Light, Bright, and Damned Near White

Biracial and Triracial Culture in America

Stephanie R. Bird

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9780275989545
• eBook ISBN: 9780313065446
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Demography
• Index: Social Sciences

The election of America's first biracial president brings the question dramatically to the fore. What does it mean to be biracial or tri-racial in the United States today? Anthropologist Stephanie Bird takes us into a world where people are struggling to be heard, recognized, and celebrated for the racial diversity one would think is the epitome of America's melting pot persona. But being biracial or tri-racial brings unique challenges - challenges including prejudice, racism and, from within racial groups, colorism. Yet America is now experiencing a multiracial baby boom, with at least three states logging more multiracial baby births than any other race aside from Caucasians. As the Columbia Journalism Review reported, American demographics are no longer black and white. In truth, they are a blended, difficult-to-define shade of brown. Bird shows us the history of biracial and tri-racial people in the United States, and in European families and events. She presents the personal traumas and victories of those who struggle for recognition and acceptance in light of their racial backgrounds, including celebrities such as golf expert Tiger Woods, who eventually quit trying to describe himself as Cablanasin, a mix including Asian and African American. Bird examines current events, including the National Mixed Race Student Conference, and the push to dub this Generation MIX. And she examines how American demographics, government, and society are changing overall as a result. This work includes a guide to tracing your own racial roots.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Series Foreword
• Preface
• 1 Premixed—Premeasured: Populace of the New World
• 2 Too Light to Be Black, Too Dark to Be White: Who Is Passing for What?
• 3 Tan Territory: Separating Fact, Fiction, and Fantasy
• 4 Some of America's Best-Known Triracial Groups
• 5 Bricolage: Constructed Identities of Les Gens de Couleur Libre and Cane River Negroes
• 6 From Italian Explorers to Sicilian Contandini and Biracial Royals: The Mixed-Race Experience as Illustrated by the Italian Diaspora
• 7 Black, White, and Red All Over American History: Coming Together yet Remaining Apart
• 8 The Stolen Generations: When Things Really Go Wrong
• 9 Profiles of Triumph and Courage
• 10 The State of the Mixed Union: What's Happening in the Government, on Campus, on the Internet, and in the News
• 11 A Tool Box for Change: News to Use
• Index