Mixed Race Studies

‘Perpetual others’: The role of culture, race, and nation in the formation of a mixed-race identity

University of Minnesota
June 2004
275 pages
Publication Number: AAT 3149283
ISBN: 9780496086603

Jacquetta Elizabeth Amdahl

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

The insistence upon a racial identity for multiracial blacks that is not singularly African American has been problematic throughout American history. The link between a racial identity that publicly acknowledges one’s ties to the African American community and the private ownership of one’s complete ancestry has been one that has been consistently tenuous for blacks of multiracial heritage. However, the first generation of openly multiracial African American artists have utilized their visibility in popular culture, as well as work they do within it, as spaces in which to forcefully assert this link. By consciously embracing and cultivating both public and private racial identities, they have distinguished themselves from the postracialist and even anti-black sentiments espoused by leaders and scholars within the Multiracial Category Movement (MCM).

This project explores the links between cultural expression, racial formation, and political agency through the investigation of the public lives and artistic expression of multiracial artists born between 1964 and 1970. These individuals were chosen because of their proximity to the Loving v. Virginia decision that overturned anti-miscegenation statutes. They are the first generation of officially recognized multiracial African Americans.

The project further examines the links between gender and race in representations of multiracial African Americans, as well as the history of the mixed race black population, and finally, the rise of the Multiracial Category Movement, and multiracial studies. Through these explorations, the inherently political nature of race is uncovered, and the public nature of racial identity is revealed. Finally, it concludes that the need for a fluid and expanded notion of African American identity, rather than the broadening of the definitions of whiteness, is the necessary answer to questions surrounding multiracial African American identities.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction: From African American to Multiracial? Racial Identity and Public Discourse
• Chapter 1: Reports from the ‘Third Space’: The Music and Visual Presence of Mixed Race Artists in Popular Culture
  • The Hughes Brothers
  • Lenny Kravitz
  • Vin Diesel
• Chapter 2:From Tragic Mulatto to Erotically Autonomous Black Woman: Halle Berry’s Journey to Monster’s Ball
• Chapter 3: From Blue Vein Societies to Black Power: The ‘Mulatto Elite’ and the Black/White Binary
  • The Beginnings of Separate but Equal
  • The New Negro
  • The Quest to Solve the ‘American Dilemma’
• Chapter 4: Beyond the Private Realm: The Multiracialist Struggle with Public Racial Identities
  • The Multiracial Category Movement (MCM)
  • Multiracial Studies
  • Postracialists
  • Critical Scholarship lhat Explores Multiracial Issues
• Epilogue: Still ‘A Family Affair’: Implications of a Multiracial African American Identity

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Biracial vs. Monoracial Ethnic Identity: Differences in Trait Anxiety, Social Anxiety and Depression

The American University
2004
44 pages
Publication Number: AAT 1423925
ISBN: 9780496127542

Victoria Hope Coleman

Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology

This study compared monoracial (African-American and European American) with Biracial participants on measures of depression and anxiety. Results indicate that Biracial participants as a whole are no more likely to exhibit elevated anxiety and depression symptoms than monoracial groups. However, when Biracial participants were divided into two groups (i.e., those who identify as monoracial and those who identify as Biracial), it was noted that the Biracial group who identified as African-American reported significantly higher levels of depression and trait anxiety symptoms than Biracial individuals who identified as Biracial. An integrated identity (i.e., identifying oneself as Biracial) appears to be associated with less severe anxiety and depressive symptomatology. Within the African-American sample, gender differences in depression were observed, and low acculturation was found to correlate with higher fear of negative evaluation. A measure of the affective component of acculturation revealed significant differences in African-American and European-American populations. Further research is needed to examine the complexities of the Biracial identity process and identify strategies by which a Biracial individual can more easily navigate through it.

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The Effect of a Biracial identity Development Program on Feelings of Alienation in Biracial Children

University of San Francisco
December 2004
94 pages
Publication Number: AAT 3156115
ISBN: 9780496168002

Robin E. Schulte

A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Education Counseling Psychology Department In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree Doctor of Psychology

