The Borders of Race: Patrolling “Multiracial” Identities. By Melinda Mills. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2017. Pp. xiii+281. $79.95.

Abstract Germany is considered a relatively recent country where multiraciality has become a recognised phenomenon. Yet, Germany still considers itself a monoracial state, one where whiteness is conflated with “Germanness”. Based on interviews with seven people who are multiracial (mostly Korean–German) in Berlin, this article explores how the participants construct their multiracial identities. My findings show that participants strategically locate their identity as diasporic to circumvent racial “othering”. They utilise diasporic resources or the “raw materials” of diasporic consciousness in order to construct their multiracial identities and challenge racism and the expectations of racial and ethnic authenticity. I explored how multiracial experiences offer a different way of thinking about the actual doing and performing of diaspora.

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Being “Other” in Berlin

Citizenship and globalisation research papers ◽

10.21153/jcgs2018vol2no1art1053 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 63-74

Author(s):

Helen Kim

Keyword(s):

Raw Materials ◽

Way Of Thinking ◽

Multiracial Identities

Germany is considered a relatively recent country where multiraciality has become a recognised phenomenon. Yet, Germany still considers itself a monoracial state, one where whiteness is conflated with “Germanness”. Based on interviews with seven people who are multiracial (mostly Korean–German) in Berlin, this article explores how the participants construct their multiracial identities. My findings show that participants strategically locate their identity as diasporic to circumvent racial “othering”. They utilise diasporic resources or the “raw materials” of diasporic consciousness in order to construct their multiracial identities and challenge racism and the expectations of racial and ethnic authenticity. I explored how multiracial experiences offer a different way of thinking about the actual doing and performing of diaspora.

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Arenas of Racial Integration: Interracial Relationships, Multiracial Families, Biracial/Multiracial Identities, Sports, and the Military

Recognizing Race and Ethnicity ◽

10.4324/9780429303968-11 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 391-430

Author(s):

Kathleen J. Fitzgerald

Keyword(s):

Interracial Relationships ◽

Racial Integration ◽

Multiracial Families ◽

Multiracial Identities ◽

The Military

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Multiracial Identity and Racial Politics in the United States

10.1093/oso/9780190657468.001.0001 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Natalie Masuoka

Keyword(s):

Census Data ◽

The United States ◽

Personal Identification ◽

Multiracial Identity ◽

Cultural Shift ◽

Political Implications ◽

Public Opinion Surveys ◽

Identity Narratives ◽

Multiracial Identities

This book highlights a new cultural norm to racially self-identify as “multiracial” and offers evidence on the possible political implications of this racial identity. It first catalogues a cultural shift from assigning race to perceiving race as a product of personal identification by tracing events over the course of the twentieth century. Chapters then present evidence from a variety of sources including in-depth interviews, public opinion surveys and census data to understand how certain individuals embrace the agency of self-identification and choose to assert multiracial identities. An included case study on President Barack Obama shows how multiracial identity narratives can be strategically used to reduce anti-black bias among voters. The book concludes by discussing how narratives promoting multiracial identities are in direct dialogue with, rather than in replacement of, the longstanding racial order.

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