The New York Times has an article on individuals of mixed race heritage in the US. The video is particularly fun to watch, seeing how these Rutgers students identified themselves. I had a real flashback to a similar group I participated in one meeting in college about mixed race. Notably, census data from 2000 showed 6% of married couples are interracial, and 3% of Americans are mixed race. And it is disproportionately higher among younger people (under 40). Obama is making mixed race mainstream (along with Tiger Woods, J-Lo, Karen-O etc...).
Being Japanese-Scottish, this has always been an issue for me, even when I didn't know it was (the Japanese family picnics, where I really didn't fit in...). But like many in the article, I find being mixed race much more of a strength than a weakness. I actually think it also really lends itself to interdisciplinary science, having a firm (racial) identity was just never an option. Having a flexible identity becomes the norm. Choosing what parts of different things you want to be your identity becomes subconscious. And, probably most importantly you get used to being uncomfortable, being in the spaces in between, and that's when you learn the most.
I wrote a lot more about this theme, early on in Obama's presidential campaign, at Bluemass group (link here). I got some really nice feedback for writing that (more articulate and passionate) essay.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment