Mixed Race Studies

Critical Mixed Race Studies Association – April Book Talk

Critical Mixed Race Studies Association
2021-04-08, 17:00Z (13:00 EDT)

Don’t miss out on tomorrow’s CMRS Book Talk! We’re featuring Multiracial Experiences in Higher Education: Contesting Knowledge, Honoring Voice, and Innovating Practice, edited by Drs. Marc P. Johnston-Guerrero and Charmaine L. Wijeyesinghe, with a foreword by Dr. G. Reginald Daniel. Contributing authors, Drs. Charmaine L. Wijeyesinghe, Nick Davis, and our very own Naliyah Kaya, will present. Join live and be part of the Q&A!

To register, click here.

Multiracial Experiences in Higher Education: Contesting Knowledge, Honoring Voice, and Innovating Practice

Stylus Publishing
2021-02-17
Paperback ISBN: 9781642670691
E-Book (ePub) ISBN: 9781642670714
Hardback ISBN: 9781642670684
Lib E-Book ISBN: 9781642670707

Edited by:

Marc P. Johnston-Guerrero, Associate Professor
Department of Educational Studies
Ohio State University

Charmaine L. Wijeyesinghe, Ed.D., Consultant and Author in Organizational Development and Social Justice Education

Foreword by:

G. Reginald Daniel, Professor of Sociology
University of California, Santa Barbara

Recipient of the 2021 Innovation Award of The Multiracial Network (MRN)

In the last Census, over 9 million people – nearly 3% of the population – identified themselves as of two or more races. The proportion of college students who identify as Multiracial is somewhat higher, and growing. Although increasing at a slightly slower rate, Multiracial faculty and staff are also teaching and working on campuses in greater numbers. Together, Multiracial people from diverse backgrounds and in various roles are influencing college and university culture, practices, and climate.

This book centers the experiences of Multiracial people, those individuals claiming heritage and membership in two or more (mono)racial groups and/or identifies with a Multiracial term. These terms include the broader biracial, multiethnic, and mixed, or more specific terms like Blasian and Mexipino.

In addressing the recurring experiences of inclusion, exclusion, affirmation, and challenges that they encounter, the contributors identify the multiple sites in higher education that affect personal perceptions of self, belonging, rejection, and resilience; describe strategies they utilized to support themselves or other Multiracial people at their institutions; and to advocate for greater awareness of Multiracial issues and a commitment to institutional change.

In covering an array of Multiracial experiences, the book brings together a range of voices, social identities (including race), ages, perspectives, and approaches. The chapter authors present a multiplicity of views because, as the book exemplifies, multiracial people are not a monolithic group, nor are their issues and needs universal to all.

The book opens by outlining the literature and theoretical frameworks that provide context and foundations for the chapters that follow. It then presents a range of first person narratives – reflecting the experiences of students, faculty, and staff – that highlight navigating to and through higher education from diverse standpoints and positionalities. The final section offers multiple strategies and applied methods that can be used to enhance Multiracial inclusion through research, curriculum, and practice. The editors conclude with recommendations for future scholarship and practice.

This book invites Multiracial readers, their allies, and those people who interact with and influence the daily lives of Multiracial people to explore issues of identity and self-care, build coalitions on campus, and advocate for change. For administrators, student affairs personnel, and anyone concerned with diversity on campus, it opens a window on a growing population with whom they may be unfamiliar, mis-categorize, or overlook, and on the need to change systems and structures to address their full inclusion and unveil their full impact.

Table of Contents

• Foreword —G. Reginald Daniel
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Part One: Framing Multiracial Experiences in Higher Education
  • 1) Insights on Multiracial Knowledge, Voices, and Practices: Lessons From Our Lives and Work—Charmaine L. Wijeyesinghe and Marc P. Johnston-Guerrero
  • 2) Multiracial Identity on Campus: Identities and Experiences of Multiracial People in Higher Education—Kristen A. Renn
  • 3) The Naming and Framing of Identity: Reflecting on Core Concepts Through the Experiences of Multiracial People—Charmaine L. Wijeyesinghe
  • 4) Monoracism: Identifying and Addressing Structural Oppression of Multiracial People in Higher Education—Jessica C. Harris, Marc P. Johnston-Guerrero, and Maxwell Pereyra
• Part Two: Multiracial Narratives Across the Higher Education Landscape
  • 5) Back to Black—Nick Davis
  • 6) On the Path to Multiracial Consciousness: Reflections on My Scholar-Practitioner Journey in Higher Education—Victoria K. Malaney Brown
  • 7) Being Mexipina in Higher Education—Rebecca Cepeda
  • 8) Remembering to Resist Racist Colonial Forgetting on Campus—e alexander
  • 9) Existing In-Between: Embodying the Synergy of My Ancestors—Naliyah Kaya
  • 10) Reflections of a Creole, Indigenous, Afro-Latin Scholar: From Community to the Classroom—Andrew Jolivétte
• Part Three: Strategies and Tools for Enhancing Multiracial Inclusion
  • 11) Contextualizing Multiraciality in Campus Climate: Key Considerations for Transformative Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—Chelsea Guillermo-Wann and Marc P. Johnston-Guerrero
  • 12) Building Multiracial Aikido: A Student Social Justice Retreat—Charlene C. Martinez and Stephanie N. Shippen
  • 13) Mixed and Multiracial Student Organizations on Campus: The Necessity of Weaving Together Art and Critique—Orkideh Mohajeri and Heather C. Lou
  • 14) Critical Mixed Race Studies: Rooted in Love and Fire—Nicole Leopardo, Kira Donnell, and Wei Ming Dariotis
• Part Four: Future Directions
  • 15) Intergenerational Reflections and Future Directions—Marc P. Johnston-Guerrero, Charmaine L. Wijeyesinghe, and Lisa Combs
• Editors and Contributors
• Index

