The Biracial Population and Personal Identity

How one does in school, one’s social ability, and one’s awareness of others are all guided by how an individual identifies. Identification with one’s gender, race, religion, social class, and ethnicity are all driving forces behind an individual’s future self. Identity is a crucial part of who you are, and in recent studies and experimentation researchers have been trying to identify new, untested factors that influence behavior in people. Although, in the past there hasn’t been a strong focus on the positive effects of race and ethnicity, the conversation is now shifting to align itself with the current times. With America becoming increasingly more ethnically and racially diverse, we must take the time to see how certain factors, specifically race and ethnicity, impact a person’s development and behavior in both positive and negative ways. Attributes and characteristics such as good academic standing, one’s well-being in terms of health, and one’s well-being in terms of self-esteem have all been the focus of studies focused on ethnic and racial identity.

In his essay, “As Black as We Wish to be,” author Thomas Chatterton Williams tries to paint a picture of a world where the sight of interracial families was still considered an oddity and shows how, over the decades, society has slowly became more acceptable towards the idea. He begins the essay briefly discussing the ignorance of people during the late 1980’s while also elaborating what hardships African Americans have dealt with over the past century. He explains that even with the progression of interracial families and equality of African Americans, a new problem has now risen for interracial children of the future. While either being multiracial, African American, or White, what do they decide to identify themselves as? This is the major question that arises throughout Williams’s argument. While Williams’s supports his argument with unreliable environmental evidence, as well with other statistical evidence. His argument is weakened by an abundance of facts, disorganization, and an excessive use of diluted information.

One of Beverly Tatum's major topics of discussion is racial identity. Racial identity is the meaning each of us has constructed or is constructing about what it means to be a white person or a person of color in a race-conscious society. (Tatum, pp Xvii) She talks about how many parents

In “Races isn’t what defines me: exploring identities choices in transracial, biracial, and monoracial families”, Butler-Sweet, Colleen explains that there has been a controversial issue in the United Sates for more than half a century, among black children raised in white homes. The author’s main claim is that transracial adoption will miscarry a black identity. Comparing experiences among monoracial, biracial, and transracial families on black identity.

America’s views on biracial individuals can be dated back to slavery when slaves were forced to bear the children of their masters. These children were referred to as mulatto, meaning “the offspring of a "pure African Negro" and a "pure white”(Davis), and their treatment was often based on the complexion of their skin; if they had fairer skin, they were sent to work in the master’s house and were often times treated

The trends in publicly celebrating and affirming the racial identities of multiracial individual’s shows hope for the “loosening of racial boundaries” (91). But what does that mean for children of mixed-race unions who have their own children? As Lee and Bean stated in this article, the continued shifting of the color line throughout history, with who is considered white and who is not, it is likely that “boundaries may continue to stretch to include newer groups” (88). For children of mixed-race unions who have their own children, especially Asians and Latinos, that means that they could be considered white instead of nonwhite. I believe that with our growing diversity as a nation, due to increasing intermarriage between different groups, that there will be an expansion the definition of who is considered “white” but that it will also create a more rigid boundary for those who are black. This would definitely be the case with the

In his article, “Children of Interracial Parents Face Special Difficulties”, Frank A. Jones argues that biracial children, especially black males, face difficulties due to their parents raising them based on white parenting standards without considering the way modern society will treat them. Jones describes how biracial children think they are different, which builds up the fear of getting judged and leads to racism. Frank emphasizes the need of not just love and affection in raising a child or more specifically a biracial child but “guidance, discipline, self-perception, and survival perspective” and also the importance of education being a must and not an option. Biracial

I decided to do my annotated bibliography on Black American youth and racial identity. Each one of the articles that I have chosen addresses one or more of the issues in regards to sociocultural and international contexts that influence individual differences in the cultural group, how individual differences influence beliefs, values, and interactions with others and vice versa, as predictions on how interaction among diverse people can challenge conventional understanding of psychological processes and behavior. Young Black Americans often battle racial discrimination which can heavily influence how they perceive themselves as individuals and as members of their own racial

