Salli Richardson
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Birth Name: Salli Elise Richardson
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Date of Birth: November 23, 1967
Ethnicity:
*father – English, Italian
*mother – African-American
Salli Richardson, also credited as Salli Richardson-Whitfield, is an American actress and director. She is known for starring on the series Eureka.
Her father is white, and has English and Italian ancestry. Her mother is African-American. Salli has stated that her mother has Native American ancestry. It is not clear if this Native American ancestry has been verified/documented.
Salli is married to actor Dondre Whitfield, with whom she has two children. Dondre is African-American.
She has stated:
I mean, yes, my father is Italian and English, and my mother’s got Indian in her, but when you look at my parents you see Black and White–two halves… I was raised around both my parents, and I knew that my father is White and my mother is Black, but I never thought that I was anything but Black. It never crossed my mind that I could be anything else. No one ever said anything; no one ever made any comments in my family. It was just never a question. I think being Black is a wonderful thing to claim.
Salli’s paternal grandparents likely are Gerald Richardson and Geraldine Hope Higgins (the daughter of John L. “Jack” Higgins and Rose Page). Gerald was born in New York. Geraldine was born in Chicago, Illinois. Rose was the daughter of Anna, who was born in Italy.
Salli Richardson took back her claims of having Cherokee ancestry, stated it’s not true. Can she say she’s biracial and proud of both her Black/African American and Italian American (yes, they’re considered white) roots? There was anti-Italian sentiment in US history, which was why Iron Eyes Cody, the actor on anti-littering PSAs adopted a fake Cherokee/Cree identity to hide his actually Italian heritage from Louisiana known for violent incidents against Italian Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The 1 drop rule prevented many mixed-race (white and Black American) persons from being given total “whiteness”, while any other ethnicity who aren’t Black/African American were dubbed “white” or given legal “white” status like CA state law did to both Mexican- and East Asian Americans after WW2, and the irony of anti-Italian sentiment comparable to antisemitism at the same time when many white/Anglo Protestant Christians disliked both Jews and mostly Roman Catholic Italians. Salli Richardson was hiding her blackness and I guess, her Italian side. +
I’m 90% sure her paternal grandparents are Gerald Richardson and Geraldine Hope Higgins. Gerald was born in New York and Geraldine was born in Chicago, Illinois.
Geraldine’s parents were John (Jack) L. Higgins and Rose Page. Geraldine was living with her aunt’s family and her maternal grandmother, Anna Page, in the 1930 census. Grandmother Anna’s birthplace was Italy. It may be that Page is an anglicized variant of some Italian surname.
She can identify as she pleases, you don’t get to decide for others. if she does not wish to acknowledge that side of her then she is free not to. Whites made up the One Drop Rule, so reap what you sow.
often described as part Irish on father’s side
Her statements, she seems to have a problem with her European side. She isn’t black. She is black and white. If both her parents were Black Africans hen she would be black. But she is both. She needs to accept herself and have more respect for her dad’s side.
She can identify as she pleases, you don’t get to decide for others. if she does not wish to acknowledge that side of her then she is free not to. Whites made up the One Drop Rule, so reap what you sow.