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.

Multiracial Identity: New Models and Frameworks for Describing and Understanding the Experience of Race and Identity

National Conference on Race & Ethnicity (NCORE) 2012
New York, New York
2012-05-29 through 2012-06-02
Date & Time To Be Determined

Charmaine L. Wijeyesinghe, Ed.D, Consultant in Organizational Development and Social Justice Education

For two decades, research on Multiracial people has challenged, advanced, and re-framed how we view race and identity in the United States.  The impact of foundational, as well as new models of Multiracial identity is evident in the content of emerging perspectives on social identity, including Intersectionality. This highly interactive session includes a brief review of ways Multiracial identity has been framed over the past 20 years, including key issues that both support and challenge traditional theories of racial identity development.  A new model of multiracial identity that incorporates aspects of intersectionality is presented and demonstrated as a learning and programming tool.  Interactive discussion allows participants to examine questions often raised by the topic of Multiracial identity on campus, such as: to what extent is racial identity chosen as opposed to assigned? Do racial groups embody aspects of culture, and if so, what is Multiracial culture? To what extent should institutional policies and practices change to accommodate Multiracial people? and What interventions and programs have been successful in meeting the needs of Multiracial students, and what can we learn from our mistakes?

For more information, click here.

Identity & Issues for Multiracial Students and College Campuses (Pre-Conference Institute #111)

NCORE^® 2010
23 Annual National Conference on Race & Enthnicity in American Higher Education
National Harbor, Maryland
2010-06-01 through 2010-06-05

A three‑part, highly interactive institute designed to provide participants a greater understanding of racial identity development for multiracial people and the issues surrounding them as they interface with different racial groups in their respective sociocultural environments. Using an assortment of educational approaches, the institute (1) presents historical and current models of racial identity development in multiracial people; (2) provides in‑depth reflection on personal perspectives and assumptions about multiracial identity; (3) discusses the implications of defining one’s self as multiracial, in campus and contemporary social settings; and (4) outlines some ways to promote inter‑group dialogue and coalition building between different racial groups and multiracial people on campuses and in community settings. The institute includes dialogue among participants who bring a wide range of perspectives about what it means to be multiracial on campus. In addition, the institute provides opportunities for participants to assess programs at their colleges and universities and develop action plans to further address the multiracial issues on their campuses. Presentations, experiential activities, and small- and large-group discussions allow participants to actively engage throughout the institute.

Overall Objectives:

1. Provide an overview of theoretical approaches to identity development of multiracial people.
2. Provide a minimum of three creative and experiential tools for exploring and understanding multiracial identity.
3. Provide roundtable discussions to address contemporary issues faced by Multiracial people on college campuses.
4. Provide roundtable discussions to assist participants in evaluating and growing their own institution’s multiracial programs.

Facilitated by: Charmaine L. Wijeyesinghe, Meg Chang and Dennis Leoutsakas.

For more information, click here.

New Perspectives on Racial Identity Development: A Theoretical and Practical Anthology

New York University Press
Paperback
2001
296 pages
Paperback ISBN: 9780814793435

Edited by

Charmaine Wijeyesinghe

Bailey W. Jackson, Associate Professor of Education
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Decades have passed since our original theories of racial identity development were formed, bringing with them changes in our society and in our understandings of race and racism.

New Perspectives on Racial Identity Development seeks to update these foundational models. The volume brings together leaders in the field to deepen, broaden, and reassess our understandings of racial identity development among Blacks, Latino/as, Asian Americans, American Indians, Whites, and multiracial people.

Contributors include the authors of some of the earliest theories in the field. Bailey W. Jackson, Jean Kim, and Rita Hardiman here take stock of their original theories and offer updated versions of their models. Other theorists, such as Perry G. Horse, Charmaine L. Wijeyesinghe, Bernardo M. Ferdman, and Placida Gallegos present new paradigms and consider future issues which may come to challenge existing theories. Later chapters present examples of the ways in which these models may be applied within such contexts as conflict resolution and clinical counseling and supervisory relationships, and address their utility in understanding the experiences of other racial and ethnic groups. In addition, William E. Cross and Peony Fhagen-Smith present a revised and expanded version of nigrescence theory.