Mixed Race Studies

Conservatives More Likely To See Vice President Harris as ‘White’ than Liberals

CSUN Today
California State University, Northridge
2021-10-26

Media Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler, Director of Media Relations

As the fight for the White House heated up last year and Kamala Harris became the first woman of color on a major party ticket, California State University, Northridge researchers wondered if political ideology would influence how people perceived her biracial ancestry.

What they found surprised them. Conservatives labeled now-Vice President Harris — whose mother is South Asian and was born in India and father is Black and was born in Jamaica — as “white” much more often than liberals, who tended to categorize her as multiracial.

“There were some theories out there suggesting that conservatives were less willing to acknowledge that she is Black — she identifies herself as a Black woman and frequently references her Indian heritage — than liberals, who would be more willing to recognize her multiracial ancestry,” said CSUN psychology professor Debbie Ma…

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Donna Nicol: An Agent of Change for Africana Studies

CSUDH Campus News Center
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Carson, California
2018-03-12

Donna Nicol, associate professor and chair of Africana Studies at CSU Dominguez Hills.

Donna Nicol, associate professor and chair of Africana Studies, arrived at CSUDH in fall 2017. As a faculty member, she teaches Comparative Ethnic and Global Societies. As chair, Nicol is working with her colleagues and the university administration to strengthen the program’s curriculum and bolster its presence on campus and in the region.

A fourth-generation “Comptonite,” Nicol’s deep local roots and unique upbringing in a community-focused family has had a profound effect on her as a researcher and educator. She briefly left South Los Angeles for Ohio State University where she earned a Ph.D. in Social and Cultural Foundations of Education with a specialization in African American higher educational history, and a minor in African American Studies in 2007.

Prior to coming to CSUDH, Nicol was the first woman of color to be promoted and tenured in Women’s Studies at CSU Fullerton. She joined the faculty ranks at Fullerton after spending nearly a decade working in higher education administration, a nontraditional career path that she believes gives her a unique perspective on the ethos of public education, and an advantage as an academic chair…

…Nicol sat down with CSUDH Campus News Center to discuss her unique Compton upbringing, her latest research, and her perspectives regarding the African American experience in higher education.

Q: To get started, can you tell me about your upbringing in Compton, and a little about how it influences you as an educator?

A: My family moved the Compton because it was one of the few places in Los Angeles at the time that allowed African Americans to buy homes. Coming from a military background—my great-grandfather was as an Army doctor during World War I—my great-grandparents didn’t want to go back to the South with mixed-race kids (Filipino and Black). After World War II, they moved to California as did my paternal grandparents who also moved to Compton to avoid racial segregation in the Jim Crow South. We were one of the few families that had the opportunity to go to college. My great-grandfather was a doctor, so he had “cultural capital,” and taught my grandmother how to prepare for college; who passed it on to my mother; who passed it on to me…

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477A Race Mixing in U.S.A. History

California State University, Fullerton
2013-2015

History of racial mixing in the United States. Experiences of interracial families and especially their mixed race progeny. Complicates understanding of racial categories and hierarchies over time.

AAAS 348 (Fall 2013): Class, Race, and Gender—“Hapas, Hafus, Mestizos, and Muggles”

California State University, Los Angeles
Asian and Asian American Studies Program
Fall 2013

Michelle Har Kim

HAPA (from the Hawai‘ian Dictionary, Māmaka Kaiao)

1. Portion, fragment, part, fraction, installment; to be partial, less. (Eng. half) Cf. hapahā, hapalua, etc. Ka ’ike hapa, limited knowledge. Ua hapā na hae, the flags are at half-mast, ho’o.hapa To lessen, diminish.
2. Of mixed blood, person of mixed blood, as hapa Hawai‘i, part Hawaiian. See hapa haole.
3. A-minor in music. See lele 7.

What assumptions do many of us make about how mixed-race Asians are supposed to look, speak, and understand themselves? Is it true that mixed-race people in general, Asian and otherwise, are able “see,” understand, or translate two or more cultural worlds? Continuing on with this theme of visuality, looking, and seeing, this course will create a space for talking about how we and others see mixed-race and race generally as a thing that has always-already and naturally been around—or something that we construct and create ourselves for certain reasons. Questions regarding identity and authenticity will surely lead us to more issues including gender, sexuality, money, and class.

