Bhabha phrase: "almost the same"

Bhabha uses the phrase "almost the same but not white," on page 89. This reminded me of the one-drop rule that has been repeated thousands of times in every US History and African American Literature class ever. In the early to mid-1900s anyone with any amount of African ancestry (even one drop of blood) would be considered African American and be given the same rights and treatment. Someone with "one drop" could look white but be considered not, and they would therefore be "almost the same but not white." As Dr. Lester says in Being John Malkovich, they are "forever doomed to watch the world through someone else's eyes." They are in a way forced to mimic the life of an African American and be treated as such.