Carol Channing learned as a teenager that she was one-quarter black. America learned this much later. She passed as white -- and was required to pass as white -- during a period when America and many Americans sucked in many ways. It is good that she had her chance to succeed, and good that America has improved and seems destined to continue to improve by progressing toward tolerance, reason, science, education, and inclusivity.
More trivia: Bass guitarist of Otis Day and the Knights?