Does "passing" still occur?

In the article Who Is Black? One Nation's Definition, by F. James Davis (1991), the author explains the history and application of the "one-drop" rule.  Davis also uses three public figures as specific examples of the complexities of self-identity, identification by others, and "passing".

It is interesting to read that Vanessa Williams was used as one three examples of persons with multiple/complex lineage.  Ms. Williams has recently became a spokesperson/advocate for autosomal DNA testing: http://blogs.ancestry.com/cm/2013/05/14/actress-vanessa-williams-explains-how-dna-powers-her-family-tree/  She explains how new genetic information has impacted her and her family.

One of the other examples Davis uses is Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. This was very interesting to me, and brought me back to a class I was in as a student at the University of the District of Columbia.  A professor in a class had admonished me for not knowing much about the late Congressman and civil rights leader, and I felt bad, researching Powell immediately.  However, in researching Powell I learned about Bayard Rustin, who was to me a far more interesting (and much more legitimate) civil rights leader, and who was never mentioned by the professor.  Rustin, who was openly gay, had been an important member of Dr. King's circle until Powell's prejudice and harassment forced him out of the SCLC.

Reading the Davis article, I was struck by Davis' description of Powell as "passing", something I had not previously considered but connected to the question posed at the end of the article (and the title of my post).  I am not at all disparaging UDC and am immensely proud of my time there and association with the university, but while a student at UDC, a professor once said to me "You are passing."  I knew of the term, but told myself they were referring to my grade for the course.  At the time, I didn't have the specific knowledge that I now do about my lineage, because of major gaps in my family tree.  Today,  I know that in regards to me "passing", the professor was correct.  I wonder now if that was why I was expected to be knowledgeable of Powell. 

I agree with my oldest son, who said, "Ethnicity defines a part of who you are, but should not be how you are defined."  I look forward to a future not where everyone looks the same, but where everyone is distinctly themselves without fear, favor, or prejudice.

It is interesting how scholars wrote on topics like the ones discussed in the article.  It is only a recent trend for authors to discuss themselves and their own identity, history and subsequent perspective on the issues they describe, yet I think a vital component of progressive discourse and scholarship. 

Reference:

Davis, F. J. (1991). Who is Black? One Nation's Definition. Pennsylvania State University Press.