Mixed Race Studies

A reconsideration of the role of self-identified races in epidemiology and biomedical research

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Available online: 2015-03-16
DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsc.2015.02.004

Ludovica Lorusso
Department of Political Science, Communication, Engineering and Information Technologies
University of Sassari, Italy
Department of Philosophy
University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California

Fabio Bacchini
Laboratory of Applied Epistemology, DADU
University of Sassari, Italy
Department of Philosophy
Stanford University, Palo Alto, California

Highlights

• We explore the role of race in biomedicine and epidemiology.
• We reject the use of race as a proxy for a genetic component to a complex disease risk.
• Self-identified race and exposomic and epigenomic variation tend to match each other.
• Self-identified race captures the effects of present and past racism on people’s health.

A considerable number of studies in epidemiology and biomedicine investigate the etiology of complex diseases by considering (self-identified) race as a relevant variable and focusing on the differences in risk among racial groups in the United States; they extensively draw on a genetic hypothesis—viz. the hypothesis that differences in the risk of complex diseases among racial groups are largely due to genetic differences covarying with genetic ancestry—that appears highly problematic in the light of both current biological evidence and the theory of human genome evolution. Is this reason for dismissing self-identified races? No. An alternative promising use of self-identified races exists, and ironically is suggested by those studies that investigate the etiology of complex diseases without focusing on racial differences. These studies provide a large amount of empirical evidence supporting the primacy of the contribution of non-genetic as opposed to genetic factors to the risk of complex diseases. We show that differences in race—or, better, in racial self-identification—may be critically used as proxies for differences in risk-related exposomes and epigenomes in the context of the United States. Self-identified race is what we need to capture the complexity of the effects of present and past racism on people’s health and investigate risk-related external and internal exposures, gene–environment interactions, and epigenetic events. In fact patterns of racial self-identifications on one side, and patterns of risk-related exposomes and epigenomes on the other side, constantly coevolve and tend to match each other. However, there is no guarantee that using self-identified races in epidemiology and biomedical research will be beneficial all things considered: special attention must be paid at balancing positive and negative consequences.

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‘Kiss me, I’m Irish’ took on a new meaning when DNA proved that I was

The Guardian
2015-03-17

Michael W. Twitty

New tests confirmed what my family had long known: our ancestors were children of their Irish-American slaveholders

Like many African Americans, I was excited by the possibility of using DNA tests to learn about my cultural roots before they were severed by centuries of slavery, obfuscation and the destruction of records. Today, I’m proud to say that multiple tests have confirmed my roots among ethnic groups living Ghana, Sierra Leone and other countries in West and Central Africa.

But the tests also confirmed the legacy of slavery in quite another way: my family, like most black American families, has not one but several white ancestors – men who took advantage of their access to young enslaved women and, in the process, increased the number of human beings they called property.

“Kiss Me, I’m Irish” took on a whole new meaning for me, when I discovered that I was…

Read the entire article here.

MIXED Art Conference

Mixed in Canada
YMCA Central Toronto
20 Grosvenor Street
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 2V5 Canada
Saturday, 2015-05-02, 09:00-18:00 EDT (Local Time)

M.I.X.E.D.: Multidisciplinary.Intersections.Xchanging.Empowering.Dialogue

The aim of this multidisciplinary art conference is to co-create an inclusive dialogue about racialized mixed identities and lived realities through an intersectional lens. “Un-Conference” attendees and facilitators will be able to engage with one another in dynamic group discussions filled with peer-to-peer sharing and learning. The contributions of all racialized participants are encouraged to be represented, acknowledged and honoured.

• Multidisciplinary the event promises to deliver something for everyone. There will be a curated art exhibit, live artistic performances and opportunities for attendees to co-animate the space.
• Keynote Speakers M.I.X.E.D. is proud to have community activist and educator Kim Katrin Milan and professor Dr. Minelle Mahtani to deliver opening and closing remarks at our inaugural event.
• Community Building Meet the phenomenal facilitators and amazing artists representing decades of working within intersecting communities. The mixed race experience and its intersections will be featured in our breakout group discussions and the day’s performances.
• Self Care Throughout the day, information and resources will be available to assist with possible triggering. We will also be featuring a wellness group exercise lead by Zainab Amadahy for some self-care debriefing at the end of the event.
• Accessibility We would like to have as many individuals participate in the event by reducing boundaries where possible. Gender neutral bathrooms will be available and the space is wheelchair accessible. Light refreshments and lunch will be served and the event is Pay What You Can but no one will be turned away at the door. We ask all attendees to come scent-free.
• M.I.X.E.D. is meant to be as safe a space as possible for all attendees which means no forms of racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, discrimination based on age, class, weight, creed, immigration status, xenophobia, transphobia, transmisogyny, cissexism, etc. will be tolerated.

For more information, click here.

Once Upon a Time in Minneapolis: 20 Years of Rhymesayers

Consequence of Sound
2015-03-12

Killian Young, Contributing Writer

Two decades later, the Midwestern independent hip-hop label is still going strong.

On an unseasonably warm January night in Minneapolis, as a wintry mix falls innocuously to the ground, Atmosphere heats up First Avenue with a blistering, career-spanning set. Now comprising producer Ant, MC Slug, and DJ Plain Ole Bill, the iconic Twin Cities hip-hop crew commands the attention of the room, as they’ve done countless nights before.

“As far as the history of First Avenue,” says Nate Kranz, the downtown venue’s general manager, “they’re right at the top of the legendary Minneapolis groups.”

Founded in Minneapolis in 1995, Atmosphere’s independent hip-hop label, Rhymesayers Entertainment, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Tonight, Atmosphere headlines the House That Prince Built to honor another major milestone for Minneapolis music: The Current, the area’s alternative radio station, is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

The first track the station played? Atmosphere’s “Say Shh”, which “has really become an anthem locally,” according to Jim McGuinn, The Current’s program director who booked the show.

Atmosphere kicks off the set with “Say Shh”, and the crowd goes wild as Slug meanders through the opening bars: “I wanted to make a song about where I’m from, you know?/ Big up my hometown, my territory, my state.”.

Minneapolis probably isn’t the first city that comes to mind when you think about rap. Slug remembers hearing Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” in his dad’s car, and the first record he bought was Run-D.M.C.’s “30 Days”. The go-to local radio program for Slug and his friends was the “Hip-Hop Shop” hosted by Travitron, aka Travis Lee. The next year, I.R.M. Crew released the city’s first single that was available nationwide, according to Justin Schell in Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide….

…A 2004 SPIN feature dubbed Atmosphere’s brand of vulnerable lyricism “emo rap,” a term that Slug says doesn’t really bother him anymore. As far as being considered a “white rapper,” he says he’s recently started to reconsider the role of his multiracial identity — which includes black, white, and Native American roots — and his music.

“If you’re passing due to white privilege, then you’re white in a societal way,” Slug says. “Now, does that build a different set of issues inside somebody who knows they’re not white, but they know that they’re passing as white? Yeah, sure. Who the fuck am I to sit here and act like I can speak for black people? I can’t even speak for white people. I can’t speak for nobody. And I felt weird about that. So I took my racial makeup and just stuck it in the back corner for a long time.”…

Read the entire article here.