Beyond Black: Biracial Identity in America is a groundbreaking study of the dynamic meaning of racial identity for multiracial people in post-civil rights America. Kerry Ann Rockquemore and David L. Brunsma document the wide range of racial identities that individuals with one black and one white parent develop, and they provide an incisive sociological explanation of the choices facing those who are multiracial. Stemming from the controversy of the 2000 census and whether an additional "multiracial" category should be added to the survey, this second edition of Beyond Black uses both survey data and interviews of multiracial young adults to explore the contemporary dynamics of racial identity formation. The authors raise social and political questions that are posed by expanding racial categorization on the U.S. census. Book jacket.

Focuses on the development of a positive identity for biracial children, and how parents and the school play a vital role in this process.

As the multiracial population in the United States continues to rise, new models for our understanding of mixed-race children and how their conception of racial identity must be developed. A wide divide between academics who research biracial identity, and the everyday world of parents and practitioners who raise and deal with mixed-race children exists. This book aims to fill this gap by providing an extensive synthesis of the existing research in the field, as well as a model for better understanding the unique process of racial identity development for mixed-race children. Raising Biracial Children provides parents, educators, social workers, and anyone interested in multiracial issues with an accessible framework for understanding healthy mixed-race identity development and to translate those findings into practical care-giving strategies.

The classic, New York Times-bestselling book on the psychology of racism that shows us how to talk about race in America. Walk into any racially mixed high school and you will see Black, White, and Latino youth clustered in their own groups. Is this self-segregation a problem to address or a coping strategy? How can we get past our reluctance to discuss racial issues? Beverly Daniel Tatum, a renowned authority on the psychology of racism, argues that straight talk about our racial identities is essential if we are serious about communicating across racial and ethnic divides and pursuing antiracism. These topics have only become more urgent as the national conversation about race is increasingly acrimonious. This fully revised edition is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand dynamics of race and racial inequality in America.

"The evolution of the United States into a multicultural nation is becoming undeniably noticeable. There has been a significant increase of interracial marriages in our country. Between 1960 and 1998, the proportion of interracial marriages increased 6 fold (U.S. Census, January 7, 1999) adding to the increasing numbers of biracial children. Due to the unique characteristics of biracial children, researchers observe that these youths may face identity conflicts and pressures to select and identify with only one of their ethnic heritages, leading to identity problems that manifest during adolescence. The objective of this study is to identify factors that may contribute to the development of positive self-identity of biracial youths. My perusal of the literature indicated that there appears to be a tendency with biracial research to focus on supporting the notion of the potential negative implication that a biracial person may face due to their unique characteristics. Rather than investigating the negative implications of being biracial, this study focused on distilling factors contributing to the development of positive self identity in biracial youths. The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of the complexities of biracial individuals' identity development. Participants were 10 biracial youths between the ages of 19 and 24 in Alaska. A comparison between the results of the self-esteem and ethnic identity measures with the interview answers were analyzed for any consistent patterns and relationships that may contribute toward a positive identity. It was found that factors such as socio-economic status and parental education were helpful toward identity development; more importantly, protective factors that helped to resolve conflicts regarding racial/ethnic identity and social marginality during adolescence were identified"--Leaf v.