Mixed Race Studies

Call for Proposals: 2026 Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference at UCLA

The 2026 CMRSA Conference Programming Committee
Critical Mixed Race Studies Association
2025-06-12

Critical Mixed Race Studies (CMRS) is a biennial conference, field of study, and scholarly and activist community. The CMRS conference draws over 500 multiracial scholars, artists, students, activists, clinicians, community organizations and advocates from all over the world. The CMRS conference was the first, and remains one of the only, counterspaces for those interested in critically exploring constructions of race through a multiracial lens.

Greetings!

We are thrilled to announce the Call for Proposals for the 8th Biennial Critical Mixed Race Studies Association Conference, taking place February 19–21, 2026, at UCLA in Los Angeles, California. This year’s theme is:

Critical Healing: Honoring Resilience and Disrupting Power through Diverse Critical Mixed Race Perspectives

As we gather in the face of shifting laws, policies, and social climates, the 2026 CMRS Conference offers a powerful space to build community, share knowledge, and engage in critical healing practices. Drawing inspiration from Resmaa Menakem’s work on racialized trauma and healing, we aim to cultivate spaces for disruption, solidarity, and sustained justice.

We’re especially proud to launch this call for proposals on Loving Day, which commemorates the 1967 Supreme Court decision in Loving v. Virginia. This symbolic date reminds us of the ongoing struggles and triumphs of mixed race communities—and grounds our conference in a legacy of resistance, love, and transformation.

We invite proposals from academics, artists, clinicians, practitioners, students, advocacy groups, and community members. Sessions may take the form of papers, panels, performances, workshops, visual art, film, and other creative or community-centered formats.

Proposals should connect to one or more of the following areas:

• Healing rooted in Multiracial experience
• Disruption of systemic oppression
• Intersectional and intergenerational strategies
• National and global Multiracial solidarity
• Critical practices for social and political change

Timeline:

• Proposal Submission Deadline: Wednesday, 2025-10-01 @ 23:59 PST
• Review Deadline: Tuesday, 2025-10-14
• Notifications Sent: Saturday, 2025-11-01
• Presenter Registration Deadline: Monday, 2025-12-01

To submit a proposal, click here.

Participants Needed for a Paid Research Study: Up to $100

Dominique Callahan
University of California, Los Angeles

2025-03-10

Hello! My name is Dominique, and I am a graduate student at UCLA. I am currently recruiting participants for my dissertation, which explores how Black parents talk to their biracial Black-White children about race and racial identity in the United States. I am a biracial Black-White young adult myself, and I am hoping to learn more about this topic by speaking with Black parents and their biracial children. I would appreciate if you would consider participating and/or forward this information to other potential participants.

Eligibility requirements:

• You identify as a Black/African American parent.
• You have at least 1 biological biracial Black/White child who is between the ages 11-18.
• You are available to participate in one 60-to-90-minute virtual interview about how you talk to your child about race and racial identity. Parents will be compensated $50 via a paper check sent to their home address.
• You agree to allow your child to participate in one 30-to-45-minute virtual interview about similar topics. The compensation for this interview will be $25 in the form of an electronic Amazon gift card.
• Optional: You are available to participate in one 15-minute virtual observation and discussion task that includes both you and your biracial child. The compensation for this activity will be $25 in the form of an electronic Amazon gift card.

For all studies, participation is completely voluntary, and all of your responses will be kept confidential. If you are interested in participating, please first fill out this brief (5 minute) eligibility survey: We will proceed with scheduling the virtual data collection sessions after you complete the survey.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at dcdissertationproject@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for your interest!

Are You a Mixed Race Poet?

Namalee Bolle
2024-05-28

I’m writing a book called The Mixed + Multiracial Guide to Wellbeing: Navigating Family + Identity + Healing and I’m looking for unpublished poems about mixed race identity to showcase in the book. Poets will also have the opportunity to be interviewed and talk about their work.

If this is of interest or if you would like more information, please contact Namalee at namaleebolle@gmail.com.

RESEARCH STUDY: Multiracial Individual’s Perspectives of Genetics Research

Jennifer L. Young, PhD, MS, MA, Assistant Professor of Medical Social Sciences (Implementation Science)
Center for Genetic Medicine
Department of Medical Social Science; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois

2024-01-10

Eligible individuals are invited to participate in a focus group exploring preferences in engaging with genetics research.

Who is eligible?

• 18 years of age or older
• Identify as Multiracial, Mixed Race, or as being more than one race
• Fluent in English
• Reside in the United States
• Access to an internet-connected device with a camera & microphone

What will you be asked to do?

• Join a 90 minute virtual focus group session
• Share your experience identifying as Multiracial
• Briefly learn about the research process and share your opinions

No prior knowledge or experience with research is needed to participate!

Participants will be compensated $40 USD for their time^*

Questions?

Contact graduate student, Emilia Chiriboga, at emilia.chiriboga@northwestern.edu.

To participate in the study, click here.

