First-Time Encounters: "Passing" Revisited and Demystification As a Critical Practice

Robert Green filed suit to have the New Orleans Bureau of Vital Statistics change the race on the birth certificate of Jacqueline Ann Henley. Green wanted to adopt the child who was four years old; however he could not because he was Black and the child was listed as white on her birth certificate. A curator ad hoc was appointed by the court to represent the child's interests. Based on the curator ad hoc's answer to Green's allegation that the child was Black, the court dismissed Green's suit, and Green then appealed.