White, African...and Not White

A New Work in Progress...

Part Two of my conceptual art project, which explores "what it means to be an American," is now available to view on my website. 

Called "THE DISSENT COLLARS," Part Two focuses on what I call "American Whiteness Laws," or race prerequisite laws, and deals with how US courts and legislators created a new category of immigrants in the late 1800's labeled "aliens ineligible to naturalize," because they were neither from Africa nor found to be "White" by law.

To get a taste of how these laws worked, here's a short essay I was asked to write for The Washington Spectator. It's a history of California's race laws entitled "The Dark Side of Sunny California."