Multiracial Identity in Children's Literature

Multiracial Identity in Children's Literature
Author: Amina Chaudhri
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2017-02-10
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317507851

Racially mixed children make up the fastest growing youth demographic in the U.S., and teachers of diverse populations need to be mindful in selecting literature that their students can identify with. This volume explores how books for elementary school students depict and reflect multiracial experiences through text and images. Chaudhri examines contemporary children’s literature to demonstrate the role these books play in perpetuating and resisting stereotypes and the ways in which they might influence their readers. Through critical analysis of contemporary children’s fiction, Chaudhri highlights the connections between context, literature, and personal experience to deepen our understanding of how children’s books treat multiracial identity.

Honeysmoke

Honeysmoke
Author: Monique Fields
Publisher: Imprint
Total Pages: 34
Release: 2019-01-08
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1250115825

A young biracial girl looks around her world for her color. She finally chooses her own, and creates a new word for herself—honeysmoke. Simone wants a color. She asks Mama, “Am I black or white?” “Boo,” Mama says, just like mamas do, “a color is just a word.” She asks Daddy, “Am I black or white?” “Well,” Daddy says, just like daddies do, “you’re a little bit of both.” For multiracial children, and all children everywhere, this picture book offers a universal message that empowers young people to create their own self-identity. Simone knows her color—she is honeysmoke. An Imprint Book "This will appeal to so many biracial kids looking for a way to embrace every part of themselves." —NBCNews.com "A terrific addition to the WeNeedDiverseBooks canon, where it joins such books as Selina Alko's I’m Your Peanut Butter Big Brother and Taye Diggs' Mixed Me!." —Booklist

Cake Mix

Cake Mix
Author: Mikki Hernandez
Publisher: Paw Prints
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-07
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9781223186429

A young mixed-race girl named Remy, encounters that intrusive question, "What are you?" during her first day at a new school, which sends her on a journey towards self-acceptance. Feeling confused about where she belongs, Remy learns about ethnicity and what it means to be mixed by doing her favorite activity with her mother: baking. When she then returns to school, Remy shares the importance and deliciousness of celebrating different backgrounds with all of her classmates.

Raising Multiracial Children

Raising Multiracial Children
Author: Farzana Nayani
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2020-03-20
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 162317449X

The essential guide to parenting multiracial and multiethnic children of all ages and learning to support and celebrate their multiracial identities In a world where people are more likely to proclaim color-blindness than talk openly about race, how can we truly value, support, and celebrate our kids' identities? How can we assess our own sense of Racial Dialogue Readiness and develop a deeper understanding of the issues facing multiracial children today? Raising Multiracial Children gives caregivers the tools for exploring race with their children, offering practical guidance on how to initiate conversations; consciously foster racial identity development; discuss issues like microaggressions, intersectionality, and privilege; and intentionally cultivate a sense of belonging. It provides an overview of key issues and current topics relevant to raising multiracial children and offers strategies and developmentally appropriate milestones from infancy through adulthood. The book ends with resources and references for further learning and exploration.

Multiracial Parents

Multiracial Parents
Author: Miri Song
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2017-11-07
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 1479840548

The views and experiences of multiracial people as parents The world’s multiracial population is considered to be one of the fastest growing of all ethnic groups. In the United States alone, it is estimated that over 20% of the population will be considered “mixed race” by 2050. Public figures—such as former President Barack Obama and Hollywood actress Ruth Negga—further highlight the highly diverse backgrounds of those classified under the umbrella term of “multiracial.” Multiracial Parents considers how mixed-race parents identify with and draw from their cultural backgrounds in raising and socializing their children. Miri Song presents a groundbreaking examination of how the meanings and practices surrounding multiracial identification are passed down through the generations. A revealing portrait of how multiracial identity is and is not transmitted to children, Multiracial Parents focuses on couples comprised of one White and one non-white minority, who were mostly “first generation mixed,” situating her findings in a trans-Atlantic framework. By drawing on detailed narratives about the parents’ children and family lives, this book explores what it means to be multiracial, and whether multiracial identity and status will matter for multiracial people’s children. Many couples suggested that their very existence (and their children’s) is a step toward breaking down boundaries about the meaning of race and that the idea of a mixed-race population is increasingly becoming normalized, despite existing concerns about racism and racial bias within and beyond various communities. A critical perspective on contemporary multiracial families, Multiracial Parents raises fundamental questions about the future significance of racial boundaries and identities.

Mixed Blessing

Mixed Blessing
Author: Marsha Cosman
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012-11-06
Genre: Individuality
ISBN: 9781480250529

Jackson's parents take him to the zoo, and while there, explain to him why his multi-racial background is special.

Generation Mixed Goes to School

Generation Mixed Goes to School
Author: Ralina L. Joseph
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2021
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0807779555

Grounded in the life experiences of children, youth, teachers, and caregivers, this book investigates how implicit bias affects multiracial kids in unforeseen ways. Drawing on critical mixed-race theory and developmental psychology, the authors employ radical listening to examine both how these children experience school and what schools can do to create more welcoming learning environments. They examine how the silencing of mixed-race experiences often creates a barrier to engaging in nuanced conversations about race and identity in the classroom, and how teachers are finding powerful ways to forge meaningful connections with their mixed-race students. This is a book written from the inside, integrating not only theory and research but also the authors’ own experiences negotiating race and racism for and with their mixed-race children. It is a timely and essential read not only because of our nation’s changing demographics, but also because of our racially hostile political climate. Book Features: Examination of the most contemporary issues that impact mixed-race children and youth, including the racialized violence with which our country is now reckoning.Guided exercises with relevant, action-oriented information for educators, parents, and caregivers in every chapter.Engaging storytelling that brings the school worlds of mixed-race children and youth to life.Interdisciplinary scholarship from social and developmental psychology, critical mixed-race studies, and education. Expansion of the typical Black/White binary to include mixed-race children from Asian American, Latinx, and Native American backgrounds.

Beyond Black

Beyond Black
Author: Kerry Rockquemore
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2008
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9780742560550

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.

Half and Half

Half and Half
Author: Claudine C. O'Hearn
Publisher: Pantheon
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2008-12-10
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0307485765

As we approach the twenty-first century, biracialism and biculturalism are becoming increasingly common. Skin color and place of birth are no longer reliable signifiers of one's identity or origin. Simple questions like What are you? and Where are you from? aren't answered--they are discussed. How do you measure someone's race or culture? Half this, quarter that, born here, raised there. What name do you give that? These eighteen essays, joined by a shared sense of duality, address both the difficulties of not fitting into and the benefits of being part of two worlds. Danzy Senna parodies the media's fascination with biracials in a futuristic piece about the mulatto millennium. Garrett Hongo writes about watching his mixed-race children play in a sea of blond hair and white faces, realizing that suburban Oregon might swallow up their unique racial identity. Francisco Goldman shares his frustration with having constantly to explain himself in terms of his Latino and Jewish roots. Malcolm Gladwell understands that being biracial frees him from racial discrimination but also holds him hostage to questions of racial difference. For Indira Ganesan, India and its memory are evoked by the aromas of foods. Through the lens of personal experience, these essays offer a broader spectrum of meaning for race and culture. And in the process, they map a new ethnic terrain that transcends racial and cultural division.