melano (Black) + genea (ancestry) + phobia
The term melanogenesphobia isn’t found in any psychology books. There is a term, Melanophobia, describing a fear of the color Black. I’m talking about the fear of finding out you and your family are actually Black, no matter to what degree. I thought it was time to give this condition a real name. There are those whose entire identity is based on their whiteness. Imagine the shock to find out there’s a ni**er in the woodpile somewhere. Some accept it graciously, while others range from denial to outright hostility.
For some individuals, discovering Black ancestry threatens:
Their sense of self
Their perceived social position
Their inherited family narrative
The emotional reaction can resemble a phobic response even if it’s not yet classified as one. In the United States, this fear didn’t arise naturally — it was constructed. For centuries, white people in America controlled others based on a racial construct using the f…
