Mixed Race Studies

Scholarly perspectives on the mixed race experience.

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  • Blurring the Lines of Race and Freedom: Mulattoes and Mixed Bloods in English Colonial America

    Blurring the Lines of Race and Freedom: Mulattoes and Mixed Bloods in English Colonial America

    University of North Carolina Press
    September 2020
    336 pages
    14 halftones, 3 maps, 4 graphs, 3 tables, notes, bibl., index
    6.125 x 9.25
    Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-5899-5
    Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4696-5898-8

    A. B. Wilkinson, Associate Professor of History
    University of Nevada, Las Vegas

    The history of race in North America is still often conceived of in black and white terms. In this book, A. B. Wilkinson complicates that history by investigating how people of mixed African, European, and Native American heritage—commonly referred to as “Mulattoes,” “Mustees,” and “mixed bloods”—were integral to the construction of colonial racial ideologies. Thousands of mixed-heritage people appear in the records of English colonies, largely in the Chesapeake, Carolinas, and Caribbean, and this book provides a clear and compelling picture of their lives before the advent of the so-called one-drop rule. Wilkinson explores the ways mixed-heritage people viewed themselves and explains how they—along with their African and Indigenous American forebears—resisted the formation of a rigid racial order and fought for freedom in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century societies shaped by colonial labor and legal systems.

    As contemporary U.S. society continues to grapple with institutional racism rooted in a settler colonial past, this book illuminates the earliest ideas of racial mixture in British America well before the founding of the United States.

  • The Great Demographic Illusion: Majority, Minority, and the Expanding American Mainstream

    The Great Demographic Illusion: Majority, Minority, and the Expanding American Mainstream

    Princeton University Press
    2020-09-01
    336 pages
    15 b/w illus. 7 tables.
    6.13 x 9.25 in.
    Hardcover ISBN: 9780691201634
    eBook ISBN: 9780691202112

    Richard Alba, Distinguished Professor of Sociology
    Graduate Center, City University of New York

    Why the number of young Americans from mixed families is surging and what this means for the country’s future

    Americans are under the spell of a distorted and polarizing story about their country’s future―the majority-minority narrative―which contends that inevitable demographic changes will create a society with a majority made up of minorities for the first time in the United States’s history. The Great Demographic Illusion reveals that this narrative obscures a more transformative development: the rising numbers of young Americans from ethno-racially mixed families, consisting of one white and one nonwhite parent. Examining the unprecedented significance of mixed parentage in the twenty-first-century United States, Richard Alba looks at how young Americans with this background will play pivotal roles in the country’s demographic future.

    Assembling a vast body of evidence, Alba explores where individuals of mixed parentage fit in American society. Most participate in and reshape the mainstream, as seen in their high levels of integration into social milieus that were previously white dominated. Yet, racism is evident in the very different experiences of individuals with black-white heritage. Alba’s portrait squares in key ways with the history of immigrant-group assimilation, and indicates that, once again, mainstream American society is expanding and becoming more inclusive.

    Nevertheless, there are also major limitations to mainstream expansion today, especially in its more modest magnitude and selective nature, which hinder the participation of black Americans and some other people of color. Alba calls for social policies to further open up the mainstream by correcting the restrictions imposed by intensifying economic inequality, shape-shifting racism, and the impaired legal status of many immigrant families.

    Countering rigid demographic beliefs and predictions, The Great Demographic Illusion offers a new way of understanding American society and its coming transformation.

  • Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong

    Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong

    Zondervan (an imprint of HarperCollins Christian Publishing)
    2011-09-13
    224 pages
    Paperback ISBN: 9780310396192

    Joan Steinau Lester

    Book Summary

    Nina never thought about being biracial until her parents divorced. Now it feels like everyone is forcing her to choose her identity, and in her hometown of Los Angeles, racial tensions flare. Conflicted and alone, Nina turns to the story of her ancestor who escaped slavery, hoping to find wisdom and direction while also learning who she truly is.

    About the Book

    Identity Crisis.

    As a biracial teen, Nina is accustomed to a life of varied hues—mocha-colored skin, ringed brown hair streaked with red, a darker brother, a black father, a white mother. When her parents decide to divorce, the rainbow of Nina’s existence is reduced to a much starker reality. Shifting definitions and relationships are playing out all around her, and new boxes and lines seem to be getting drawn every day.

    Between the fractures within her family and the racial tensions splintering her hometown, Nina feels caught in perpetual battle. Feeling stranded in the nowhere land between racial boundaries, and struggling for personal independence and identity, Nina turns to the story of her great-great-grandmother’s escape from slavery. Is there direction in the tale of her ancestor? Can Nina build her own compass when landmarks from her childhood stop guiding the way?

