Mixed Race Studies

Scholarly perspectives on the mixed race experience.

My favorite trivia question in baseball is, “Which Italian American player for the Brooklyn Dodgers once hit 40 home runs in a season?” Nobody ever gets it right, because the answer is Roy Campanella, who was as Italian as he was black. He had an Italian father and a black mother, but he’s always classified as black. You see, American racial classification is totally cultural, and it’s based on the unfortunate and sad legacy of racial distinction based on this ridiculous metaphor, the purity of blood.

You’re identifiable as having black ancestry because we can see it. I mean, who’s Tiger Wood, who’s Colin Powell? Colin Powell is as Irish as he is African, but we don’t classify him as that.

No, we have a really screwed up classification. To think it’s biological is just plain wrong. It’s based, flat-out, on the legacy of racism and the metaphor of the purity of the blood. It’s a very troubling issue.

“RACE—The Power of an Illusion: Background Readings: Interview with Stephen Jay Gould,” Public Broadcasting Service (2003). http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-background-01-09.htm.

MIXED MESSAGES Episode 4. Vanessa.

Posted in Autobiography, Interviews, Media Archive, United States, Videos on 2021-10-30 00:30Z by Steven

MIXED MESSAGES Episode 4. Vanessa.

MIXED MESSAGES with Sarah Doneghy
2021-10-23

Sarah Doneghy, Host

Vanessa discusses how being Mixed Race has affected her relationships with colleagues, impacted her work with the prison population, and how she’s been viewed when traveling to different countries.

Watch the entire episode (00:32:47) here.

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Mixed Messages Episode Two – Erika.

Posted in Autobiography, Interviews, Media Archive, United States, Videos on 2021-05-05 02:43Z by Steven

Mixed Messages Episode Two – Erika.

Mixed Messages
2021-04-21

Sarah Doneghy, Host

Erika discusses being Mixed Race within her family, her jobs, and the places she’s lived. Erika shares her thoughts and personal experiences when it comes to code switching and light privilege.