Students are required to make time for regular readings, writing, and online and Moodle access. One hard-copy text is required: the Asian American Literary Review’s 2013 Special Issue on Mixed Race. Assignments will be taken from this journal and other texts to be announced. Discussions will anchor themselves through submitted reaction papers in which you will have creative and critical opportunities to compare visual pieces with assigned readings.

For the month of October, we will draw from an online Synchronous Teaching Program Digital Lab as we participate in the Asian American Literary Review’s Mixed Race Initiative. This hub will link us with other students studying mixed race, in an exciting effort to participate in a conversation beyond bounds of our classroom.

For more information, click here.

ES 3434: Mixed Race Identities

California State University, East Bay
2012-2013

Examination of mixed race peoples—their legal and social status, U.S. Census designations, and identities from the one-drop rule to President Obama and beyond. The social science complement to ES 3430, Interracial Sex and Marriage.

Family Dynamics Between Arab Muslim parents, Western Parents and Their Bi-ethnic Children

California State University, Sacramemto
Spring 2011
75 pages

Yasmine Binghalib

THESIS Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in COUNSELING (Marriage, Family and Child Counseling)

Families made up of one an Arab Muslim parent, Western parent and their children were examined to find out what unique dynamics and issues they face. Bi-ethnic Arab and American participants completed a questionnaire about demographics and underwent an in-depth interview that explored their experiences as a bi-ethnic person and the dynamics within their families. Participants reported a variety of experiences, though certain themes were extrapolated from their responses. Participants either identified more strongly with their Western mother or their Middle Eastern father. Feelings of marginalization were identified as part of the bi-cultural Arab and American experience as well as some identity confusion. Participants also reported that they felt unable to disclose as much information about their life to their Middle Eastern fathers as they did their American mothers.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Acknowledgments
• 1. INTRODUCTION
  • Introduction to the Research
  • Rationale for Research
  • Statement of the Problem
  • Definitions
• 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
  • Introduction
  • Introduction to Arabs and Islam
  • Introduction to Anglo Americans
  • Family Life
  • Marriages
  • Parenting
  • Summary
• 3. DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
  • Introduction
  • Purpose of the Study
  • Research Questions
  • Research Methods and Procedures
  • Sample Population
  • Research Design
  • Research Procedure
  • Analysis
  • Summary
• 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
  • Introduction
  • Demographics of Participants
  • Family Characteristics
  • Summary
• 5. DISCUSSION
  • Introduction
  • Summary of Study
  • Discussion
  • Limitations
  • Recommendations for Further Research
• Appendix A. Informed Consent
• Appendix B. Questionnaire
• Appendix C. Interview Questions
• References

Read the entire thesis here.

Categorization of racial/ethnic identity for racialized and marginalized biracials in the mainland United States

California State University, Sacramento
Spring 2009
169 pages

Estrella Valdez

THESIS Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in SPECIAL MAJOR (Ethnic Studies)

There is no singular agreed-upon understanding of what it means to be identified as biracial in the mainland United States, especially when a person is the product of the union of two marginalized ethnicities. For decades, the hegemonic (white) group has set in place values and social forces that do not allow biracials to fully embrace all parts their ethnic identities. Marginalizing this group has not only led to a misunderstanding of their needs in social and institutional settings, but has caused confusion in the individual when they attempt to define who they are racially. This group of biracials is one of the fastest-growing segments of the United States population; they need to be understood and their needs met. In order to do this, changes in existing laws and socials forces must be addressed. Twelve women, all products of minority-minority unions, were interviewed for this study. Using a qualitative approach, biethnic/biracial participants used their own voices to offer first-hand accounts of their life experiences without persistent hegemonic influences or the influence of the researcher. An examination of the historical construction of race through miscegenation laws, the United States Census, existing studies on biracial self-identfication was also used to determine how and what processes and social conditions impact identity formation. What was ultimately learned from the results of the study is that social class and economics together-not just race serve as the catalyst for the division of society. Participants who had a more stable economic base were more comfortable with their racial self-identity; participants who were raised by a single parent did not have a very stable economic base and struggled more in the formation of their racial self-identity.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Acknowledgments
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• 1. INTRODUCTION
  • Statement of the Problem
  • Racial Designations
  • Definition of Terms
• 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
  • Historical Construction of Race
    • Subjugation of People of Color
  • Relationship of Identity Formation in the United States
    • Literature Supporting the Role and Rule of Hypodescent as an Influence in Identity Construction
    • Literature Supporting the Effect of Miscegenation Laws as an Influence in Racial Identity Construction
    • Literature Supporting the Effect of the United States Census as an Influence in Racial Identity Construction
  • The Construction of Identity Formation
    • Literature Supporting the Influence of Social and Peer Forces in Racial Identity Construction
    • Literature Supporting the Influence of Parents as Forces in Racial Identity Construction
    • Literature Supporting the Individual as Force in Racial Identity Construction
  • Summary and Conclusion
• 3. METHODOLOGY
  • Introduction and Overview
  • Research Design
    • Criteria
  • Research Questions and Guiding Questions
  • Constraints
  • Data Analysis
  • Summary and Conclusion
• 4. PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
  • Narrative Portraits
    • Morar Suave
    • Mercy Lamb
    • Jenny Jones
    • Ella Bee
    • Hilary Mahler
  • Who Am I?
  • Discussion and Analysis
    • New Census Overview
    • The Multi-Group Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM)
    • Naming: Who am I?
    • How Do I Belong?
  • Where Do I Belong?
  • Where Do I fit With My Parents
  • Summary and Conclusion
• 5. CONCLUSION
  • Reason for the Study
  • Next Steps
• Appendix A. Research Subjects’ Bill of Rights
• Appendix B. Informed Consent
• Appendix C. Ethnic Self-Identification Inventory

