Racial Passing 

“Passing” refers to the social experience of someone presenting as or perceived to be an identity other than their own, including but not limited to racial identities. People that choose to pass often do so because the contemporary legal structures privilege a group other than their own. Like Belle da Costa Greene, some people of color from the eighteenth to mid-twentieth century passed as white for greater legal, social, and financial freedoms. Racial passing provided them with protection from discrimination and racial violence in America. This action was a viable option for some people of mixed ancestry with lighter complexions.