Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 20 hours ago
00:00 The Pocahontas Exception: Why Wealthy Families Stayed "White"
01:45 The "Hit List" of Family Names: Walter Plecker’s Surnames Document
03:30 The 1924 Case of Atha Sorrels: Fighting for the Right to Marry
05:15 Legally White in 1924: The Impossible Burden of Proof
07:45 The 1/16th Rule: The Math Behind the "Pocahontas Clause"
10:12 The First Families of Virginia: RANDOLPH, BOWLING, & LEWIS
13:50 Walter Plecker’s "Mongrel" Theory: The Erasure of Native Identity
16:20 "My Uncle's Birth Certificate Says Colored": The Personal Fallout
19:10 Analyzing the Documents: How One Letter Reclassified 10,000 People
22:15 The DNA Reveal: Why Most Pocahontas Descendants Were Lying
25:30 The 2001 Apology: Why Three Generations are Still Searching for Answers
27:40 Join the Search: How to Find Your Family on the "Plecker List"
The Pocahontas Exception: Virginia's loophole that was supposed to protect Native Americans but instead erased thousands of them. Wealthy families hid behind Pocahontas ancestry and stayed white. Actual Native communities got reclassified as 'colored' by Walter Plecker's hit list. One man. One document. Thousands of destroyed families. And 80 years later, DNA proved many were lying the whole time
Sources:
encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/atha-sorrells-v-a-t-shields-clerk-petition-for-mandamus-november-14-1924
encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/surnames-by-counties-and-cities-of-mixed-negroid-virginia-families-striving-to-pass-as-indian-or-white-by-walter-a-plecker-ca-1943
newlangsyne.com/phf/bloodlines.htm
✅Join me OFF of Youtube
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nytonashville.com
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▶Download the first section FREE of my "Be a Good ancestor" course here:
nytonashville.com/shoplola/be-a-good-ancestor-course-digital-download-videos-bjks6
FOLLOW ME 📸
► YouTube: / @NYTN
► Facebook: / facebook.com/findinglolafilm
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► X: / twitter.com/ImFindingLola
OTHER VIDEO PLAYLISTS
► Melungeon + Redbones: youtube.com/watch?v=LyLd8rizXCQ&list=PLvzaW1c7S5hS0duqgK5mkBh_9aqIpbooI
► "Who Counts as..." Series in the US: youtube.com/watch?v=yUbLF-tgbB0&list=PLvzaW1c7S5hRisWeiK9K5E8X7asZdz4X1
► Mexicans youtube.com/watch?v=IwJyAwnx39Y&list=PLvzaW1c7S5hSU0OWM1p4QUln0iBpI77wf
► Enslaved Ancestor stories youtube.com/watch?v=uAxyz0q0A4s&list=PLvzaW1c7S5hQxDnyRTah5wYRX9b4FSrqR
► My family story of white passing : youtube.com/watch?v=SQp7jeNp_yg&list=PLvzaW1c7S5hQcox9CjaJWA7QKTYXw9Zn2
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Come join me on a new docu-series that explores identity, racial tensions in the South during the 20th century, and the unique experiences of those who historically called Louisiana home.
My name is Danielle Romero, and all my life, I have romanticized Louisiana.
Growing up in New York, it represented a place where I could step back the sepia-toned life of my great grandmother, Lola Perot, who died before I was born.
Now, it was time to go back to Louisiana--although I had no idea what the truth would be or what questions to ask---who was Lola really? Who were we?
*Amazon links are affiliate links. If buy something through these links, we may earn affiliate commission. Thank you for supporting this project!
00:00 The Pocahontas Exception: Why Wealthy Families Stayed "White"
01:45 The "Hit List" of Family Names: Walter Plecker’s Surnames Document
03:30 The 1924 Case of Atha Sorrels: Fighting for the Right to Marry
05:15 Legally White in 1924: The Impossible Burden of Proof
07:45 The 1/16th Rule: The Math Behind the "Pocahontas Clause"
10:12 The First Families of Virginia: RANDOLPH, BOWLING, & LEWIS
13:50 Walter Plecker’s "Mongrel" Theory: The Erasure of Native Identity
16:20 "My Uncle's Birth Certificate Says Colored": The Personal Fallout
19:10 Analyzing the Documents: How One Letter Reclassified 10,000 People
22:15 The DNA Reveal: Why Most Pocahontas Descendants Were Lying
25:30 The 2001 Apology: Why Three Generations are Still Searching for Answers
27:40 Join the Search: How to Find Your Family on the "Plecker List"
The Pocahontas Exception: Virginia's loophole that was supposed to protect Native Americans but instead erased thousands of them. Wealthy families hid behind Pocahontas ancestry and stayed white. Actual Native communities got reclassified as 'colored' by Walter Plecker's hit list. One man. One document. Thousands of destroyed families. And 80 years later, DNA proved many were lying the whole time
Sources:
encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/atha-sorrells-v-a-t-shields-clerk-petition-for-mandamus-november-14-1924
encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/surnames-by-counties-and-cities-of-mixed-negroid-virginia-families-striving-to-pass-as-indian-or-white-by-walter-a-plecker-ca-1943
newlangsyne.com/phf/bloodlines.htm
✅Join me OFF of Youtube
patreon.com/NYTN
☕Send me a coffee!: ko-fi.com/nytn13#linkModal
nytonashville.com
► 👕 NYTN Merch: nytonashville.com
▶Download the first section FREE of my "Be a Good ancestor" course here:
nytonashville.com/shoplola/be-a-good-ancestor-course-digital-download-videos-bjks6
FOLLOW ME 📸
► YouTube: / @NYTN
► Facebook: / facebook.com/findinglolafilm
► Website: nytonashville.com
► X: / twitter.com/ImFindingLola
OTHER VIDEO PLAYLISTS
► Melungeon + Redbones: youtube.com/watch?v=LyLd8rizXCQ&list=PLvzaW1c7S5hS0duqgK5mkBh_9aqIpbooI
► "Who Counts as..." Series in the US: youtube.com/watch?v=yUbLF-tgbB0&list=PLvzaW1c7S5hRisWeiK9K5E8X7asZdz4X1
► Mexicans youtube.com/watch?v=IwJyAwnx39Y&list=PLvzaW1c7S5hSU0OWM1p4QUln0iBpI77wf
► Enslaved Ancestor stories youtube.com/watch?v=uAxyz0q0A4s&list=PLvzaW1c7S5hQxDnyRTah5wYRX9b4FSrqR
► My family story of white passing : youtube.com/watch?v=SQp7jeNp_yg&list=PLvzaW1c7S5hQcox9CjaJWA7QKTYXw9Zn2
--------
Come join me on a new docu-series that explores identity, racial tensions in the South during the 20th century, and the unique experiences of those who historically called Louisiana home.
My name is Danielle Romero, and all my life, I have romanticized Louisiana.
Growing up in New York, it represented a place where I could step back the sepia-toned life of my great grandmother, Lola Perot, who died before I was born.
Now, it was time to go back to Louisiana--although I had no idea what the truth would be or what questions to ask---who was Lola really? Who were we?
*Amazon links are affiliate links. If buy something through these links, we may earn affiliate commission. Thank you for supporting this project!
