Mixed Race Studies

Scholarly perspectives on the mixed race experience.

The spectrum of shades and colorings that constitute “black” identity in the United States, and the equal claim to black identity that someone who looks like [Walter] White or [Louis T.] Wright (or, for that matter, [Rachel] Dolezal) can have, is a direct product of bloodlines that attest to institutionalized rape during and after slavery. Nearly all of us who identify as African-American in this country, apart from some more recent immigrants, have at least some white ancestry. My own white great-grandparent is as inconsequential as the color of my palms in terms of my status as a black person in the United States. My grandparents had four children: my father and his brother, both almond-brown, with black hair and dark eyes, and two girls with reddish hair, fair skin, freckles, and gray eyes. All of them were equally black because they were equal heirs to the quirks of chance determining whether their ancestry from Europe or Africa was most apparent. Dolezal’s primary offense lies not in the silly proffering of a false biography but in knowing this ugly history and taking advantage of the reasons that she would, at least among black people, be taken at her word regarding her identity.

Jelani Cobb, “Black Like Her,” The New Yorker, June 15, 2015. http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/rachel-dolezal-black-like-her.

The Complexities of Skin Color

Posted in Interviews, Literary/Artistic Criticism, Media Archive, Social Science, United States, Videos on 2016-07-20 19:25Z by Steven

The Complexities of Skin Color

Black Issues Forum
UNC-TV
Raleigh, North Carolina
2016-05-01
Running Time: 00:26:46

Deborah Holt Noel, Host

Inspired by the casting of Latina actress Zoe Saldana to play Nina Simone, the performer and activist known for her pride in her dark skin, Deborah chats with professor Dr. Yaba Blay, filmmaker Eric Barstow, and undergraduate student Ayana Thompson to delve into why so many people still knowingly and unknowingly participate in colorism – the assertion that light is better.

Tags: Ayana Thompson, Black Issues Forum, colorism, Eric Barstow, Nina Simone, UNC TV, University of North Carolina Television, Yaba A. Blay, Yaba Amgborale Blay, Yaba Blay, Zoe Saldana

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Saint Augustine’s College senior’s documentary wins award at film festival

Posted in Articles, New Media, United States, Videos on 2010-10-20 19:02Z by Steven

Saint Augustine’s College senior’s documentary wins award at film festival

Saint Augustine’s College, Raleigh, North Carolina
Press Release
2010-10-19

LaToya Sutton, Communications Specialist

Eric Barstow’s short documentary, “Bi/Racial Me,” won the “Best Short Documentary” award at the Urban Mediamakers Film Festival, held October. 14-17, [2010] in Norcross, Georgia The film was an official film selection festival. Barstow is a senior theatre and film major at Saint Augustine’s College.

Barstow’s documentary offers a glimpse into what life is like for those who are racially mixed and explores the issues they face. The film’s trailer is available online here.

The Urban Mediamakers Film Festival places an emphasis on showcasing work produced by or featuring people of African, Asian and Latin descent. The three-day festival gives actors, writers, filmmakers, musicians and graphic designers an opportunity to learn from and network with other industry professionals.

Read the entire press release here.

Tags: Eric Barstow, Saint Augustine’s College

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Mixed Race Studies

The Complexities of Skin Color

Saint Augustine’s College senior’s documentary wins award at film festival

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