The largest west coast Loving Day celebration kicks off the 2nd
Annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival on June 12, 2009.
The Festival celebrates storytelling of the 'Mixed Racial
and Cultural Experience' and brings together innovative
artists, film and book lovers, and families for two days
of writing and film workshops, readings, film screenings,
a special family event and live performance
by talented comedians, musicians and actors.
All events are free and open to the public.
For schedule information visit www.mxroots.org

WE ARE CURRENTLY ACCEPTING FILM, LITERARY,
WORKSHOP, VENDOR TABLE AND EVENT SUBMISSIONS.

For more information, visit:  www(dot)mxroots(dot)org

Thank you,

Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival
www(dot)mxroots(dot)org
mxrootsfest(at)gmail(dot)com

Happy Valentine's Day (the second most "loving" day of the year) - from all of
the volunteers at Loving Day! If you've got a significant other, we hope you're
celebrating all that's unique and wonderful about each other.

If you're looking to meet someone (as many of us are), just think of how many
different cultures and ethnicities there are in the world - including yours.
Then, think of how many of those people could be right for you. That's a lot of
fish in the sea. Just stay open to the
unexpected today - you never know! And if that doesn't work out, Loving Day
Celebrations just happen to be a great place to meet new people, too. Host your
own this year, or attend one of ours:

http://www.lovingday.org/holiday.htm

We want everyone to know about a great
Multiracial Conference happening at
Harvard University during the end of February.

It's being organized by Harvard Hapa
and Swirl Boston, and there will
be a lot of great speakers.

Loving Day is proud to promote this event.

The conference is FREE - but please
RSVP with the link below so they
know how many people to expect:

http://hapa.eventbrite.com/

The program is below. See you there!

------------------------------------------

So ... what are you, anyway?

Harvard University
Boylston Hall
2/28/09

Program of Events:

11:00am

Opening Remarks
Harvard HAPA, SwirlBoston
Fong Auditorium

Asian Americans and Acceptance/
Exclusion of Multiracial Asians

Professor Karen Suyemoto
Fong Auditorium (UMass, Boston)

12:00pm

Let's Rap: Politickin' on
Blasian Identities in Hip-Hop

John Tawa
Fong Auditorium

1:00pm

Lunch
Ticknor Lounge

2:00pm

Discussion Group:

Says Who?
Empowering Biracial/
Multiracial Women Identities

Lindsey West
Ticknor Lounge

Multiracial College Students and Organizations

Professor Sam Museus (UMass Boston)
Fong Auditorium

3:00pm

The Multiracial Movement

Professor Kimberly McClain DaCosta (Harvard)
Fong Auditorium

4:00pm

Panel: Multiracial Experiences

Professors Peter Kiang and Ping-Ann Addo
(UMass Boston), Pete Shungu Fong Auditorium

5:00pm

Live Music

(Pete Shungu)Afro DZ Ak and Adam Payne
Fong Auditorium

5:30pm

Closing Remarks

Harvard HAPA, SwirlBoston
Fong Auditorium

9:00pm

Afterparty (college ID required)
Pforzheimer House Belltower (we'll help!)

Directions:

Boylston hall is the big gray
building located just inside
Harvard Yard off of Mass Ave.
Use Boylston gate (across Mass. Ave
from Yenching restaurant) or Widener
gate (across Mass. Ave from Q-doba).
Boylston hall is the building with
cobblestones, tables and chairs outside.

Named "Best solo show" by the Actor's Repertory, the play MIXED has
been described as the first truly multi-cultural portrayal of
Americans ever. Finally, here we have the narratives of those ignored
by the U.S. Census for years; those who have fallen through the cracks
of the political system; those who were once told by doctors that they
might be born "degenerate" or "deformed".  After centuries of
misunderstanding, these stories make the audience understand what it
is to belong to many cultures and, simultaneously, to none.

When:
Saturday, March 14, 2009

The show starts at 8pm, and will be followed by a Q&A with Maya
Please join us afterward for drinks with the artist at Stone Creek Lounge

Where:
Baruch Performing Arts Center
Engelman Recital Hall
25th St. (bet. 3rd and Lexington Aves.)

Stone Creek Lounge
140 E 27th St (bet. 3rd and Lexington Aves.)

