Mixed Race Studies

Is the Design for Our Cultural Programs Ethical?

Journal of College and Character
Volume 11, Issue 4 (November 2010)
3 pages
DOI: 10.2202/1940-1639.1743

Larry D. Roper, Vice Provost for Student Affairs
Oregon State University

Kimberly McAloney
Oregon State University

The designs for cultural programs on most campuses seem to imply that students possess mono-cultural identities. However, with the increase in bi-racial and multi-racial students on campus, it is time for student affairs leaders to question the design for these programs.

With the election of Barack Obama, the first acknowledged biracial President of the United States, we have noticed an increase in conversation regarding race and the status of racial issues. While the election and the subsequent interest in race do not provide answers to the challenges facing colleges and universities, one of the recurring questions generated in the conversation about the racial identity of our President, “Is Barack Obama Black?,” does provide the opportunity to address a significant issue facing our campuses.

Questions regarding the racial identity of and the ethnic/racial community with which biracial and multiracial people should identify arise daily in the lives of a growing number of college students. On our campuses we have offices and cultural centers designed to serve and meet the needs of groups that have been historically underrepresented and underserved in U.S. higher education. While the creation of these centers and programs has been crucial in addressing the history of discrimination among collegiate institutions, as well as increasing opportunities for success of underrepresented racial groups, we are at a place where we need to enter uncomfortable territory and have serious conversation about the future of such centers and programs…

Read or purchase the article here.

Letter to the Editor: Multi-ethnic clubs benefit community

Daily Bruin
University of California, Los Angeles
2010-10-18

Thomas Lopez, Alumnus
University of California, Berkeley

What’s in a name?

Answering that question can be difficult for some multiracial students. So often throughout history, names have been given for us, many of them pejorative, that it becomes difficult for multiracial people to pick just one. I suppose it’s no wonder, then, that when we choose to name ourselves, or the organizations we form, that someone will take an affront to it.

Salim Zymet, in his article “UCLA needs more than just one multiethnic club” (Oct. 12), seems to be simultaneously lamenting the dearth of multiethnic/multiracial organizations as well as the proliferation of others. It is unclear what organizations he may be a member of, if any, although he does make it clear that he “would never fathom joining the Hapa Club because of the word’s association to Asian heritage.”

I have been active in the multiracial community for almost 20 years in various organizations. This community includes multiracial and multiethnic people, interracial couples and trans-racially adoptive families. I believe that the more awareness we raise about the multiracial community, the better society may become.

I may not have the solution to Mr. Zymet’s dilemma, but I can offer up this story. During the early ’90s I was an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley. I joined a student group there called the Multicultural Interracial Students Coalition (MISC) or “miscellaneous” for short. A little tongue-in-cheek, I know, but better than the original name Students of Interracial Descent…

Read the entire letter here.

CeCe Ridder is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Higher Education Administration at The University of Texas at Austin and is recruiting University of Texas at Austin students for a research study about Black-White Multiracial college students.  She is seeking registered students at UT Austin in the third or fourth year of study and have one parent from a Black or African American racial category and one from a White or European racial category.   She would be very interested in speaking to them more about involvement or non-involvement in student organizations and racial identity. This interview is a conversation style, confidential process.

The title of this study is: Multiracial College Students: Exploring Racial Identity Through Student Organizations. The significance of this study is to explore how multiracial students utilize student organizations, and what influence this involvement has on racial and other social identities (gender, age, sexual orientation, etc). The implications for college administrators will be a more in depth understanding of multiracial students, and improve policy, curricula, advising and counseling.

The student participation will include a brief survey, one 60-90 minute in person interview and a 60 minute follow-up interview at a convenient time and location.  If you have any students in mind, can you please e-mail her his/her name and e-mail address and she can send them an e-mail, or feel free to send this request to them with her information, CeCe.Ridder@mccombs.utexas.edu or by phone (512) 789-7410.

