05:33):
The same is true for writers. How many of us
dreaded our sophomore novels Like sophomore albums. Sophomore books are hard.
Lasting careers aren't built in one viral moment, but through
many seasons of growth and resilience. So I find it
curious that social media insists the diasper wars are here.
(05:57):
The algorithms pushed the idea that foundational Black Americans, descendants
of US chattel slavery, are beefing with people from the Caribbean.
In Africa, immigrants arrive and celebrate their success. That success
shouldn't be held against proud Americans whose families endured slavery.
(06:18):
Jim Crow and every broken promise to Black people in
America for the record, we have no forty acres, no mule,
and often no bootstraps. Confession. I know I'm supposed to
be off Twitter, but it's got the international feeds and
the mess. I'm addicted to both, wor else? Am I
(06:40):
going to learn about the jaalaff wars that went down
because of Essence tweets? My first question was who made
the jawlaff Nigeria, Tomato Ford, spicy smoky rice, Ghana, refined
lighter aromatic rice, Senegal, the ogs the originators, rice cooked
(07:02):
in fish stock and local spices like tamarind Liberia, hardy
deeply spiced rice with a splash of coconut milk. Trinidad
and Jamaica are rice is rice and peas made with
coconut milk and caribbean curry. Yet none of this goodness
replaces baked mac and cheese. For me, I believe all
(07:27):
the tastiest foods and best chefs need to get along.
So why do we let petty divisions cloud the truth?
Whether it's an online squabble about food mac and cheese
versus Jalla fries, or disagreements about Essence, festival, publishing models,
or tic type virality. The danger is the same distraction
(07:50):
from unity. This is why I want to return to
the one drop rule. Historically it was a weapon to exclude, stigmatize,
and find blackness through the gaze of white supremacy. But
we can reclaim it as a tool of unity. One
drop is enough. One drop is enough to connect us.
(08:13):
Whether our roots are in Nigeria, South Carolina, Port of Spain,
or Kingston. One drop earns you a scoop of jallav
or the crispy edge of baked mac and cheese. Our
differences are not fault lines. They enrich, not divide. Our
shared survival, our collective brilliance, and our cultural triumphs are
(08:37):
what matter. So let's stop measuring each other's authenticity over tweets, accents,
or cultural quirks. One drop is enough. It makes us black,
it makes us family, and I, for one, won't be
running lab tests to decide whether I should root for
you or not. If you are of the aspar I'm
(09:01):
rooting for you, And if you're one of my listeners,
you're fam I'm rooting for you too. Books to help
us on our journey of unity are the Souls of
Black Folks by w Ed Dubois This is a foundational
(09:21):
text on black identity and cultural richness. Hidden Figures by
Margaret Lee Shutterley. This tells the untold story of black
women mathematicians at NASA. The African Diasper, A History through
Culture by Patrick Manning looks at inventions, art, music, and
(09:44):
culture as threads that tie the diasper communities together. Joelaf
f Rice and Other Revolutions, a novel in Interlocking Stories
by umlu Ijma Ojumuni, is fiction but deeply rooted in
diasporatize food ways and cultural exchange. This week I'm highlighting
(10:08):
the Litbar through their website and bookshop dot org. We
are four and a half months away from Fire, Sword
and Sea. Help me build a momentum for this historical fiction.
Please spread the word and preorder this disruptive narrative about
lady pirates in the sixteen hundreds. They are women, many
(10:33):
are black and indigenous. All want a better life. Piracy
is legal. It's their answer. This saga releases January thirteenth,
twenty twenty six. The link on my website shows retailers
large and small who have set up pre orders for
(10:54):
this title. Show notes include a list of books mentioned
in this broadcast. You can find my notes on substack
or on my website Vanessareilly dot com under the podcast
link in the about tab. If you're ready to move
with purpose and power, hit that like button and subscribe
(11:18):
to write a passage. Never miss a moment. We have
work to do. Let me help you recharge. Thank you
for listening. Hopefully you'll come again. This is Vanessa Riley
no
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