Tickets:
We have group rate tickets for only $13 (usually $25).

Click the link below to buy:
http://lovingday.bigcartel.com/

PLEASE NOTE:
You must purchase by Wednesday, March 11th 2009 for this special group
rate!

Tickets purchased online will be waiting for you at the venue.

Loving Day and the NY Mixed Race/Hapa Meetup are proud to be
co-promoting this event.
http://www.lovingday.org
http://biracial.meetup.com/23/

To learn more about the show, check out the following links:
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/bpac/
http://www.mayalilly.com

Group rate tickets for only $13 (usually $25).

Visit the link below to buy:
http://lovingday.bigcartel.com/

"Best solo show" by the Actor's Repertory,
the play MIXED has been described as the first
truly multi-cultural portrayal of Americans ever.

Finally, here we have the narratives of those
ignored by the U.S. Census for years and who have
fallen through the cracks of the political system.

These stories make the audience understand
what it is to 'be a part of' many cultures
and, simultaneously, to 'belong to' none.

When:
Saturday, March 14, 2009

The show starts at 8pm, and will be
followed by a Q&A with Maya Lilly.
Please join us afterward for drinks
with the artist at Stone Creek Lounge;

Where:
Baruch Performing Arts Center
Engelman Recital Hall
25th St. (bet. 3rd and Lexington Aves.)

Stone Creek Lounge
140 E 27th St (bet. 3rd and Lexington Aves.)

Tickets:
We have group rate tickets
for only $13 (usually $25).

Visit the link below to buy:
http://lovingday.bigcartel.com/

PLEASE NOTE:
You must purchase by Wednesday, March
11th 2009 for this special group rate!

Tickets purchased online will
be waiting for you at the venue.

Loving Day and the NY Mixed Race/Hapa Meetup
are proud to be co-promoting this event.

http://www.lovingday.org
http://biracial.meetup.com/23/

To learn more about the show,
check out the following links:

http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/bpac/
http://www.mayalilly.com

Hi All,

I've been writing a lot about my family's mixed heritage and my process with it
on my blog 'not native fruit,' and now I'm writing some profiles on people of
mixed ancestry.  My first entry is on Sidney Poitier, who is from the Bahamas. 
His parents' photographs reveal French ancestry although they are very dark
complected.  I included Sidney Poitier because he had a very unusual attitude
towards 'race' - he thinks it is inconsequential to humanity except insofar as
we assign it meaning and significance.  He is relatively free of the poison.  So
I found him interesting to read about and I wrote a little something about him.

My next subject will be Martin Luther King Jr.  Not sure who will follow him.

Just thought some of you might like to check it out.  ~ Kasturi

We're pleased to announce LovingDay.org 2.0,
where you can easily list your Loving Day
Celebration and share your stories instantly!

Just log in or register (it's quick and free),
and share with the global Loving Day community.

Here are some highlights:

* List your Loving Day Celebration (public
or private) and add photos afterwards.
http://www.lovingday.org/list-your-celebration

* Share your story as a multi-ethnic /multi-racial/
multi-cultural individual or inter-racial couple.
http://www.lovingday.org/share

* Find upcoming Loving Day Celebrations,
and check out past Celebrations.
http://www.lovingday.org/find-a-celebration

We've kept all the great resources from the original
site, but with updates and improvements to every page.
Come check it out!
http://www.lovingday.org

Don't forget - Loving Day is only four weeks away!

It's fun and easy to host your own Celebration
of any size with our free Celebration Kit:
http://www.lovingday.org/host-a-celebration

You can also attend a Loving Day Celebration, including the
Flagship Celebration in New York City on Sunday, June 7th.
http://www.lovingday.org/find-a-celebration

We'll keep you posted as new celebrations and
stories come rolling in - including yours!

We're looking forward to sharing Loving Day with you.

Sincerely, the Loving Day Volunteers

Loving Day proudly presents the 6th annual
LOVING DAY FLAGSHIP CELEBRATION
in New York City

FREE BBQ: all day long
GET IN FREE: rain or shine
MULTICULTURAL: family friendly

Sunday, June 7th from 3-7pm at Solar 1
East River at 23rd St. in Manhattan

Come celebrate the anniversary of
Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court case
that legalized interracial marriage in the US.