  • How Policies Can Address Multiracial Stigma

    How Policies Can Address Multiracial Stigma

    Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences
    First published 2020-10-01
    pages 115-122
    DOI: 10.1177/2372732220943906

    Diana T. Sanchez, Professor of Psychology
    Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick

    Sarah E. Gaither, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
    Duke Identity and Diversity Lab
    Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

    Analia F. Albuja, National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow
    Duke Identity and Diversity Lab
    Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

    Zoey Eddy, Research Assistant
    Self and Social Identity Lab
    University of California, Santa Barbara

    Twenty years ago, Multiracial Americans completed the U.S Census with the option to indicate more than one race for the first time. As we embark on the second anniversary of this shift in Multiracial recognition, this article reviews the research related to known sources and systems that perpetuate Multiracial-specific stigma. Policy recommendations address the needs and the continued acknowledgment of this growing racial/ethnic minority population.

    Key Points

    • Multiracial individuals represent a growing majority in the racial/ethnic minority population
    • Multiracial people encounter specific forms of stigma
    • Multiracial-specific stigma uniquely impacts the psychological and physical health of Multiracial individuals
    • Policies can address Multiracial-specific stigma (e.g., more detailed assessments of race/ethnicity, revisiting Multiracial language, Multiracial-specific health interventions)
    • Recommended policy changes will make better use of human capital for everyone by increasing accuracy in population estimates used to distribute educational and health care resources, as well as improving health care delivery (e.g., transplant matching).

    Read the entire article in HTML or PDF format.

  • Volunteers Needed for Research Study on Multiracial Individuals

    Volunteers Needed for Research Study on Multiracial Individuals

    2020-10-06

    Jessica Harris, M.A., Clinical Psychology Psy.D. Graduate Student
    California School of Professional Psychology
    Alliant International University, Fresno, California

    I am a doctoral student in clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University-Fresno inviting you to participate in a research study to understand the experiences of multiracial individuals.

    To participate in the study, you must:

    • Be 18-years of age or older.
    • Have biological parents from different racial/ethnic minority backgrounds (e.g., Black, Asian, Latinx, Native American). Or, at least one biological parent must belong to two different racial/ethnic minority groups.
    • Currently live in the United States.

    The entire online survey is anticipated to take 15-20 minutes to complete. Please note the survey does ask about multiracial experiences, participation is entirely voluntary, and that you are free to withdraw at any time. If you have any questions concerning the research study, please email me at jharris2@alliant.edu, or my dissertation chair, Dr. Jennifer Foster, at jfoster1@alliant.edu.

    Upon completion of the survey, you will have the opportunity to enter a drawing to win 1 of 2 $50 (USD) Amazon gift cards. Providing your information for the drawing is completely voluntary.

    The survey link is included here: https://tinyurl.com/mltiracial

    Thank you for your consideration.

    Sincerely,

    Jessica Harris, M.A.

  • Graduate Dissertation Recruitment – Biracial/Bicultural Individuals

    Graduate Dissertation Recruitment – Biracial/Bicultural Individuals

    Kimberly Foley, M.S., Clinical Psychology Doctoral Candidate
    Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida

    2020-09-26

    I am a doctoral student of Florida Tech’s Clinical Psychology program in Melbourne, Florida. Under the supervision of my faculty chair, Dr. Felipa Chavez, a licensed clinical psychologist, and faculty of color, who is well-versed in socio-cultural issues, I am conducting a research study designed examining healthy biracial/bicultural and multiethnic identity formation in relation to one’s sense of belonging and psychological well-being and functioning. As a biracial graduate student, the daughter of an Irish-American father and a Mauritian mother, I am intimately aware of the unique experiences and socio-cultural skill sets that afford biracial/bicultural individuals the ability to successfully and seamlessly navigate multiple cultural contexts with a fluency in communication, also known as code switching. Such skill sets are often developed as a function of upbringing, in which biracial/bicultural individuals must learn to successfully straddle and integrate two divergent worlds of majority and minority culture.

    Embedded in such Biracial/bicultural identity success is a greater understanding for one’s two divergent heritages of majority and minority culture, which must successfully learn to communicate, and be at peace with one another. As such, the goal of the current study is to validate the psychometric properties of a newly configured measure of bicultural identity development. In addition, it is hoped that focus on the adaptive strategies garnered from healthy biracial/bicultural and multiethnic identity formation, will shed light on ways to ameliorate the tensions precipitated by our nation’s racial divide; bringing forth psychological healing to a national epidemic of racial trauma, which compromises both the physical and psychological health of this nation’s citizens.

    We are requesting that adult (18 years and older) biracial/bicultural individuals, with one parent who identifies as a Caucasian, please invest their time and commitment to filling out this online survey. The survey is estimated to take 45-60-minutes, because their stories greatly matter to us. With the survey being online, participants will be able to select the time and place that is most convenient for them within the next few weeks. Participants will be able to complete this survey by using their mobile phone or desktop computers through the link here. In exchange for their time, Participants who complete the survey can enter a drawing for three chances to win a $50 (USD) Amazon gift card.

