Mixed Race Studies

IU Libraries Film Archive a treasure chest of educational, rare films

inside IU Bloomington
Weekly news for faculty and staff from the Indiana University Bloomington campus
2013-03-07

Lynn Schoch, Office of the Vice President for International Affairs

Many of a certain age—particularly those who were in elementary school in the ’50s and ’60s—will remember 16 mm films produced by the U.S. government, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., McGraw-Hill or National Educational Television.

They often provided the only glimpses of other worlds that U.S. school children had the opportunity to see.

By the 1970s, videotape and documentaries with large budgets and prime-time aspirations, like Kenneth Clark’s “Civilisation,” began to replace the older formats.

From about 1940, IU’s Audio-Visual Center (then part of the Extension Division and later, Instructional Support Services) was the depository for U.S. government films. In time, it became the state’s most active lender of educational films to schools, museums, clubs, community centers, and churches in the state.

As the move to videotape made 16 mm films “obsolete,” the center became a repository for what other institutions and organizations no longer wanted.

In 2006 what was then a collection of 34,000 reels formed the core of the IU Libraries Film Archive. IU Libraries has supported the transition from lending library to historical archive with a dedicated film achivist in the Herman B. Wells Library, support for resources to digitize the collections and an off-site storage environment designed to minimize deterioration.

“We have the largest educational film collection in any university library,” said Rachael Stoeltje, film archivist with the IU Libraries Film Archive.

There are films available nowhere else in the world, and rarities such as 30 titles from the 1950s CBS series “You Are There” and the world’s most complete collection of Encyclopedia Britannica films…

…Darlene Sadlier, director of the Portuguese Program and a professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, a program within the College of Arts and Sciences, has been using educational films from the collection for many years in her classes in Latin American cinema and culture.

“One film that is helpful in a discussion of the history of race relations in Brazil, for instance, is ‘Brazil: The Vanishing Negro,'” she said. The film is a 30-minute film produced for public television in the 1960s, showing Afro-Brazilian religious ceremonies and the daily lives of Brazil’s black population.

“It was an informative resource when it was first produced, but it was also polemical because it discussed the benefits of racial mixing, or rather whitening, of the Brazilian African population, to the detriment of its heritage,” Sadlier said. “In recent years, Brazil has recognized its African heritage with affirmative action laws and a holiday dedicated to national race consciousness. With this film, we can look back and consider how far the country has moved to acknowledge its long-held myth of ‘racial democracy.’”

Sadlier has published extensively on the histories, languages and cultures of Brazil. Her latest book deals with the Good Neighbor policy adopted by the U.S. government during World War II to cultivate stronger alliances with countries in the Western Hemisphere…

Read the entire article here.

Brazil’s affirmative action law offers a huge hand up

The Christian Science Monitor
2013-02-12

Sara Miller Llana, Latin America Bureau Chief and Staff Writer

Public universities in Brazil will reserve half their seats to provide racial, income, and ethnic diversity – a law that goes the furthest in the Americas in attempting race-based equality. It will most greatly affect the large Afro-Brazilian population.

Rio de Janeiro—Thaiana Rodrigues, the daughter of an esthetician in Rio de Janeiro, tried to get into college three times. But having spent most of her childhood in poor public schools – her anatomy teacher in seventh grade never showed up to class so she simply never learned the subject – Ms. Rodrigues was unable to pass the entrance exam.

It was not until her fourth try, when she applied as a quota recipient based on her race and socioeconomic status, that she won a spot at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), a public university that pioneered a quota system for public school students.

Rodrigues graduated in August 2011 with a degree in social sciences and now has a job working as an administrative assistant in an educational exhibit in the state legislature. Although only in her first year, already she is earning what her mother makes and is positioning herself for a career in public policy.

Now, many more marginalized Brazilians may be able to reap the same benefit. A system that was an experiment at scores of universities like UERJ over the past decade has become law: public federal universities must reserve half of their spots for underprivileged students hailing from public schools, disproportionately attended by minorities.

The law, signed in August and set to be completely implemented within four years, will have the widest impact on Afro-Brazilians, who make up more than half of the nation’s population.

“Without the law, many black students could not get into the system,” says Rodrigues, who is Afro-Brazilian…

…Affirmative action has long been resisted in Latin America, which considered it an import of the US, where it was first tried. After abolishing slavery, Latin America never implemented the segregation policies of its neighbor to the north, and has intermixed racially and ethnically far more than has the US. But fuzzy definitions of race don’t preclude racism.

“The main problem is this idea that this is a mestizo country where mixed-blood people are the majority, and mixing bloods gave us democracy,” says Jaime Arocha, an anthropologist and expert on Afro-Colombians.

“This is the founding myth in most Latin America countries. [Many believe] that our systems are not as segregationist as those in the north,” Mr. Arocha says. “But if you go to a national university in Colombia, the amount of professors of African descent is not more than 2 percent. In terms of students, we do not have more than 5 percent. [Universities] should reflect the demographic profiles of the country.” (Some 10 percent of Colombia’s population is of African descent.)…

Read the entire article here.

