Tag: Robert Fikes Jr.

  • “Racial “passing” allowed light-skinned black Americans to sidestep racism faced by black people and claim the privilege of whiteness in public spaces,” explained Dwaine Plaza, professor of sociology with the OSU School of Public Policy, who will be joining Landis during the Feb. 24 presentation. “The practice, writes historian Robert Fikes, Jr., was ‘seen by…

  • African American Interest & Experiences in Russia: A Brief History Afropean: Adventures in Afro Europe 2015-10-28 Robert Fikes, Jr., Reference Librarian San Diego State University Robert Fikes, Jr., Librarian at San Diego State University, recounts the history of the African American presence in Russia from the 19th century, noting that African Americans have had a…

  • Faking Black identity: An American tradition The New Pittsburgh Courier Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 2015-06-27 Robert Fikes Jr., Reference Librarian San Diego State University, San Diego, California The recent case of Rachel Dolezal, the White woman who reinvented herself as African American and headed the Spokane, Washington NAACP, is just the latest sensationalized instance of “passing.”  Though…

  • The Passing of Passing: A Peculiarly American Racial Tradition Approaches Irrelevance BlackPast.org: Remembered & Reclaimed 2014-12-14 Robert Fikes Jr., Reference Librarian San Diego State University, San Diego, California Three Harlem Women, ca. 1925 In the article below, independent scholar Robert Fikes Jr., explores a centuries-old process in the United States where African Americans with no…