Directions:

SUBWAY: 6 train to 23rd, then M23 bus or walk e. past Ave C & FDR.
Look for Gulf gas station. Or, L train to 1st Ave: walk N. to 23rd

BY CAR: from south, FDR to 20-23 St. exit. Right on Ave C, right
on 23rd almost to Gulf gas station, then service road to Solar 1

RSVP YOUR SPOT: lovingdayparty@...
LEARN MORE ONLINE: http://www.lovingday.org

Brian Stokes-Mitchell

 
Actor Brian Stokes Mitchel and his wife Allyson.

Brian Stokes Mitchell says [that] his [African-American]
'Ethnicity' has been a Mixed -Blessing for him as an actor.
He has won a variety of roles in part due to his looks,
but sometimes because of those looks, directors
and producers "don't know what to do with me."

Since his father was a civilian electronics engineer working
for the Navy, his family traveled throughout the Far East,
living for several years in the Philippines and Guam.

At age 14, Mitchell's family moved to San Diego
where he began appearing in plays in high school. 
He began his studies at the San Diego Junior Theatre and performed
at the San Diego Civic Light Opera and the Old Globe Theatre. 
It was the Twelfth Night Repertory Company, an Emmy-Award winning,
multicultural improvisational group, which brought Stokes to Los Angeles in 1977.

Stokes' television career took off with a memorable role on the
critically acclaimed series, "Roots: The Next Generations" -- 
as well as his seven year stint on "Trapper John, MD."

Additional television credits include recurring roles on
"Crossing Jordan" and "Frasier," PBS' "Great Performances,"
DreamWorks' "The Prince of Egypt," and his "Presidential
Debut" in "The Singer and the Song" from the White House.

Numerous film and TV appearances more recently include
"One Last Thing" which debuted at this year's Toronto Film Festival,

Dubbed "The Last Leading Man" by the New York Times,
Brian Stokes Mitchell has enjoyed a rich and varied career
on Broadway, television and film, along with
appearances in the great American concert halls.

His musical versatility has kept him in demand by
some of the country's finest conductors and orchestras.

He has performed selections  with the San Francisco Symphony at Carnegie Hall;
Performed works by Aaron Copland and various contemporary composers with the L.A.
Philharmonic under the batons of Leonard Slatkin and John Mauceri; Broadway tunes at
Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC under the baton of Marvin Hamlisch
(most recently at the National Symphony Orchestra's 75th season Pops concert debut),
and Jazz and standards with Maestro John Williams at Disney Hall and with the Boston Pops.
He reprised his Tanglewood performance in John Williams' Jazz
version of "My Fair Lady" at Disney Hall singing with Dianne Reeves.
His Broadway career include performances in "Man of La Mancha" (Tony nomination and
Helen Hayes Award); "Kiss Me Kate" (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards);
"Ragtime" (Tony nomination); August Wilson's "King Hedley II" (Tony nomination); 
"Jelly's Last Jam;" David Merrick's "Oh, Kay!" and "Mail," which  earned
him a Theatre World award for outstanding Broadway Debut.
At Encores he has starred in "Do, Re, Mi" and "Carnival"
and this upcoming season will star in "Kismet."

In 2005 he made his cabaret debut as both singer and musical arranger in
New York at Feinstein's at the Regency in his critically acclaimed one-man show
"Love/Life" which then moved to the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. 

Since then he has headlined the Carnegie Hall concert presentation of Rodgers and
Hammerstein's "South Pacific" with Reba McEntire (scheduled to air on PBS in 2006).

In 1998 he joined the likes of Helen Hayes, Sir John Gielgud,
Alec Guinness and James Earl Jones when he became the
sole recipient of that year's Distinguished Performance
Award from the Drama League, the nation's oldest
theatrical honor, for his performance in "Ragtime."

He also won a Tony award for his starring performance in in a revival
of Cole Porter's musical Kiss Me Kate! in it's first Broadway revival.

Jayne (Kennedy) Overton:
 
Actress, Talk Show Hostess, Model and one
of the very first women Sports Broadcasters

While yet still in high school, Jayne (Harrison) was the
very first person of the African-American Ethnic grouping to
win the Miss Ohio crown in the Miss USA / Universe Pageant. 