Challenges to Affirmative Action: An Analysis of Skin Color and Verification at the Universidade Federal do Paraná in Brazil

Journal of Undergraduate Research
University of Florida
Volume 14, Issue 1 (Fall 2012)
8 pages

Laura Hundersmarck
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
University of Florida

Historically, Brazilian racial identity has been constructed from a color continuum rather than discrete categories. To this end, self-identification often differs from the perception of another. In light of the newly instated affirmative action policies, many have questioned the reliability of applying concrete racial categories to a country that rose out of profound mixed ethnic and racial origins. The inclusion of a verification system has generated a serious debate on the foundation and limits of racial identity construction. How does one construct their racial identity for the purpose of affirmative action? What are the advantages and limitations of verifying an individual’s identity? This paper analyzes the unique dual identification process that exists at the Universidade Federal do Paraná drawing from four qualitative interviews from the Center for Afro-Brazilian Studies located within the university.

Read the entire article here.

It Takes a Village: Building Support Structures for Mixed Race Students in Higher Education

National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) 26th Annual National Conference
New Orleans, Louisiana
2013-05-28 through 2013-06-01

2013-05-31, 15:15-17:15 CST (Local Time)

Lawrence-Minh Davis, Founding Co-Director
The Asian American Literary Review, Inc.

Jennifer Hayashida, Professor and Director of Asian American Studies
Hunter College, City University of New York

Marc Johnston, Candidate, Higher Education & Organizational Change
University of California, Los Angeles

Mary Danico, Professor of Sociology
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

From Hunter College, CUNY, which has no mixed race student organization, to University of San Diego, which has no services or resources for mixed race students whatsoever, many of our institutions of higher learning are unequipped to support our multiracial student populations, set to increase exponentially in the coming years. How to help these young people, grappling with racial and cultural self-identity, community belonging, isolation, confusion, and discrimination? How to help our institutions develop proper services—and academic coursework? The Mixed Race Initiative (MRI) is a national project designed to provide precisely that help: in Fall 2013 MRI will connect over 40 college and university classrooms, host a virtual conversation about race and mixed race, and build support structures for mixed race students across the country. This proposed workshop would bring together key participants in MRI to discuss the project and work with attendees on the following: identifying key challenges for students, faculty, and student services; identifying key resources; building networks—opening channels of exchange across institutional spaces; employing multimedia and social media to best effect; developing and establishing mixed race courses; and tailoring resources and best practices for specific environments.

For more information, click here.

Multiracial Identity and Intersectionality: New Ways of Understanding Racial Identity in Ourselves and Our Students

National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) 26th Annual National Conference
New Orleans, Louisiana
2013-05-28 through 2013-06-01

2013-05-30, 13:30-15:30 CST (Local Time)

Meg Chang, Faculty
California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, California

Charmaine L. Wijeyesinghe, Consultant, Organizational Development and Social Justice Education
Delmar, New York

This highly interactive session uses new models of Multiracial Identity and the framework of Intersectionality to enhance our understanding of how race and identity are experienced by individuals. It presents an overview of shared, core characteristics found in the literature on Multiracial identity and Intersectionality. In addition, we examine models that represent identity as fluid, influenced by multiple factors, and a process in which race, gender, sexual orientation, class, generation, and other social identities interact and influence each other. Using a range of approaches, we apply the material to our own experience and examine the impact of other social identities (such as gender, age, and sexual orientation) and our campus roles (faculty, counselor, student affairs staff, or student) on how we experience and enact our racial identity on campus. While highlighting the connection between self authorship and racial identity, this session positions racial identity development within larger social and institutional systems, and dynamics of social power and privilege Through discussion, dialogue, and creative arts activities, presenters and participants explore ways of honoring our multiple racial heritages and our range of racial identities. In addition, we examine how racial identity is framed in our research, teaching, and work with Multiracial and other students. While discussion is directed by the topics raised by participants, questions we explore may include: How do we address situations where an individual’s chosen racial identity is inconsistent with the race ascribed to him or her by other people (often based on appearance)? Is it necessary to include attention to multiple social identities when we teach or conduct research on Multiracial issues? Do we need to recreate models of racial identity based on a more holistic and intersectional approach, and if so, what do we do with the old models? How do campuses acknowledge and provide for Multiracial students, and how may these programs be improved by incorporating the themes of self authorship and intersectionality?

For more information, click here.

Identity Politics: the Mixed-race American Indian Experience

Journal of Critical Race Inquiry
Volume 2, Number 1 (2012)
25 pages

Michelle R. Montgomery
University of Washington

This paper builds a Critical Race Theory approach to consider how mixed-race American Indian college students conform to, or resist, dominant black/non-black ideology. Current research on multiracials in the U.S. lacks the perspectives of mixed-race American Indians on the heightened disputes of “Indianness,” tribal enrollment, and tribal self-determination. Also under-explored is how mixed-race American Indian persons perceive themselves in racial terms, how they wish to be perceived, and how economic and historical perspectives inform their choices about racial self-identification. This paper provides an overview of the identity politics of mixed-race American Indians at a tribal college and highlights the need for tribal colleges to embrace a growing mixed-race population through self-determination education policies.