Research on biracial individuals has primarily been done on Black/White mixed individuals. This study examines the effects of a biracial identity development program on feelings of alienation for Asian/Caucasian and Latino/Caucasian children. A single-subject research design was conducted on three female participants, two of Asian/Caucasian descent and the third of Latino/Caucasian descent. The purpose of the research was to demonstrate whether a biracial identity development program would prevent a cultural identity crisis from forming. This was accomplished by measuring the participant’s levels of alienation. The program utilized concepts from social learning theory and incorporated various activities which included, role-modeling, the Kinetic Family Drawing, bibliotherapy, and family meetings. The social environment and cultural factors such as the race of peers, relatives, communities, and friends were examined. Results indicated that the program was not as effective as previously hypothesized. However, results also showed that this may have been due to the way the program outcome was measured.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• CHAPTER ONE: Introduction
  • Statement of the Problem
  • Procedures
  • Definitions
  • Implications of the Study
  • Significance of the Study
• CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
  • Intermarried Couples
  • Biracial Offspring
    • A Model of Ethnic Identity Development
    • Physical Appearance
  • Counseling Interracial Families and their Children
    • Principles of Working with Interracial Couples
    • Implications for Counselors Working with Biracial Child
  • Biracial Research
    • Biracial Identity Development
  • Therapy and Biracial Identity Development
  • Social Learning Theory
  • Alienation
  • Conclusion
• CHAPTER THREE: METHOD
  • Restatement of the Major Research Question
  • Research Design
  • Participants
  • Protection of Human Subjects
  • Procedures
  • Treatment
    • Week 1
    • Week 2
    • Week 3
    • Week 4
    • Week 5
  • Instrumentation
    • Structured Interview:
    • The MEIM
  • Reliability
    • Structured Interview:
    • The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure
  • Validity:
  • Data Collection
    • Structured Interview
    • Revised Version of the MEIM:
    • Alienation Log
  • Data Analysis
    • Structured Interview
    • Revised Version of the MEIM
    • Alienation Log
• CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS
  • Alienation Scores
    • Participant 1
    • Participant 2
    • Participant 3
  • Revised MEIM Scores
  • Social Validation Observations
    • Participant 1
      • Week 1-Baseline
      • Week 2
      • Week 3
      • Week 4
      • Week 5
      • Feedback Session
    • Participant 2
      • Week 1-Baseline
      • Week 2
      • Week 3
      • Week 4
      • Week 5
      • Feedback Session
    • Participant 3
      • Week 1-Baseline
      • Week 2
      • Week 3
      • Week 4
      • Week 5
      • Feedback Session
  • Summary
• SECTION FIVE: DISCUSSION
  • Limitations of the Study
    • Internal Validity
  • Recommendations
  • Implications for Practice
  • Conclusion
• APPENDICES
• REFERENCES

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A Phenomenological Study of the Life Experiences of Biracial Adolescents

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
September 7, 2004
86 pages
Publication Number: AAT 3177441
ISBN: 9780542168468

Nicole Alease Tefera

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Psychology

The “biracial baby boom” (Root, 1996, p. xv) in the United States started approximately 25 years ago around the time the final laws against miscegenation were repealed by the United States Supreme Court 1967 decision (Loving v. Virginia, 1967). After the historical ruling, the number of children being born to parents with different racial backgrounds tripled from less than 400,000 in 1970 to 1.5 million in 1990 (Wright, 1994). The emergence of a racially mixed population is rapidly changing the face of the United States causing Americans to ask questions related to our identity such as: (a) Who are we?, (b) How do we see ourselves?, and (c) Who are we in relation to one another? These questions originate in a country that has maintained particular views of race and one that subscribed to race as a fixed construct, perceived itself as White, and has been dedicated to preserving racial lines. Therefore, the questions posed in relation to race and identity can only be expected to contribute to an identity crisis that this country is unprepared to resolve. Resolving the identity crisis may force Americans to reexamine our construction of race and the hierarchal social order it supports (Root, 1992).

During the past two decades, interracial marriages have produced biracial children, many of whom are now adolescents and young adults, located primarily in urban areas in the East, the Midwest, and the West Coast (Gibbs, 1987). According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are approximately 6.8 million individuals in this country who identify as two or more races (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). However, no reliable estimates of Black-White youth are available. Based on the current statistics of Black-White marriages, it can only be hypothesized that these unions produce nearly one-fourth of biracial children in the United States of America. The dual racial identity of a biracial adolescent is likely to pose a challenge in the development of a cohesive, well-integrated self-concept.

This phenomenological study explored the life experiences of six biracial adolescents (Travis, Karen, Shelly, Michael, Erin, and Ayana) of European American and African American decent living in both the inner city and surrounding suburbs of a large urban city located in the Midwest. Data was analyzed horizontally and vertically to ascertain the meanings of being biracial, specifically during adolescence. Themes emerged with respect to the participants’ ethnic/racial identification, experiences in adolescence, social influences, and racial resemblance.

This study revealed tasks for identity formation and biracial identity development during adolescence. Participants in this study clearly struggled with normal adolescent identity formation while simultaneously attempting to integrate their dual racial heritage. As with identity formation models, peer influences were most influential in how participants’ identified themselves. Therefore, one can hypothesize that biracial identity development and identity formation are not mutually exclusive. With respect to clinical implications, this theory offers the assumption that treatment interventions should focus on helping the adolescent to effectively navigate through normal identity formation while simultaneously addressing conflict surrounding their dual racial/ethnic background.

Table of Contents

• Copyright.
• Signature Page.
• Acknowledgements
• Abstract
• List of Tables
• Chapter 1: Introduction
  • Statement of Topic
  • Rationale for the Study
• Chapter 2: Literature Review
  • Identity Formation in Adolescence
  • Racial/Ethnic Identity Development
  • Biracial Identity Development
  • Models of Biracial Identity Development
  • Review of Research on Biracial Youth and Young Adults
• Chapter 3: Methodology
  • Methodology and Participants
  • Procedures
  • Analysis
• Chapter 4: Presentation of Data Analysis
  • Participant #2: Travis
  • Participant #3: Karen
  • Participant #4: Shelly
  • Participant #5: Michael
  • Participant #6: Erin
  • Participant #7: Ayana
  • Composite Description of Participant Interviews
• Chapter 5 Summary, Implications, and Outcomes
  • Emerging Themes
  • Limitations of the Study
• References
• Appendix A: Demographic Questionnaire
• Appendix B: Study Participant (ages 12-17) Assent Form
• Appendix C: Study Participant (Age 18) Informed Consent Form
• Appendix D: Parent Informed Consent Form
• Appendix E: Interview Guide
• Appendix F: Advertisement

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