Mixed Race Studies

The “one-drop rule,” which, for much of American history, legally defined as black anyone with a black ancestor, was used to keep black people from adopting whiteness. Ironically, it has made it easier for Ms. [Rachel] Dolezal to claim blackness without others questioning the assertion. If they are not themselves of a similar hue to Ms. Dolezal, many black people watching her story unfold can recognize in her features a cousin, parent or grandparent. African-Americans vary in appearance from light-skinned to coal black, straight- to curly-haired, keen- to broad-featured, and every possible combination in between.

Tamara Winfrey Harris, “Rachel Dolezal’s Harmful Masquerade,” The New York Times, June 16, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/opinion/rachel-dolezals-harmful-masquerade.html.

Since the publication of my second book One Drop, I have heard from hundreds of people who similarly discovered later in life a previously unknown ancestry, some of whom have had their sense of themselves changed, seemingly overnight, as a result. Sometimes the revelation came as the result of a DNA test, which was then corroborated with some genealogical research. Other times, the discovery of a “MU” (Mulatto) or “B” (Black) on a grandparent’s or great grandparent’s census record had uncovered the truth. With cheaper genetic testing and more and more genealogical records easily searchable online, the number of people discovering they are not what they thought they were will only continue to increase.

Bliss Broyard, “Rachel Dolezal isn’t alone – my family history proves choosing a racial definition is hard,” The Guardian, June 15, 2015. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/15/bliss-broyard-father-black-roots-race-ethnicity-rachel-dolezal.

I remembered that people of color from my region of the United States can choose to embrace all aspects of their ancestry, in the food they eat, in the music they listen to, in the stories they tell, while also choosing to war in one armor, that of black Americans, when they fight for racial equality. I remembered that in choosing to identify as black, to write about black characters in my fiction and to assert the humanity of black people in my nonfiction, I’ve remained true to my personal history, to my family history, to my political and moral choices, and to my essential self: a self that understands the world through the prism of being a black American, and stands in solidarity with the people of the African diaspora.

Jesmyn Ward, “Cracking The Code,” The New York Times, May 14, 2015. http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/innovation-cracking-the-dna-code.

For much of our racist past, all partly white, partly black individuals were socially and legally defined as black. The “one drop” rule was absurd, of course, yet it has effectively returned, with a vengeance, via statistical categories. There is no justification for viewing as not white all children who are partly white and being raised in a family that includes a white parent and two white grandparents, to say nothing of aunts, uncles and cousins.

Richard Alba, “The Myth of a White Minority,” The New York Times, June 11, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/11/opinion/the-myth-of-a-white-minority.html.

The election of Barack Obama sent ripples of hope throughout the United States and the international community and seeded the notion that the country had transformed itself into a postracial utopia. Meanwhile, race itself, and racism, permeated political and social arenas nationwide as the American public grappled with the question of why and how much the president’s, or anyone’s, racial and ethnic identity really mattered. This also led to pertinent discussions on the meaning and significance of race and ethnicity in 21st-century U.S. society. Though unified in our thirst for change, America was divided, not necessarily along racial lines but by where we stood on the position of the importance of race and ethnicity as a concept. Some saw racial and ethnic group divides as an important historic institution that formed the basis of a real social hierarchy; others saw these divides as a false notion and a shameful stain on the otherwise polished face of a great nation.

Both the embracing and the backlash surrounding Barack Obama made evident what were still very salient categories in our daily national discourse and experience: color, race, ethnicity, and nationality. Obama’s political opponents weren’t the only ones who called into question the president’s identity; suspicion was evident on both sides of party lines as political figures and the public evaluated their new leader. Could the new president be trusted to represent mainstream America, or would he underhandedly advance black interests? Did he embody real “American” values despite being raised in a nontraditional family by a single mother? What did it mean that the president was also viewed as part of an educated black elite: Was the president black enough? What did it mean that he was rumored to worship amid an Afrocentric congregation: Was he, perhaps, too black? As a child of an interracial marriage, should he be considered black at all? And with ties to relatives in Africa, was he really even an American?