As one of the first female sports broadcasters,
she destroyed the myth that women couldn't
make it in the world of sports broadcasting,
blasting the doors wide open for
women in sports beyond competition.

Rhonda Windham, former General Manager of the Los
Angeles Sparks, credits Jayne for her success and says,
"The WNBA owes a debt of gratitude to Jayne Kennedy. 

She is also the only female to ever work ringside as a
TV color commentator for men's professional boxing
through her work with Muhammad Ali Professional Sports.

But breaking ground is nothing new for Jayne.

There seemed to always be a hurdle on the track as she raced
through a career that brought her acclaim as an actress,
broadcaster, TV personality, producer, exercise guru,
talk show host, model, singer, dancer, infomercial host,
lecturer, product spokeswoman, and now author of her
soon to be released autobiography, 'Plain -Jayne'.

Jayne's honors and awards are numerous:
an EMMY Award for her 1981 Rose Parade coverage,
an EMMY nomination for her Speak Up America show
NAACP IMAGE Award, a CEBA Award for her work in the
television commercial industry, a NAACP THEATRE Award
for "Best Producer" for her staged musical production of
'The Journey of the African American', chronicling 400
years of African-American history in song and dance, and
a Black Achievers Award as an African-American role model. 



Jayne was also recently named an Honorary Board Member of the
Didi Hirsh Foundation's 'Erasing-The-Stigma Awards' and the A.C.E.
Ambassador (Arts, Culture & Entertainment) for the City of Los
Angeles' Cultural Affairs Department where she is working to bridge
the gap between the entertainment industry and the LA community.

She has become a founding board member
of the WonderVision Foundation.

Created by Stevie Wonder; its goal is to
systematically eradicate blindness worldwide
through preventative, assistive, and therapeutic means.

Despite the achievements of her career, Jayne says her most
fulfilling role is that of "Mom" (to daughters Cheyenne (24),
Savannah (20), Kopper (17), and Zaire (11), and "Wife" (to her
actor/producer/author/entrepreneur husband, Bill Overton.)

Both Bill and Jayne are totally committed to raising "good, smart kids."

In fact, because she promised herself years ago that she
would be there for her kids, Jayne had spent the last 10
years at home being a full time wife and mom; without
a doubt, she says, the hardest work she's ever done!

It is because of her genuine commitment to a better
world for all our kids, Jayne worked 17 years for
'The Children's Miracle Network' where she helped
to raise over a billion and a half dollars for 165
children's hospitals throughout the United States.

Now that baby Zaire is a baby no more, Jayne is
ready to return to the professional fast track.

She is staging her comeback through the development
of a one-hour prime time TV drama, a half-hour
animated children's TV series, writing a collection
of children's books, starring in her first dramatic
on-stage appearance in an award winning play, 
assisting her husband in marketing his book &
exhibit collection of 19th Century prints entitled
'The Media: Shaping The Image Of A People',
serving as Creative Consultant for 'Backstreet
Art Galleries', producing an annual Multi-Cultural
Faire for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School
District and sits on the board of their 'African-American  
Parent Student Staff Support Group' and the 'SMMUSD
Site Governance' committee, as well as bringing city
youth on retreat through the non-profit Visionary Farm.

On June 12th, 1967, Richard and Mildred Loving won their
nine year legal battle and the Supreme Court granted
them the right to be married in the state of Virginia.
This victory also legalized interracial relationships
nationwide, overturning hundreds of years of racist laws.

However, racism is not dead.
There is still racial prejudice in our daily lives.
Loving Day is a great way to fight this prejudice
through education, and to build multicultural community.

Join others all over the world in celebrating Loving Day.

Here are some things you can do:

Host a celebration of any size for friends or family:
http://lovingday.org/host-a-celebration

Find a celebration to attend:
http://lovingday.org/find-a-celebration

Spread the word about Loving Day:
http://lovingday.org/spread-the-word

On behalf of all of the volunteers at the Loving
Day Project, we wish you a happy Loving Day!