Clusters of racial identity among Black/White biracial college students: A mixed method investigation

University of Michigan
August 2006
197 pages
Publication ID: AAT 3208292

Yvette C. Clinton

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfullment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology) in the University of Michigan

Historically, in the United States Black/White biracial individuals were labeled as Black in accordance with the “one drop rule”. However, recent Census changes now allow biracial individuals to identify with multiple racial groups. As a result there are several ways in which biracial youth view their multiple racial identities. The aim of the present study was to examine how Black and biracial identities among biracial college students were related by conducting a cluster analysis. The study utilized a mixed method design to examine how racial identity clusters differed in terms of how they viewed their race, the racial socialization messages they received from their parents, racial context and psychological well-being. Sixty-one Black/White biracial college students at a Midwestern University completed a demographic questionnaire and scales that measured Black and biracial centrality, Black and biracial socialization messages received from their parents, feelings of alienation from Black and White peers and psychological well-being. Thirty participants also took part in a semi-structured interviewed that focused on the participants’ racial identity, discussions about race with parents and interactions in their college context.

A cluster analysis based on the participants’ Black and biracial centralities revealed four main cluster groups. Qualitative analyses examined dominant themes of racial identity and racial socialization messages among each cluster group. It was found that each cluster had a distinct way of viewing their Black and biracial identities. Clusters included: (1) an adamant biracial identity, (2) a public Black identity, (3) a dual identity (Black and biracial), and (4) non-racial identity (race was not important). Quantitative analyses revealed that there were significant differences in racial socialization messages, racial context (racial composition of neighborhood and number of Black and White friends), and feelings of alienation from Black and White peers between the clusters. However, there were no differences in psychological well-being between any of the racial identity cluster groups. This suggests that there are multiple “healthy” ways that Black/White biracial youth view their racial identities.

Purchase the dissertation here.

Univ. changes categories for reporting race, ethnicity

Diamondback Online
The University of Maryland’s Independent Daily Student Newspaper
2010-10-11

Leyla Korkut

Latest data expected to reflect true demographic makeup, but may reduce minority funding

The university will release new demographic data this week that administrators said will more accurately convey the diversity of this university. But some students argue the changes are still not good enough.

The standards, which were changed to resemble federal guidelines imposed by the U.S. Department of Education, will reflect similar changes made to the Census this year. So, last academic year, students were asked to identify their race and ethnicity before registering for classes.

The data collected from students’ responses, officials said, will enable the university to get a better idea of its demographic breakdown by allowing students to check more than one box for race and by making race and ethnicity two separate categories.

But because of that change, the number of students who originally identified themselves as minorities prior to last year may decrease, which could decrease funds earmarked for minority students, university research analyst Kyland Howard said…

Read the entire article here.

Builders of a Racial Bridge: Biracial College Students

The Journal of Pedagogy Pluralism & Practice
Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Issue 11 (Fall 2006)

Atina Andrea White

This study addresses issues surrounding Black/White biracial students in a multiracial student run organization at a diverse liberal arts college in Massachusetts.   The impact of the United States race history on biracial individuals is presented. The insights of the biracial individuals are reported along with suggestions for constructively addressing concerns of multiracial students.

Despite a history of oppression and marginalization, biracial individuals are surviving, thriving, and positively impacting our society. Black/White biracial individuals can be seen as a bridge between Black and White America. The purpose of this study is to explore aspects of biracial identity, increase awareness and understanding of biracial individuals and address various implications associated with college curriculum and activities.

Black/White biracial college students and their involvement in the Multiracial Organization of Students at Tufts University (MOST) has been the focus of this study. It addresses issues of identity-construction and development in a college setting. I selected this liberal arts college in Medford, MA because of its diverse population and because MOST, a specific organization for multiracial individuals, exists at the college. This organization designed and operated entirely by students, focuses on creating a community, offering support to its members, increasing awareness of multiraciality and seeking to bridge racial, ethnic and cultural divides (MOST, 2003). The students I have interviewed for the following study all participate in MOST and were willing to share their experiences as biracial human beings in America…

…MOST, however, is not only about finding a space to feel comfortable and supported in but also represents a place from which to begin to bridge differences across all races and ethnicities on the Tufts campus and in the larger community. Despite the fact that biracial and multiracial individuals are so often being excluded from all groups, they have not reciprocated this exclusive behavior and have introduced a different idea of welcoming all groups. There is a strong tendency in a racialized society to close-off and stay within your own culture or group but the MOST organization and its members are working to change this trend…

Read the entire article here.