Read the entire article here.

National Association of Mixed Student Organizations (NAMSO) – Newsletter 1.3

National Association of Mixed Student Organizations
2013-02-10

Happy spring semester!

Dear Mixed Student Organizations and friends,
 
Hope the new term and new year are off to a great start. Here at NAMSO, we have been busier than ever following the holiday season.

In this issue of our newsletter, a few follow-ups from the fall:

• The full collection of our photos from November 2012’s Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference in Chicago, where we led a workshop about the history of mixed heritage student organizing. Find the photos in our Facebook album here, and tag yourself and friends!
• If you’re interested in seeing what you missed in our CMRS Conference workshop, we’ve uploaded the slides from our presentation. Access them here. Questions? Email us.
• Critical Mixed Race Studies has a Facebook page, and a forthcoming website. Like their Facebook page to receive updates about the 2014 conference!

And, a message from us at the Leadership Council:…

Read the entire issue here.

An Examination of Biracial College Youths’ Family Ethnic Socialization, Ethnic Identity, and Adjustment: Do Self-Identification Labels and University Context Matter?

Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology
2012-08-20
DOI: 10.1037/a0029438

Aerika S. Brittian, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology
University of Illinois, Chicago

Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor, Professor
School of Social and Family Dynamics
Arizona State University

Chelsea L. Derlan
Arizona State University

This study examined family ethnic socialization, ethnic identity, and adjustment among Latino/White and Asian/White biracial college students (n = 507), with special attention to how ethnic self-identification and university ethnic composition informed the ethnic identity process. Findings indicated that family ethnic socialization was positively related to participants’ ethnic identity exploration and resolution, but not ethnic identity affirmation. Furthermore, ethnic identity resolution and affirmation were associated with higher self-acceptance and self-esteem, and lower depressive symptoms. Importantly, university ethnic composition moderated the association between ethnic identity resolution and anxiety, such that resolution promoted adjustment in contexts that were relatively more ethnically diverse. University ethnic composition also moderated the association between ethnic identity affirmation and both self-esteem and self-acceptance, such that affirmation was associated with better adjustment but only in schools that were less ethnically diverse.

Read or purchase the article here.

Don’t consign Mary Seacole to history, Michael Gove is urged

The Independent
London, England
2013-01-04

Kevin Rawlinson

Petition launched to prevent Crimean War nurse being written out of school textbooks

Leading black Britons have united to urge the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, to abandons his plan to remove the country’s most celebrated black historical figure from the school curriculum.

The campaign group Operation Black Vote has launched a petition to demand that Mary Seacole, who cared for soldiers on the front line during the Crimean War, and was as famous as Florence Nightingale during her lifetime, is not left out of textbooks.

“What does removing her name achieve, other than telling those who are racist that they have a point?” asked the writer and campaigner Darcus Howe, who is supporting the petition…

…Seacole’s efforts in the Crimea earned her the adulation of thousands of ex-servicemen, despite her postwar descent into bankruptcy. Her exploits were largely forgotten after her death in 1881, before a successful campaign was launched to ensure that her story was taught in primary schools.

Mr Gove’s plan to remove her from the syllabus once again has outraged many black people, including the Labour MP, Diane Abbott, and the Rev Jesse Jackson, the  US civil rights campaigner who also supports the petition. Ms Abbott said yesterday: “Students in this country already learn about traditional figures such as Winston Churchill, Oliver Cromwell and Florence Nightingale. Mary Seacole is simply another such important individual. Not of less significance and certainly not expendable.

“In addition to this, she is one of the most distinct examples of how black history is an integral part of British  history. Michael Gove should be fully aware of the message that this decision sends.”…

Read the entire article here.

Marriages Across Racial, Ethnic Lines on the Rise, Study Says

Education Week
2012-02-16

Lesli A. Maxwell, Education Reporter

As the number of couples marrying across racial and ethnic lines continues to grow in the United States, public attitudes toward intermarriage are also becoming more accepting, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.

Couples of differing races or ethnic backgrounds comprised 15.1 percent of all new marriages in 2010, while the share of all current marriages that are either interracial or interethnic reached an all-time high of 8.4 percent, Pew found. That’s a big jump from 1980 when just 3 percent of all marriages and less than 7 percent of all new marriages were across racial or ethnic lines.

Asians and Hispanics have the highest level of intermarriage rates in the U.S., and, in 2010, more than a quarter of newlyweds in each group married someone of a different race or ethnicity, according to Pew. And even though the intermarriage rate for whites is relatively low, marriages between whites and minority groups are by far the most common. In 2010, 70 percent of new intermarriages involved a white spouse, Pew’s report found…

…Of course, there are important issues for schools to consider because with more intermarried couples will come more students who are biracial or multiethnic. It could certainly present challenges on the data collection side of things for schools that must demonstrate that students of all races and ethnicities are reaching certain academic targets.

If a student has an Asian mother and a black father, do his scores get counted among those of Asian students or African-American students?

Read the entire article here.