Read the entire thesis here.

Defining Mixed Race on Television: an Analysis of Barack Obama and Saturday Night Live

California State University, Sacramento
Fall 2011
109 pages

Amanda Joy Davis

THESIS Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in COMMUNICATION STUDIES

This study uses a semiotic approach to textual analysis to examine social constructions of Barack Obama’s race in televised sketch comedy to discover how this construction contributes to the process of hegemony regarding society’s treatment of mixed race. Polysemy will be explored as a key contributing factor. The television program chosen for this study is Saturday Night Live (SNL); the program will be examined for visual and linguistic references to Obama and mixed race. The absence of mixed race references will also be analyzed for their contribution to the show’s overall message. This study argues that while SNL mentions mixed race, it ultimately adds to the hegemonic treatment of mixed race individuals. That is, it identifies Obama as monoracial, ignoring his mixed race heritage in favor of a neat, pre-existing category. While SNL had the opportunity to step outside of the typical dismissal of mixed race and defend their choice of actor to portray Obama, and refer to him as mixed race on a consistent basis, they opted instead to categorize him as monoracial. In doing so, SNL upholds the silent treatment given to the mixed race community, forcing a monoracial identification based on appearance, a hegemonic course of action.

Read the entire thesis here.

Biracial Identity Development: Understanding a Sense of Self

California State University, Long Beach
December 2009
47 pages

Ghislaine P. Dibong

Presented to the Department of Social Work California State University, Long Beach In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Social Work

The purpose of this project was to explore the challenges faced by mixed-race individuals and the impact of racial identity development on their social and psychological well-being through a narrative format. Literature surrounding biracial identity development, racial socialization, and bicultural identity were reviewed. The relevance of narratives in the field of academia and the link to social work practice was also explored. The narrative depicts the life of a biracial immigrant traveling across the world in search of the “American Dream” and how the challenges she faced led her to a career in social work. The author desires that her story will help social workers better understand the challenges faced by mixed-race people to ensure that the needs of this population will be attended to, and to enlighten through her personal story.

Read the entire thesis here.

Variations in Multiracial Identity Integration

California State University, Los Angeles
2012-02-10

Patricia Y. Singim

The purpose of this study was to explore how multiracial people integrate their racial identities and if this integration was related to well-being. Furthermore, differences based on type of mix (half White vs. mixed with groups of color), positive interactions with racial groups, and discrepancy between appearance and culture were also examined. Five hypotheses were tested: (1) Higher levels of integration and multiracial pride will predict better well-being; (2) Multiracial Whites will have lower integration, less positive interactions, and greater discrepancy compared to Multiracials of Color; (3) Participants with positive interactions will have higher identity integration; (4) Greater discrepancy between appearance and culture will predict lower identity integration; (5) Greater discrepancy will predict lower well-being. It was found that lower integration predicted negative affect, pride predicted positive affect, and discrepancy predicted lower integration. Encouraging multiracials to accept inconsistencies between appearance and culture may increase identity integration and well-being.

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