The New Multiracial Student: Where Do We Start?

The Vermont Connection
Volume 31 (2010)
pages 128-135

Jackie Hyman
University of Vermont

Jackie Hyman earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2008, and is anticipating her graduation from HESA in 2010. Having gone through periods of doubt and confusion throughout her graduate career in identifying as Biracial, she is now more confident than ever in her racial identity. Because of her experiences at University of Maryland and University of Vermont, she has committed herself to creating a Multiracial student group at UVM, as well as creating potential spaces for Multiracial students at her next institution, wherever that may be. Without a doubt, a passion has been ignited that will guide her research and involvement on college campuses for years to come.

In 2004, one in 40 persons in the United States self-identified as Multiracial. By the year 2050, it is projected that as many as one in five Americans will claim a Multiracial background, and in turn, a Multiracial or Biracial identity (Lee & Bean, 2004). With racial lines becoming more blurred, it is increasingly important for practitioners in higher education to address the issues surrounding identity development in Multiracial college students. By looking at a personal narrative of a Biracial woman, recent studies of Multiracial identity development, and the daily challenges that Multiracial and Biracial students face concerning their identity, student affairs practitioners can begin to create more inclusive spaces for this growing population of students.

Read the entire article here.

UCLA needs more than just one multiethnic club

Daily Bruin
University of California, Los Angeles
2010-10-11

Salim Zymet

Only one student group promoting multiracialism is not enough for a campus as diverse as ours

Where are you from?

Answering that question can be difficult for some multiracial students. Perhaps you’re inclined to believe that despite your ethnic background, you’re simply an American, born and raised. Maybe you introduce yourself with all of your ethnic background included. Uncertainty may still plague your ethnic and cultural identity.

Enter the Hapa Club at UCLA. Hapa is a Hawaiian word traditionally meaning someone of mixed Asian or Pacific Islander descent – but the club aims to be a place where all multiracial students can come together. As the only club which represents all mixed ethnic backgrounds, it has large shoes to fill, even more so when you take into account that there are over 70 clubs, fraternities and sororities on campus devoted to various Asian ethnicities. I don’t take issue with the existence of these clubs, merely the staggering volume of them…

…If we are to be part of a truly diverse campus, more multiracial groups are going to have to be part of the solution…

…As an American of Indian, Syrian and Polish descent, I hope that next year’s incoming mixed students can be greeted by a more diverse group of ethnic clubs. As it stands now, if they want to join a club they are forced to either “choose” one of their backgrounds to identify as or join Hapa Club…

Read the entire article here.

New multiracial category has effects nationally, few at Smith

The Smith College Sophian
Northampton, Massachusetts
2010-09-30

Gina Charusombat

While Smith students speculate about the lack of diversity across disciplines of study, colleges and universities across the U.S. continue to track diversity on their campuses. On Sept. 19, the Chronicle of Higher Education revealed that the U.S. Department of Education now requires colleges to report students who check the “two or more races” category. Previously, reports listed “race unknown” for students who marked more than one category.

Students who mark several race categories in addition to “two or more races” are only counted in the multiracial category. However, there is one exception: if a student marks “two or more races” and marks Hispanic/Latino/Latina, the student is counted within that one category.

“[The multiracial category] is set against the politics of how we define or don’t define race,” said Dean of Enrollment Audrey Smith…

Read the entire article here.

Panel discusses race, identity

Indiana Daily Student
2009-11-06

Therese Kennelly

Graduate student Fileve Palmer said though her parents always talked about their diverse backgrounds with her, she still struggled to find a way to relay her identity to others.

She struggled throughout her life to retain her African-American identity, while society viewed her as Puerto Rican.

“I have always been dealing with this,” Palmer said. “I always was familiar with what I was.“

She was part of a group of panelists who spoke Thursday on “Race and Ethnic Classification: Can Identity be Negotiated?” the final installment of the Choices of Color Series. The panel began with questions about how each of the participants acquired their own sense of identity while growing up in a multi-racial household.

Joseph Stahlman, interim director of the First Nations Educational and Cultural Center, served as moderator. He said his life has been a struggle preserving his Native  American heritage because people would often simply see him as white…

Read the entire article here.