Mixed Race Studies

Mixed Up: ‘You don’t get to tell me that I’m not really black’

METRO.co.uk
2019-03-27

Natalie Morris, Senior lifestyle Writer

Kristian has never lived in any country for more than five years. (Picture by Jerry Syder for Metro.co.uk)

Kristian Foged has never lived in one country for more than five consecutive years. With influences from Uganda, Denmark and The Seychelles, his cultural experience couldn’t be more varied.

‘“Where are you from?” has always been a complicated question for me,’ Kristian tells Metro.co.uk.

‘My mix is firstly one of ethnicity, with my mom being from The Seychelles and my dad from Denmark. But it is also a mixed heritage and cultural upbringing.

‘While my mom’s side of the family is fully Seychellois, my grandparents emigrated from The Seychelles to Uganda when they were young, which meant my mom was actually born in Uganda and has spent her whole life there.

‘On the other side of the world, my dad was born in Denmark, and became an engineer because he wanted a job he could do anywhere. Eventually, he ended up in Uganda and met my mom.

‘Since my first four or five years in Uganda, I have moved back and forth between Uganda, Denmark and Greenland, before finally moving to study at university in England in 2010.

‘My moving around as a kid has actually meant I have never lived in any country for more than five years in a row. In fact, if I make it past this summer, London will be my new record!’

Being mixed-race is important to Kristian. The transiency of his upbringing made fitting in a constant battle, but it also generated a strong desire to form a solid sense of identity. No matter where in the world he moved, that sense of self could come with him…

Read the entire article here.

I Don’t Need a DNA Test to Tell Me How Black I Am

The New York Times
2019-04-16

Erin Aubry Kaplan, Contributing Opinion Writer

Simone Noronha

Tests like 23andMe are a fad that distracts us from the reality of race in America.

When my sister called me a few months ago to say, a little breathlessly, that she had gotten back her results from 23andMe, I snapped at her, “I don’t want to know!” She kept trying to share, but I kept shutting her down, before saying I had to go and hanging up. Afterward I felt a little shaky, as if I’d narrowly escaped disaster.

I’ve never been interested in DNA tests. I have nothing against people discovering they’re 18 percent German or 79 percent Irish, but I think the tests are a fad that distracts us from the harsh realities of race and identity in America. They encourage us to pretend that in terms of shaping who we really are, individual narratives matter more than the narrative of the country as a whole. There is no test for separation and tribalism, and yet they are baked into our cultural DNA.

But that didn’t explain the panic I felt during that phone call. I was a little embarrassed that I couldn’t take the news, whatever that news turned out to be. And then I realized that was it: I didn’t want to “turn out to be” anything more than what I was. I didn’t want my blackness divvied up or deconstructed any more than it has already been, not just in my lifetime but in the history of the Creole people of Louisiana I descend from…

Read the entire article here.

Participants Wanted for Research on the Influences of Psychocultural Factors and Self-Stigma of Seeking Psychological Help on Biracial Individuals’ Counseling Utilization

Georgia State University
IRB Number: H19540
2019-04-17

Mary Huffstead, M.Ed., LPC, NCC

I am a researcher, recruiting participants for a study examining relationships between racial identity, discrimination, mental health stigma and counseling use.

In this study you will complete survey items about experiences of discrimination, racial identity and beliefs about counseling as a biracial individual. The study takes 20-40 minutes overall. There is no compensation for participating in this study, however, your
participation will contribute to the scientific community by increasing the awareness of factors that may contribute to the develop of counseling outreach efforts and therapeutic outcomes for Biracial individuals.

Anyone who identifies as Biracial (i.e. identifying with two racial groups or ethnicity: African American/Black, Asian American, Caucasian/ White Native American, or Hispanic/Latino) and is over the age of 18 can participate in this study. Up to 1,000 people will participate in this study. The survey is administered on an online platform called Qualtrics.

Participation in the study is expected to take 20-40 minutes. The research will not provide direct benefits to you but it will benefit the scientific community through increasing awareness of factors that may contribute to the development of therapeutic alliance and counseling outreach when working with Biracial individuals.

Participation is confidential and participants may withdraw from the study at any time.

To participate in the survey, click here.