    This study has been approved by Florida Tech IRB: #20-069
    IRB Contact Information: by Dr. Jigna Patel, IRB Chair (jpatel@fit.edu)

  • If Cornell truly believes in its motto, “Any Person, Any Study,” this new area of study and research into mixed-race individuals would fit like a glove into the ideals of this institution, and be a good step in developing future curricula as the United States’ demographic evolves.

    The future is mixed. Since its founding, Cornell [University] has served as a shining beacon in the fight for the inclusivity of women, POC, the LGBT+ community and people with disabilities in higher education. If Cornell truly believes in its motto, “Any Person, Any Study,” this new area of study and research into mixed-race individuals would fit like a glove into the ideals of this institution, and be a good step in developing future curricula as the United States’ demographic evolves.

    Katherine Luong, “GUEST ROOM | Create a Mixed-Race Studies Department at Cornell,” The Cornell Daily Sun, September 18, 2020. https://cornellsun.com/2020/09/18/guest-room-create-a-mixed-race-studies-department-at-cornell/.

  • How The Vanishing Half fits into our cultural fixation with racial passing stories

    How The Vanishing Half fits into our cultural fixation with racial passing stories

    Vox
    2020-08-14

    Constance Grady


    Zac Freeland/Vox

    The Vox Book Club is linking to Bookshop.org to support local and independent booksellers.

    “Passing for white never left.”

    In Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half, the character of Stella haunts the narrative like a ghost. Stella is the half who vanished: half of her family, half of her sister’s heart. And she vanished by excising half of her own identity.

    Stella is a light-skinned Black woman, and when she is 16, she decides to start passing for white. Her identical twin sister Desiree, meanwhile, grows up to marry the darkest-skinned man she can find. Stella breaks away from her family, and we don’t get a chance to meet her on the pages of the novel until nearly halfway through the book when at last her niece, Desiree’s dark-skinned daughter, tracks her down. It’s only in that last section that we finally learn exactly what happened to Stella.

    Stella’s fate haunts the novel, and so does the genre her story belongs to. There’s a long history of narratives of racial passing in the American novel, and The Vanishing Half plays with the genre in new and interesting ways. So as the Vox Book Club spends the month talking about The Vanishing Half, I wanted to put it in the context of the passing novel more broadly.

    To get an expert view, I called up Alisha Gaines, an English professor at Florida State University and the author of Black for a Day: White Fantasies of Race and Empathy. Together, we talked through the history of the African American passing novel, what passing looks like after Jim Crow (sorry, Ben Shapiro), and how passing novels can show us how race is produced and reproduced. Below is a transcript of our conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity.

    The first African American stories of racial passing are slave narratives

    Constance Grady

    Do we know when the first of these narratives emerged? How old are stories about racial passing?

    Alisha Gaines

    It’s an old story. In literature and in life, America has a fascination with impersonation, which includes blackface minstrelsy. And passing narratives, if you want to be technical about it, in African American literature, they start with the slave narrative…

    Read the entire interview here.

  • Passing for White to Escape Slavery

    Passing for White to Escape Slavery

    JSTOR Daily: where news meets its scholarly match
    2020-09-17

    Matthew Wills


    Ellen and William Craft via Flickr/ Flickr

    Passing for white was an intentional strategy that enslaved people used to free themselves from bondage

    Racial passing is in the news with the case of Jessica Krug, a white academic who claimed several Black identities throughout her professional career. The phenomenon of white people putting on different backgrounds is widespread—for example, as shown in well-documented cases of white people claiming Native American ancestry. But passing for Black seems, well, different.

    One reason for that may be that the idea of passing has historically been linked to Black people passing for white. Scholar Martha J. Cutter, digging into “the early history of racial passing,” argues that it originated in advertisements offering rewards for captured runaway slaves starting in the mid-eighteenth century, decades before the American Revolution.

    “The archive suggests that while laws from state to state and in different time periods varied, the idea of an enslaved individual from a black family heritage deliberately passing for white was frequently configured as duplicitous and even incendiary,” she writes…

    Read the entire article here.

  • Dash Harris is doing the work to end anti-Blackness in LatinX culture

    Dash Harris is doing the work to end anti-Blackness in LatinX culture

    theGrio
    2020-06-16

    DeMicia Inman

    Through her work in creating ‘NEGRO: A DOCU-SERIES ABOUT LATINX IDENTITY,’ Harris hopes to dismantle anti-Blackness in the LatinX community.

    The African diaspora gave much of the world a very layered identity. For centuries, the slave trade resulted in African natives being sold or stolen as slaves and transported across the globe. Now, Black people reside in countries from the United States and Brazil to Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

    Dash Harris, an Afro-LatinX woman, understands not only her multi-cultural heritage but also the implications and societal structure surrounding her identity. Through her work in creating NEGRO: A DOCU-SERIES ABOUT LATINX IDENTITY and more, she hopes to highlight LatinX existence and dismantle anti-Blackness in the LatinX community…

    Read the entire interview here.