I have received at least a few invitations to join Grouply from people's names
who claim to be a part of this group. I have realized our posts are public in
here, as opposed to some other groups that are private except to members, in
other words, our posts can be seen on internet searches, so I realize that it's
possible that not one of these people that claim they are a part of this group
are for real. Anyway, I really am not interested in Grouply.

I just want to say if anyone in this group is interested in communicating or
being a part of any internet community with me, please email me directly &
communicate. I mean no unfriendliness by refusing invitations to grouply, but
they don't give me any of the initiators' email addresses either.

BePeace

AMEN !!!  AMEN !!!  AMEN !!!

Even as a Moderator - here and at other groups -- I
have received so many of these so-called "Grouply"
"Invitations" that I actually had to write to that
company directly to request that my name be
removed from their list PERMANENTLY!!

This "Grouply" thing is a TOTAL PAIN and
if you find yourself accidentally 'enrolled'
somehow or another you are flooded with
their so-called "updates" and it almost feels
like they are 'stalking' your email account.

Like 'La_Cayena' -- my advice is that EVERY MEMBER
HERE SHOULD REJECT ANY INVITATION SENT TO
THEM FROM GROUPLY OR A GROUPLY "MEMBER" !!

Thanks so much for your posting 'La_Cayena' -- it is
of a tremendous help for this and other online groups!!! :D

And for other members - please note that MGM-Mixed DOES
NOT IN ANY WAY SUPPORT THIS "GROUPLY" SYSTEM !!!

Thanks again 'La_Cayena'  -- and have a great day !!!


In MGM-Mixed@yahoogroups.com,
"Your Highness The Queen" <la_cayena@...> wrote:



I have received at least a few invitations to join Grouply from people's names
who claim to be a part of this group. I have realized our posts are public in
here, as opposed to some other groups that are private except to members, in
other words, our posts can be seen on internet searches, so I realize that it's
possible that not one of these people that claim they are a part of this group
are for real. Anyway, I really am not interested in Grouply.

I just want to say if anyone in this group is interested in communicating or
being a part of any internet community with me, please email me directly &
communicate. I mean no unfriendliness by refusing invitations to grouply, but
they don't give me any of the initiators' email addresses either.

BePeace

Hi All,

I'm a multiethnic doctoral student investigating the effects of multiethnicity
(identifying as more than ethnicity) on perceived ethnic discrimination (feeling
as if one has been ethnically discriminated against). Questionnaires for the
study are currently online in English and Spanish, and may be taken anonymously
by any adult. If you or any adult you know would like to participate in this
endeavor, feel free to access and/or forward the study links below. Thank you
for reading!

Respectfully,

James Eron Taylor

A brief description of the study and questionnaires are located in the following
links:

English Version

http://alliant.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_b90f4ix6NoU6t2A&SVID=Prod


Spanish Version

http://alliant.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_3luZgrqNIOpfdNW&SVID=Prod

This was an incredible year for Loving Day Celebrations!  There were over 30
celebrations held across the US and as far away as Barcelona and Tokyo.  The
size and style of the celebrations varied from family potluck lunches to outdoor
concerts, and a film and literary festival.  Every celebration helps to build
multicultural community and fight racial prejudice through education.

The Loving Day Flagship Celebration brought together people of different
cultural backgrounds and ages.  The gathering created a fun, warm and open vibe.
Over 1,100 people came to enjoy free barbecue, Asahi beer, and dance to good
music spun by DJ Tyler Askew and DJ Dhundee.  The event was under a big tent
overlooking the East River and it was all powered by solar energy.

Thank you to everyone who posted their celebrations on our site
http://lovingday.org/past-celebrations!  Remember to post photos and recaps of
your celebrations on the website.  If you haven't posted a past celebration,
it's never too late to add it to the list.  Without you, there'd be no Loving
Day!  Your efforts and energy are building a Loving Day tradition.  We look
forward to celebrating Loving Day next year with you.  Make sure to visit
http://lovingday.org for updates and upcoming events.  Until then, make every
day Loving Day!

Hello Everyone..

I am HONORED to be a part of this group.

I am light enough to pass for white and I am here to tell you that being
White is NOT all that it's cracked up to be (i.e., the grass is greener)..

Much of America's race problem has to do w/"The Problem of the Other";
that is, people SO dissatisfied w/themselves that they scapegoat the Other so as
to lessen their racialized human suffering.

