The Paper Genocide: Walter Plecker's War on Identity
How one bureaucrat's campaign of racial reclassification systematically erased indigenous Black identity from official records.
The Racial Integrity Act of 1924
Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924, implemented by Walter Ashby Plecker as head of the Bureau of Vital Statistics, represents one of the most systematic campaigns of identity destruction in American history. This legislation was a deliberate 'paper genocide' — the systematic destruction of indigenous Black identity through legal reclassification.
Plecker declared that no 'pure' Indians existed in Virginia, reclassified all indigenous Black peoples as 'colored,' altered birth certificates and historical records, and created 'suspicious names' lists to monitor and suppress community connections.
Long-Term Impact
The Plecker era destroyed tribal recognition for numerous indigenous Black communities, eliminating access to tribal lands and resources. It created generational trauma through identity destruction and established legal precedents that continue to complicate federal recognition processes to this day.
This demonstrates how legal mechanisms were specifically designed to erase FBA indigenous connections, forcing them into simplified racial categories that denied their complex heritage and historical land rights.