Mixed Race Studies

Photographer Explores The Beautiful Diversity Of Redheads Of Color

The Huffington Post
2015-08-25

Priscilla Frank, Arts Writer

Michelle Marshall

Red hair is usually the result of a mutation in a gene called MC1R, also known as a melanocortin 1 receptor. Normally, when activated by a certain hormone, MC1R sparks a series of signals that leads to the production of brown or black pigment. Yet, in cases when both parents are carriers of the recessive MC1R gene and said receptor is mutated or antagonized, it fails to turn hair darker, resulting instead in a beautifully fiery buildup of red pigment.

As previously estimated by BBC News, between one and two percent of the world’s population — or 70 to 140 million people — are redheads. In Scotland and Ireland, around 35 percent of the population carry the recessive gene that yields crimson locks, and the redhead count is around 10 percent. As such, the word ginger often calls to mind visions of Celtic-Germanic attributes — namely, pale, white skin…

White skin and red hair may constitute the stereotypical image of a redhead, but it’s by no means a comprehensive one. French-born, London-based photographer Michelle Marshall is documenting the stunningly diverse manifestations of the MC1R gene, particularly in people of color…

Read the entire article here.

Black Mexico: Unearthing the ‘Third Root’

The Compton Herald
Compton, California
2015-08-16

Jarrette Fellows, Jr.

Spaniards, African slaves, and indigenous Indians in Colonial Mexico forged a unique ethnic blend known as ‘Black Mexicans’

This multiple-part series will unravel the little-known history of how Mexico’s 15th-century assimilation of Spaniards, indigenous Indians, and African slaves into “Black Mexico,” eventually led to the founding of Los Angeles by Black Mexicans and Mestizos in the 17th century when California was still under the rule of Mexico. Even though the Black imprint in Mexico is unraveling more and more as time moves on, the reality of the truth is still largely mired in a Shadow History because the masses do not frequent libraries and this truth has never been taught as a history lesson in Mexico, much less as historic text in the U.S. To now, this invaluable historic truth has largely been available as scholarly works. The Compton Herald sought out this history, scaled down its volume from multiple scholarly sources, and now present it in nine parts for public consumption — Jarrette

THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE of ancient Spanish America were the Aztecs, Mayans, Olmecs, Toltecs, Zapotecs and the Mixtecs, who inhabited a geographical area encompassing present-day Florida and much of what is now the Western U.S., Mexico, and parts of the Caribbean. These ancient peoples comprised the pre-Columbian indigenous civilizations before the arrival of all-conquering Spain as a colonizer of the region prior to the 16th century.  These indigenous natives constituted modern-day Mexico’s “First Root.”…

Read the entire article here.

Seeking Biracial Participants for Study on Social Experiences

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Department of Psychology
2015-08-05

Analia Albuja

Multiracial and multicultural populations have grown tremendously in recent years, yet their unique social experiences remain understudied. The present study is being conducted by Analia Albuja, a graduate student in social psychology and attempts to fill this gap by exploring social experiences and well-being among biracial people.

You are invited to participate in this project by completing a survey about your experiences. The study is entirely online and should take about 20 minutes to complete. You may participate if you self-identify as biracial, check more than one race, or who have parents of different races.

If you have any questions, you may e-mail Ms. Albuja at analia.albuja@rutgers.edu.

To participate in the study, click here.

Mixed Race Male and Female Participants Needed to Take Part in a Research Project

ESRC Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE)
The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
2015-07-25

Karis Campion, Ph.D.
Doctoral Researcher and Graduate Teaching Assistant

• Do you have Mixed White and Black Caribbean heritage?
• Were you born between 1955-1970 or 1980-1995?
• Did you grow up in Birmingham?

If your answers to the above are yes, would you like to take part in an interview exploring mixed race people in post-1945 Britain?

If you think you may be interested in taking part and would like to hear a little more information about the project through an informal chat, then please contact me, Karis Compion via telephone at 07850479436 or via e-mail at Karis.campion@manchester.ac.uk. I am particularly encouraging male participants born 1955-1970 to come forward as response rate with this group has so far been quite low. Also, please read the Participant Information Sheet below.

University of Manchester School of Social Sciences: Participant Information Sheet

What is the title of the research?

The Making of Mixed Ethnicities, 1945-2011

Who will conduct the research?

Karis Campion, PhD researcher
Arthur Lewis Building
The University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester, M13 9PL

What is the aim of the research?

To find out how mixed ethnicities have been experienced and constructed within particular time periods in Britain since mass-migration after World War II. Within these broader research aims, the research will explore how mixed ethnicities have been experienced in particular geographical locations in Britain. The research also aims to explore how gender and social class impact on mixed ethnicities.

Why have I been chosen?

You have been chosen because you grew up in Birmingham, have a Mixed White and Black Caribbean heritage, and were born between 1955-1970 or 1980-1995. Many other participants like you will be involved.

