My interest in multiracial studies began through an appreciation for my own biracial background. My mother was Irish-American, and my father is African-American. Growing up, it was troublesome for me to be labeled and categorized as "Black". I had always been close to both parents, so to deny the existence of my mother on a piece of paper by saying that I was "Black" seemed wrong. The racial label I was forced to adopt was simply incomplete. To me, I was not only Black, I was both Black and White.

As I grew older, I faced more and more opposition regarding my choice to assert my biracial heritage. It seemed ridiculous to me that other people continued to have such a difficult time with my identity. I have been fortunate to have family members that were educated enough to allow me to express myself as a combination of two ethnicities. However, the fact still remained that the minute I walked outside of my home and into the "real world", how I viewed myself wouldn't matter. I began to understand that society was administering a "one-drop" rule concerning my mixed identity, and I was to do nothing but sit back and accept it.

Instead, I took the opportunity in college to explore the history of the term "race" in the United States, both from biological and sociological perspectives. I wanted to understand why a biracial individual like myself could not, and had not, been able to assert a mixed identity in this country. I wanted to know what "race" really meant, and why I was forced into a category that disallowed my affiliation with any sort of a white parentage. By engaging in this study of racial formation, I began to learn that by separating groups of people on the basis of race, it became easier for the "majority" to dominate each individual "minority" group.

I have come to find that two primary strategies have been implemented over the course of history in order to keep the races separated from each other...the creation of a negative mythology about people of color and their ancestors, using biological, sociocultural and sociopolitical arguments; and the denial of the existence of a mixed race individual altogether. But when dealing with the study of race, I think it is most important to analyze the dynamics of the discourse by studying primarily those individuals that are affected by the discourse, and who composes it. Often times, studies begin to reveal the existence of preconceived racist notions that function by empowering one racial group over another.

The bottom line is that there is no one single definition of race that will fully embody both scientific and cultural disciplines, the reason being that the dynamics behind what the term "race" is supposed to represent is far too complex. I have found that it is more important to uncover why the system of categorizing individuals on the basis of race is consistently forcing biracial individuals to choose one race over another. With the growing and expanding mixed-race population in the U.S., it becomes critical to address issues of identity constructions as these elements will continue to play large roles in the appropriations of government funding, civil rights reformations, and medical care for most mixed-race people.

I was fortunate enough to attend the 1999 Pan-Collegiate Conference on the Mixed-Race Experience held at Wesleyan University this last February. I was moved by one of the statements made by one of the conference coordinators asserting that if we didn't speak out about our history and the multiracial community, someone else would do it for us. All too often this has occurred with regards to our community. Sadly, I have read more literature regarding the confusion and marginalization of mixed-race people, as opposed to the strengths and stronger cultural and political awareness that many people of mixed racial descent have to offer. I realized at the conference that there are so many strong individuals growing in their awareness of the multiracial movement (myself included). But the question we must ask ourselves now is-

Where do we go from here?

For myself, and I hope for others as well, learning about the discrimination and oppression people of mixed-racial descent have encountered throughout history simply isn't enough. Those of us that have had the opportunity to learn about what it means to be biracial or multiracial in this country have an obligation to those individuals that have been denied the same education. Why not start with our schools? Let us take our knowledge acquired from those that came before us in the study of people of mixed-racial descent back to the classroom. We would greatly benefit the multiracial community by acquiring the necessary methods used by teachers to implement their understanding of cultural diversity within the educational system. It is crucial to study the various ways our educational system implements a "multicultural" curriculum within its schools and how multiracial children are evaluated when devising various strategies to promote cultural understanding.

Looking back, I realize my struggles to assert my biracial identity first began in grade school. Not only were application and enrollment forms failing to accommodate my biracial heritage, the classroom and its the celebration of fixed racial identities (i.e. Black, Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, Native American ) through so-called "multicultural" projects and celebrations, only further isolated me from my classmates:

Didn't I matter?
Wasn't I important enough to appreciate?
Why did other students get to learn and share their cultural background, when I couldn't learn and share about mine?
Was their race more important?

Each and every one of us has a responsibility to teach others about the true history of "race" relations in the U.S. which includes people of mixed-racial descent in its discourse. Whether it's in a classroom, within community service, or via the internet, we all have a history that deserves recognition. The importance of understanding racial formation and dominance and the ways in which these factors have affected our society, is the key to not only our past and present, but the foundation for building a sound future.

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