Northwestern University Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling

Study Title: A Qualitative Investigation of Multiracial Individuals’ Involvement in Genetics Research
Principal Investigator: Jennifer Young, PhD, MS, MA
IRB Number: STU00220221

^*We anticipate that sessions will take 60-90 minutes; a minimum of 45 minutes is required to receive compensation.

Are You Mixed-Race? Are Both of Your Biological Parents Also Mixed-Race?

Desiree McConn, Clinical Psychology doctoral student
Wright Institute, Berkeley, California

2024-01-04

My name is Desiree McConn and I am a Clinical Psychology doctoral student at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. I am seeking participants for my dissertation research.

The purpose of this study is to better understand the identity development and racial experiences of mixed-race/multiracial people whose parents are both also mixed-race/multiracial.

Participants must be:

• Ages 18 to 35
• Mixed-race (multiracial) and have parents who are also both mixed-race, biracial, or multiracial.
• Fluent in English.
• Willing to meet for a 60-90-minute interview (via secure Zoom) and be able to discuss experiences of race/ethnicity in childhood, with family, and in adulthood.

ALL PARTICIPANTS WILL RECEIVE A $20 (USD) VISA GIFT CARD!

Participation is confidential and voluntary. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact:

Desiree McConn, M.A.
(510) 629-1437
dmcconn@wi.edu

Dissertation Chair: Sahil Sharma, Psy.D. (ssharma@wi.edu)
This study has been approved by the Wright Institute IRB. (Reference #: 12.20.2023.01)

Do You Identify as Mixed Race, Mixed Heritage, Biracial or Multiracial?

University College London, London, United Kingdom
2023-08-28

Kay-Lee Walker (BSc, Msc), 2nd Year Trainee Clinical Psychologist, DClinPsy

Have you ever accessed mental health support? Are you comfortable sharing your experiences? We want to hear from you!

Why Take Part?

Identity and accessing mental health support are thought to be complex for people from multiracial backgrounds, but not much is known about the direct experiences. We invite people who identify as multiracial to participate in this study and share their experiences.

Who can?

Any person who…

• is aged 16-25.
• Self-identifies as belonging to any mixed-race, biracial or multiracial background.
• Has accessed any mental health support (NHS, private, charities or education settings). All experiences are welcome.
• Willing to discuss experiences related to identity and mental health support.

What should I expect?

A one-to-one online interview with the researcher lasting 60-90 minutes.

This is a research interview, not a clinical space. Taking part is confidential and voluntary. You can withdraw at any time.

UCL has ethically approved this research study. ID: 24845/001

2024 Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference Call for Proposals

Critical Mixed Race Studies Association
2023-08-24

The biannual CMRSA conference, More than Betwixt and Between: Solidarity and Liberation in Beloved Communities will take place at The Ohio State University from June 13-15, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio and online.

The 2024 CMRSA Conference Planning Committee is excited to announce the theme for our 7th biennial Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference, taking place both virtually and in person at The Ohio State University. We are hosting the hybrid conference during the week of Loving Day, the anniversary of the June 12, 1967 Loving v. Virginia U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down the remaining laws banning interracial marriage. The conference will also take place during Columbus, Ohio’s Pride weekend. In this spirit, we can mobilize love as an act of radical resistance against white supremacy and forms of intersectional oppression. Within the structure of white supremacy, people identified or identifying as multiracial, mixed, or adopted have often been placed in “liminal spaces,” or forced to navigate between two or more worlds, identities, and places that are at times conflicting. It is for this reason that we center the idea of liminality, or “betwixt and between,” as a productive space from which to form solidarities and foster “beloved community.”

Within Critical Mixed Race Studies, “betwixt and between” holds meaning as the title of the longest running college course on multiracial identity, taught by the late G. Reginald Daniel (aka “Reg”), Professor of Sociology at University of California, Santa Barbara. The idea of multiracial people living “betwixt and between” was also debated in his groundbreaking text, More Than Black? Multiracial Identity and the New Racial Order. While we wish to elevate and honor Reg’s life and scholarship by centering liminality, the framing can also be limiting. Therefore, we invite expansive thinking around questions of “betwixt and between” toward liberating our emerging field of study. We suggest this liberation could happen through solidarity and in or through beloved community. Borrowing from the late bell hooks in Killing Rage: Ending Racism, the “transformative power of love” can be wielded to cultivate cross-racial solidarities amongst ourselves as “beloved community [which] is formed not by the eradication of difference but by its affirmation, by each of us claiming the identities and cultural legacies that shape who we are and how we live in the world. To form a beloved community we do not surrender ties to precious origins. We deepen those bondings by connecting them with an anti-racist struggle.”

As such, we welcome contemplations of liminality, love, community, and solidarities from the wider global community, community advocacy groups, artists, clinicians, practitioners and students supporting CMRS values. We therefore invite academics and non-academics to join the conference in order to empower one another and create a space for critical community, a sense of belonging, and critical dialogues. We will accept proposals for in-person and virtual modalities that include presentations, panels, performances, workshops, posters, visual and multimedia artworks, creative writing, and film showings that address the conference theme in a broad sense. Though proposals must include written text, presentation formats (typically framed as a “paper”) may be varied and diverse, including non-academic formats that are inclusive for all participants.