What would I be asked to do if I took part?

You would be asked to take part in an interview that I will lead. Within this you will be asked questions that are mainly concerned with your experience of having a mixed ethnicity. The interview process can be enjoyable but there is a possibility that you may find some of the topics sensitive to talk about depending on your own experiences. We will mutually agree on a time and place to conduct the interview prior to it taking place. I might also ask you to pick some photographs from your own collection that you feel represent particular stages in your life as a teenager and young adult. These could be either hard or digital copies on a phone/camera. These could include pictures of you when you left school, when you first left home or started your first job. These photographs will be used to help you share your memories in the interview; they will remain in your possession after the interview and will not be reproduced in the thesis. Bringing photographs however, is not compulsory, so do not worry if this is not possible.

What happens to the data collected?

The analysis of the data will be written in to my PhD research project and possibly published in academic journals and presented at academic conferences. It will be made public and available to other researchers and academics.

How is confidentiality maintained?

During the research process the data collected will be audio-recorded. The data will be stored in a safe secure place, such as a password protected data stick and any tapes will be locked away in appropriate storage such as office drawers. It will then be analysed by me the researcher in a private study space. The only other people the information will be shared with are two other University staff who supervise me with my project and help me with my analysis. All participants will be given pseudonyms in the written up research. These are fictitious names, so you will not be able to be identified.

What happens if I do not want to take part or if I change my mind?

If you do decide to take part you will be given this information sheet to keep and be asked to sign a consent form. If you decide to take part you are still free to withdraw from the process at any time without giving a reason and without detriment to yourself.

Will I be paid for participating in the research?

No.

What is the duration of the research?

You will participate in one interview which will last between half an hour and two hours.

Where will the research be conducted?

Birmingham—either in your home or a public space that you would prefer such as a café or library.

Will the outcomes of the research be published?

Yes, most likely. This would mean that the research findings and data will be shared with other academic researchers.

What benefit might this research be to me or other subjects of the research?

The research will not directly benefit you. It will explore the specific experiences of people with mixed ethnicities like you. Your participation will help contribute towards existing academic research which attempts to highlight the specific needs and experiences of this fast growing ethnic group in Britain.

Contact for further information contact:

Karis Campion
Telephone Number: 07850479436
E-mail: Karis.campion@manchester.ac.uk

What if something goes wrong?

If anything goes wrong and you are unhappy for any reason, you can make a formal complaint about the conduct of the research by contacting:

Head of the Research Office, Christie Building
University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester, M13 9PL

Now casting nationwide for a dynamic and charismatic, blended, interracial family!

Kinetic Content (part of Red Arrow Entertainment Group)
Los Angeles, California
2015-08-12

Angelo Ierace, Development Producer

Kinetic Content, a television production company in Los Angeles, California, is currently developing docu-series that will feature the day-to-day life of one blended, interracial family. If you and your significant other come from two different racial backgrounds and you are blending your kids and your significant other’s kids from a previous relationship into one blended family, then we want to speak to you!

For more information, please contact Angelo Ierace, Producer of Development via telephone at 310.752.0843 or e-mail at aierace@kineticcontent.com.

Mixed-race heritage complicates stem cell search

Radio Canada International
2015-08-24

Lynn Desjardins

A 19-year-old woman with cancer is having trouble finding a stem cell donor because of her mixed aboriginal and Irish roots. Rosalie Lirette Gilbert was diagnosed on June 29 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia—a cancer of the blood and bone marrow….

Read the entire article here.

How beliefs in biological differences can undergird racial and policy attitudes

The London School of Economics and Political Science
2015-08-24

W. Carson Byrd, Assistant Professor of Pan-African Studies
University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky

Beliefs in biological differences between racial groups linger in both scientific and public discourse. Recent advances in genetics and genomics influence public understandings of racial inequality. In a recent study examining whites’ views of race, genetics, and public policies in the U.S., Carson Byrd finds that beliefs in biological differences between racial groups can influence people’s support for policies aimed at reducing racial inequalities, and uncovers the complexities of how people conceptualize and utilize race to understand everyday life.

It has been 15 years since then President Bill Clinton and leading scientists of the Human Genome Project made their highly-acclaimed proclamations that race at the genetic level does not exist. At the time this supported the long-held narrative of scholars that the once prominent beliefs in biological determinism (race as a genetic reality) and racial essentialism (human behavior is anchored in group-based biological differences) had been all but completely laid to rest in the archives of history, particularly after the fall of the Nazi regime and the end of the Holocaust after World War II. However, these beliefs in race and genetics may be making a comeback as genetic and genomic research gains in popularity and media visibility. As sociologist Lawrence Bobo and colleagues recently note in their analysis of survey data, there is a recent uptick the last decade in the belief that there are innate (i.e., biological or genetic) racial differences that drive racial inequality…

Read the entire article here.