Perhaps the main concern for transracial adoptees concerning their racial situation involves their sense of identity, divided between racial and personal (Deberry 2377). One study worth mention concerning racial identity used the Clark and Clark Doll Test, which features two dolls with dark and light skin, and found only a seven percent difference between the black identification of transracial black adoptees to inracial black adoptees (Morrison 182). Regarding personal identities, outcome studies suggest that TRAs are not necessarily more prone than same-race adoptees or nonadoptees to emotional or behavioral problems, low self-esteem, or maladjustments (Lee 4). During a twenty year follow-up on Chinese children adopted transracially to Britain, the researchers concluded that adoptees and nonadoptees developed self-esteem and social adjustment on the same level (Lee 4). A study in 1977 that interviewed transracially adopting parents throughout the United States found their black children emotionally healthy (Morrison 181). A second concern for the psychological and social effects of TRA considers whether a transracially adopted child adjusts well into a racially different environment. According to a 1983 study, racial differences do not inhibit transracial adoptees from developing typical relationships any less than inracial adoptees (Morrison 182). Furthermore, racial differences may strengthen the parent-child relationship, as it “reinforces that the family’s foundation is based on bonds of relationship, not…biology” (Morrison 188). Studies have indicated the healthy racial identities, the healthy personal identities, and the relationship enabling of racial differences as proof of psychological and social benefits of transracial

According to the 2010 U.S census, the percentage of multiracial American children has increased almost 50%, to 4.2 million, in the last ten years. It’s interesting to think of myself as one of those statistics. While my mom and her side of the family is American, my dad and his side of the family is Puerto Rican, my brother and I ending up being half white, half Hispanic. The cultural differences of the two sides of my family are significant, whether it be food, past times, or communication/interaction, they differ.

The problem is the classification of the mixed child by society. The Black female’s social status was still distinguished by her father’s social class or her husband’s social class. Race is an intricate factor in a female’s place in the hierarchy of society, but her place in the hierarchy is still dependent on the link she shares with the men in her family. A woman relinquishes her maiden name and father’s identity through marriage. This is just a transference of identity from the father to the husband as a means to control the identity of the female. Gender is socially constructed, as is race. Society creates a prism of identity and the more intersectionality an individual experiences, the harder it is to clarify one’s

Identity is influenced by several factors that eventually present themselves as we proceed to make changes in life. One of these many factors is genetics, it is questioned whether new practices in reproduction and genetics cause a difference in the sense of family because they highlight biological over social parenthood. For example, those who are adopted may have a more confused outlook on their identity. This is not due to their adoption itself, but rather the insecurity of not knowing their genetic makeup, which is why genetics do have a great effect on how identity is understood by those who do not know their genetic makeup. Though, if someone were adopted and knew what race they were or where they were born, that information would cause them to feel more safe

Ethnic identity development of ethnic minorities in the United States has attracted an increasing attention in the adolescent development and college transition literature. A review of literature related to ethnic identity development highlights two major lines of research: 1) identity processes from a developmental perspective and 2) the content and meaning of ethnic identity (Phinney, 1989; Seller et al., 1997; Yip, 2014). Some scholars have specifically examined the developmental progression that individuals go through as they come to understand their ethnic identity and make a commitment (Phinney, 1993). Other scholars have focused on exploring the content, significance, and meaning of ethnic identity within

In a study titled “Racial Socialization and Racial Identity: African American Parents’ Messages about Race as Precursors to Identity,” Enrique Neblett looked at the patterns of racial socialization in a sample of 358 African American adolescents and identified 3 patterns of socialization experiences, High Positive, Moderate Positive, and Low Frequency (Neblett 189). The study found that a large portion of children reported that their parents highly emphasized on racial pride as well as taught them about racial barriers. The remaining children provided information that not all parents convey messages about race to their children. This shows that some individuals agents of socialization play a large role in their understanding of their race. In the study, they also state that African Americans awareness of race makes it possible for them to grapple with the significance of being African American (Neblett 189). The children that were categorized as having High Positive or Moderate Positive experiences with socialization are going to be more apt to understand their socialized position in society. This is important because “a strong ethnic identity is associated with greater psychological well-being,” (Rohall 153). Therefore, children, especially children from minority groups, who are socialized to have a strong identity and can understand the significance of being a specific race, are more

This paper will interpret racial identity development theories manufactured around privileged racial identity (white) and marginalized racial identity (people of color). Both of these races have been part of the American society and have been defined as privileged and marginalized without any other considerations. Having these races labeled as “white” and “black/people of color” is where racism began in this country. Helms (1997) stated three main types of racism, which include individual (personal attitudes, beliefs, and behavior), institutional (social policies and laws), and cultural (societal beliefs and customs). It is best known to overcome these types of racisms to be a society without having one race overcome the other. The racial theories that will be discussed will demonstrate an individual’s interpretation of their own race and how they place themselves in society.