Mixed Race Studies

Scholarly perspectives on the mixed race experience.

American Negroes were explicitly defined as hybrids of European, African, and in some cases Native American (then known as “Indian”) ancestry. As a result, among other things, skeletal and living Negro populations served as a historical record of social and sexual liaisons between blacks and whites in the United States. This particular biocultural interface was an integral part of framing studies that examined differences in skeletal morphology and phenotype between racial groups. At the same time, Negroes were also considered to be a biologically discrete racial group unto themselves. This “fact” justified the population being situated as an anatomical landmark of sorts for mapping and identifying distinct racial characters. This simultaneous construction of the American Negro as both a hybrid and racially distinct suggests that multiple definitions of race and understandings of racial difference were at work in constructing the American Negro as a research subject. This is not surprising when we consider that scholars involved in this work represented a variety of perspectives on human biological diversity. As such, this research can be considered a matter of “boundary work” in the midst of methodologies and subjects that cannot be easily or distinctly categorized (Lipphardt 2010). This also suggests that these studies must be considered within the larger context of bioanthropological interest in studying mixed-race populations to identify the source of biological change in humans. Scientists inside and outside of the United States engaged in research to determine whether or not this change occurred within populations by way of selection or solely by interbreeding with different groups.

Rachel J. Watkins, “Biohistorical Narratives of Racial Difference in the American Negro: Notes toward a Nuanced History of American Physical Anthropology,” Current Anthropology, Volume 53, Number S5, April 1, 2012. S197. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/662416.

Alexandre Dumas: An Original Writer of Colour

Posted in Articles, Communications/Media Studies, Media Archive, United Kingdom on 2014-02-02 21:51Z by Steven

Alexandre Dumas: An Original Writer of Colour

Media Diversified: Tackling the Lack of Diversity in UK Media and the Ubiquity of Whiteness
2014-02-02

Glen Chisholm, Councilor (Labor Party)
Ipswich, England

A new generation of viewers are being introduced to the swashbuckling adventures of D’Artagnan and his friends and brothers in arms Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Many will know their motto,

“All for one, One for all”

as their adventures are played out in the BBC’s new Sunday night family drama series. The Three Musketeers has been produced on screen in film and TV numerous times. even in the form of a cartoon, “Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds” in the early 80′s.

For me it’s great that once again these works are getting exposure as I’ve felt a love for stories of adventure ever since I was a child. I remember my father had a collection of classic books, bound in faux leather with gold leaf print. This of course caught my attention and when I started reading them they captured my imagination. As I got older I wanted to learn more about who had created such wonderful tales and when I looked I was inspired by what I saw. Alexandre Dumas a man who like me was mixed race, a man who was black and went on to be one of the most widely read French authors in history…

Read the entire article here.

Tags: Alexandre Dumas, Glen Chisholm, Media Diversified, Media Diversified: Tackling the Lack of Diversity in UK Media and the Ubiquity of Whiteness

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Being Mixed Race: Am I A Human Rorschach Test?

Posted in Autobiography, Media Archive, United Kingdom on 2013-09-04 01:11Z by Steven

Being Mixed Race: Am I A Human Rorschach Test?

Media Diversity UK: Tackling the lack of diversity in UK media and the ubiquity of whiteness
2013-09-03

Glen Chisholm

Just last week I was standing at a bus stop when a gentleman; a complete stranger came and joined me. Nothing unusual about that, we then politely nodded at each other and a conversation started up.

Me: “Evening”

Stranger: “Evening”

Me: “it’s still quite warm isn’t it”

Stranger: “yes it is”; pause; “excuse me mate, but were do you come from?”

Me: “Ipswich”

Stranger: “no, you know, were do you originate from”

Me: “I originate from Ipswich, my mum is English and my dad is Jamaican”

Stranger, sounding surprised: “Really I wouldn’t have thought you were Black, I’d have thought you were Italian or Spanish or something”

Me, politely smiles: “yeah, I sometimes get that”

Now I wasn’t offended by this and this wasn’t the first time or probably won’t be the last time that I’ll have this conversation. I am a light skinned mixed race person with loose curly hair. I have spent most of my life with people questioning my racial identity and for a while I was left questioning it myself…

Read the entire article here.

Tags: Glen Chisholm, Media Diversity UK, Media Diversity UK: Tackling the lack of diversity in UK media and the ubiquity of whiteness

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Mixed Race Studies

Alexandre Dumas: An Original Writer of Colour

Being Mixed Race: Am I A Human Rorschach Test?

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