The very public examination of the president’s identity, the dissection of his identity into distinct facets of his life experience, illustrates a critical connection between our individual and collective identities and the broader narrative on what it means to be a part of this nation, to be an American. It also made clear that while the shape and form of racial and ethnic identity today is ever changing, it plays as important and central a role in our lives today as it has in the past. It is not only the way many people in the United States define themselves, it is still very much the way in which we define one another.

Elsie Achugbue, “Introduction” in Multicultural Perspectives on Race, Ethnicity, and Identity, eds. Elizabeth Pathy Salett and Diane R. Koslow (Washington, D.C., NASW Press, 2015). http://www.naswpress.org/publications/diversity/inside/multicultural-perspectives-intro.html.

I readily acknowledge some overlap between what we might call monoracial and multiracial animus: a racist who dislikes people who she views as Asian might well dislike an individual whom she identifies as part-Asian for some of the same reasons. But viewing someone as part-Asian also lends itself to unique forms of animus not directed at those perceived as monoracial. A mixed-race person may be viewed as polluted, defective, confusing or confused, passing, threatening, or—in our diversity-obsessed society—as opportunistic, gaining an advantage by identifying with a group in which he is at best a partial member. These negative associations may be distinguished from those directed at people perceived as monoracial.

Nancy Leong, “Judicial Erasure of Mixed-Race Discrimination,” American University Law Review, (Volume 59, Number 3, February 2010) 483-484. http://www.wcl.american.edu/journal/lawrev/59/leong.pdf.

“If 2050 is the year that 400 years of racism ends in one fell, photogenic swoop, then sure, I can’t wait. But forgive me if our collective crushes on Rashida Jones, Lolo Jones, and Norah Jones don’t inspire hope. Beauty is a cultural value whose definition has changed dramatically over time. But science and society have a long history of justifying our shifting tastes when it comes to race. White supremacy has been bolstered through race-based compulsory sterilization, anti-miscegenation laws, and likening people of color to animals.”

Sharon Chang, “This Mocha-Caramel-Honey Post-Racial Fantasy Is Making Me Sick,” BuzzFeed, May 21. 2015. http://www.buzzfeed.com/sharonchang/this-mocha-caramel-honey-post-racial-fantasy-is-making-me-si.

“I’m a person of color from a biracial marriage… I am the son of a black woman who still worries about my safety from the bias and privilege and violence that accompanies it.” —Ismael Ozanne

Michael Martinez, “Who is Ismael Ozanne, Wisconsin’s prosecutor in Tony Robinson’s death?,” Cable News Network (CNN), May 12. 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/12/us/ismael-ozanne-wisconsin-district-attorney-tony-robinson-case/.

“Well, I’ve always identified myself as black… and mixed kind of simultaneously. But as far as my identity, I see my mixed-race as being part of a broader black experience, or within the African diaspora. I don’t see that as a white experience or an Austrian experience, just because I see myself as a black woman or a black person within a place where it’s predominantly white. So I know that whiteness is not something I’m a part of, even though my mother is white and I have a cultural background as far as my Austrian side. But, to identify as white or solely as mixed without understanding how much my black experience and my blackness plays a part in my life, to me, just personally, I couldn’t do that.” —Annina Chirade

Kim Chakanetsa, “Being ‘Mixed Race’: Kira Lea Dargin and Annina Chirade,” The Conversation on BBC World Service, May 11, 2015. (00:14:20-00:14:38). http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02qm960.

“I identify as both [black (Australian Aboriginal) and white]. So you know and I’ve had no secret of who I am and what my background is. I think that it’s important for me to identify strongly as both because it’s quite evident that I’m not particularly one or the other. You know, I’m one of those people who looks mixed-race. So you’re going to look at me and immediately say, ‘what are you?’ And so just being able to relate and identify strongly with both of my cultural backgrounds is something that’s really important for me.” —Kira Lea Dargin

Kim Chakanetsa, “Being ‘Mixed Race’: Kira Lea Dargin and Annina Chirade,” The Conversation on BBC World Service, May 11, 2015. (00:14:20-00:14:38). http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02qm960.