In regards to the biracial thing, the tradition has long been in Anglo society that any drop of black blood meant one was designated black.
In fact, there were thresholds between black and white in the segregated South. In some states, and individual was legally black/colored if they were 1/4 black or more (this was referred to as "quadroon") of 1/8 or more in other states (referred to as "octoroon"). And Louisiana took it even further, designating anyone with traceable black blood as black. Meaning you could be a white man, have a bitter enemy unearth evidence of a black ancestor from distant (i.e. colonial) times, and just like that your life was upended and you were declared black.
This continued history is why biracial inmates are always listed as black, and are often referred to as black in every walk of life.
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