Racial Identity

This book presents the major theories of black and white racial identity. Moreover, theoretical perspectives that were originally developed to describe social fomentation have been updated and expanded to explain the role of racial identity in counseling dyads, social relationships, and groups. Measures for assessing racial identity are described. Original research addresses the relationship of racial identity to other personality characteristics such as value orientations, decision-making styles and counseling process variables such as satisfaction, counselor strategies, and client reactions.

This collection of papers encourages social and biological scientists to question their presentations of African Americans and to recognize that afrocentricity is important in refocusing portrayals of African Americans. It contrasts the production of these cultural portrayals by the majority of the U.S. population with those by African Americans themselves. It shows the process of creating a racial identity as well as the historical background related to a new evaluation of what it is to be African American in the United States.

Is a person with both a white and African American parent black? Thirty years ago in American society the answer would have been yes. Today, the answer most likely depends on whom you ask. According to the U.S. Census, a person with both a black and a white parent is, in fact, black. However, most young persons who fit this description describe themselves as biracial, both black and white. Most young Americans, whatever their racial background, agree. Since the Voting Rights Act of 1965 signaled the culmination of the Civil Rights Movement, a transformation has occured in the racial self-definition of Americans with both an African American and a white parent. This book describes the transformation and explains why it has occurred and how it has come about. Through extensive research and dozens of interviews, Korgen describes how the transformation has its roots in the historical and cultural transitions in U.S. society since the Civil Rights era. A ground breaking book, From Black to Biracial will help all,Americans understand the societal implications of the increasingly multiracial nature of our population. From affirmative action to the present controversy over the U.S. Census 2000, the repercussions of the transformation in racial identity related here affect all race-based aspects of our society. Students and faculty in sociology and multicultural studies, business leaders, and general readers alike will benefit from reading this work.

The number of black-white mixed marriages increased by 504% in the last 25 years. By gathering hard data as well as a series of intensely personal and revealing vignettes, Dr. Brown offers a rare glimpse into the lives, struggles, frustration and joys of mixed race people. She investigates psychosocial issues unique to mixed race children. Also, experiences that influenced their adjustment in a country that has subjected them to racist abuses from the white as well as black side of the racial divide and has shoehorned them into a racial category that denies half of their physiological and psychological existence are explored.

Social scientists claim that we now live in a 'post-race' society, where 'race' has been replaced by 'ethnicity'. Yet racism is endemic to British society and people often think in terms of 'black' and 'white'. With a marked rise in the number of children from mixed parentage, there is an urgent need to challenge simplistic understandings of 'race', nation and culture, and interrogate what it means to grow up in Britain and claim a 'mixed' identity.Focusing on mixed-race and inter-ethnic families, this book not only explores current understandings of 'race', but it shows, using innovative research techniques with children, how we come to 'read' race. What influence do photographs and television have on children's ideas about 'race'? How do children use memories and stories to talk about racial differences within their own families? How important is the home and domestic culture in achieving a sense of belonging? Ali also considers, through data gathered from teachers and parents, broader issues relating to the effectiveness of anti-racist and multicultural teaching in schools, and parental concerns over the social mobility and social acceptability of their children.Rigorously researched, this book is the first to combine children's accounts on 'race' and identity with contemporary cultural theory. Using fascinating case studies, it fills a major gap in this area and provides an original approach to writing on race.

White multicultural educators and activists have undergone a process of transformation as they move from a racist to an anti-racist consciousness. Through detailing their life experiences and significant "racial experiences," the authors identify and discuss the constitutive events that have affected their racial consciousness. In addition to the description of these "racial experiences," the authors discuss the impact that these experiences have on their pedagogy of multicultural education.