Click here to submit your proposed session(s) to this form. The deadline is Sunday, September 10, 2023 12:00AM PDT.

Have any additional questions about conference proposals of conference format? Please email us at cmrsmixedrace@gmail.com.

ARE YOU MIXED-RACE? Are you Biracial, Multiracial, or have biological parents of two or more races?

Tessa Nalven, M.A., Clinical Psychology Doctoral Candidate
University of Rhode Island

2023-03-29

This is a research study about the experiences of young adults in the United States, whose biological parents are two or more races (Multiracial). It is being conducted by Tessa Nalven and Dr. Nichea Spillane at the University of Rhode Island (URI) and is IRB-approved. The following questions will help us determine if you are eligible to be in the study and should take 3-5 minutes to complete.

For more information, click here.

Announcing The First Be Your Mixed-Ass Self^® Anthology

2023-02-20
Militantly Mixed

Mixed-race writers invited to share contribute to groundbreaking celebration of Mixed identity.

Militantly Mixed and Mixed Auntie Confidential announce an exciting new anthology celebrating a fresh dimension of Mixed-race identity journeys for writers at all experience levels.

The premiere issue of the Be Your Mixed Ass Self^® Anthology Volume 1 welcomes original, unpublished essays and poetry by Mixed-race adults of all genders, and mixes.

“Be Your Mixed Ass Self^®” is the motto of the Militantly Mixed podcast, created and hosted by Sharmane “Sir Auntie Mane” Fury. “This anthology takes that affirmation to the next level to uplift public unapologetic mixedness in ways that empower us all.”

This groundbreaking anthology will be a fundraiser for the award-winning Militantly Mixed podcast which is celebrating its fifth anniversary in 2023. The anthology submission deadline is March 15, 2023.

“We’re looking for writing that shares the experience of becoming your Mixed ass self,” says TaRessa Stovall, author and blogger at Mixed Auntie Confidential, who is co-editing the anthology with Sharmane. “Contributors don’t have to be professional or published writers. We welcome new and experienced writers to add their voices to the mix.”

“It’s the authenticity of the writing for us,” said Sharmane…

For more information, click here.

Invitation to Contribute to The Routledge International Handbook of Interracial Relationships and Mental Health

2023-01-10

We, Shivon Raghunandan, Roy Moodley and Kelley Kenney are writing to you as editors of The Routledge International Handbook of Interracial Relationships and Mental Health, to be published by Routledge as part of their International Handbook series. We are inviting colleagues globally who have an academic, teaching, research, and publication interest in this topic to contribute to this text. More specifically, we are seeking authors for the following chapters.

Chapter 2: Interracial Mixing: A Threat to White Supremacy and Colonial Structures
Chapter 5: Historical Retrospectives of Interracial Relationships: Mixed-Race Movement and Impact
Chapter 11: Interracial Relationships in Latin Communities
Chapter 16: Intercultural/Mixed Race Relationships (and marriages) in the Caribbean
Chapter 30: Gender in Intercultural Relationships
Chapter 32: Interracial Relationships and Religion
Chapter 33: Interracial Relationships and Socio-Economic Status
Chapter 34: Interracial Relationships and Disability
Chapter 35: Interracial Relationships Across the Lifespan

Please allow us to offer a brief synopsis of the book. The Routledge International Handbook of Interracial Relationships and Mental Health will present critical theoretical, empirical, and psychological accounts of interracial and intercultural intimacies. This book is in response to the iniquitous underrepresentation of intercultural couples in psychology theory, research and practice and will challenge the pervasive Eurocentric discourse that currently guides the field of mental health. The book will offer current, scholarly, practical, equitable, global and intercultural responsive philosophies, theories, clinical frameworks and practices to clinicians, educators and students in the field of mental health and well-being, sociology and other related disciplines. Moreover, this handbook will explore how the social, cultural and geo-political histories and philosophies of intercultural relationships evolved.

The book will examine the evolution of these partnerships within the context of coloniality, heteropatriarchy, white supremacy and endogamy and explore how these discourses shaped the lived experiences and psychological well-being of intercultural couples globally. It will also provide a comprehensive analysis of intercultural relationships inclusive of diverse cross-racial pairings, global and international perspectives, intersectional identities, and transnational unions; and, indeed, offer critical perspectives on the mental health and well-being of intercultural couples, inclusive of multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-faith, multi-sexual, multi-racial, multi-gendered, multi-abled couples, and their intersections.

To meet the deadline of a June 2024 submission to Routledge, first draft chapters will be submitted to the editors by August 2023. Editors will provide feedback by the end of October 2023 and final chapters will be submitted to the editors by the end of March 2024.

We are happy to provide further details if you are interested in contributing to this text.
If you are interested, please contact Shivon Raghunandan at shivon.raghunandan@humber.ca

With Best Wishes,

Shivon Raghunandan, Ed.D., Humber College, Canada
Roy Moodley, Ph.D., University of Toronto, Canada
Kelley Kenney, Ed.D., DeSales University, United States