Yes, we CAN blame Whites AND Blacks for the atrocities of America's sordid past;
but, when it's all said in done, Michael Jackson was RIGHT:

LOVE,

The WoMan In The Mirror:

On Sep 6, 2009, Stephanie Young <syoung4576@...> wrote:

.

A Tribute to Anthropologist / Choreographer 
Advisor / Professor - Katherine Dunham 

Katherine Dunham -- world famous choreographer, dance artist,
and anthropologist -- was the pioneering dancer, choreographer, 
professor, advisor, author and civil rights activist who chose to 
leave her Broadway career in order to enter the field of teaching.

   

In 1959, Dunham wrote an autobiography 
entitled "A Touch Of Innocence".

In her autobiography she took note of her various 
experiences as the artistically talented daughter 
of an African father and a White western mother
(who's lineage also included that of Amerindian).

Dunham was perhaps best known for bringing African and 
Caribbean influences to the European-dominated dance world. 

In the late 1930s, she established the nation's very first
self-supporting modern dance group that was composed
entirely of artists who were of full or any part-Black lineage.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dunham received her Bachelor's, 
Master's, and Doctoral degrees in Anthropology from 
the University of Chicago and she later did extensive 
anthropological study, particularly in the Caribbean. 

She also choreographed for, and performed 
in, motion pictures and Broadway musicals.

She became the first [choreographer of any 
known or visible part-Black lineage] to work 
at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

In 1940 she formed a highly acclaimed dance troupe 
-- that was composed entirely of artists who were 
of either full or any part-Black lineage and /
or parentage -- which toured her works
within the United States and in Europe.

Dunham opened the Dunham School of Dance in 
New York City, which trained dancers in classical 
ballet, African and Caribbean dance forms, 
anthropology, and other cultural arts.

She [later also] acted as [the] technical 
cultural advisor to [both] the president and 
the minister of cultural affairs of Senegal. 

In the 1970s Dunham went to Southern
Illinois University [initially] as an artist in
residence and later became a professor. 

The following is a review of "A Touch of Innocence":

A Touch of Innocence: A Memoir  -- by Katherine Dunham

"Long before terms like "multiculturalism" and "world music" came 
into vogue, dancer, choreographer, and University of Chicago-trained 
anthropologist Katherine Dunham traveled to Africa, the West Indies, 
and South America, chronicling the spread of Africa-derived dance 
traditions and creating a multitude of critically acclaimed revues…

But Dunham's autobiography, written in the late 1950s …  is bittersweet. 

She was born on June 22, 1909, in Joliet, Illinois, the daughter of a 
West African-Malagasy father and … mother of French-Canadian-
Native American heritage who died when Dunham was an infant. 

'A Touch of Innocence' chronicles the first 18 years of Dunham's life: 
her upbringing with her brother, Albert Jr., in the white suburb of Glen Ellyn; 
the antagonism of her domineering father; and the experience of being 
raised by aunts in Chicago while her dad worked as a traveling salesman. 

From this piercing work, the world-famous dance icon emerges 
with the all-embracing allure of the everyday aristocracy…"

  --Eugene Holley Jr.  ---  
(http://www.powells.com ) 
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0226171124/qid=1126150910/sr=1-14/ref=sr_1_14/002-9194535-6321609?v=glance&s=books

The following post is derived from 
an essay written by Mixed-Race 
Philosophy Professor, Naomi Zack.


Mixed-Race Philosophy Professor, Naomi Zack

`Mixed-Race and Public Policy'


SUMMARY:

[Naomi] Zack is a descriptive 
social constructivist about "race" 
(that is, she believes that our "racial" 
'categories' are 'invented' by culture rather 
than "discovered" – [and that] there is no 
biological basis for our conception of "races").

She is also a moral-eliminativist 
about "racial" categories .

However, she [also openly] concedes that 
society may not be ready for "Eliminativism" ^[161] 
so, as a stop-gap measure she wants to be a 
subjectivist about "racial" categories, and to 
that end, suggests expanding their number 
(in particular, to include the category "Mixed").

Arguing for 'increasing' the number of "racial" categories might 
seem odd if your ultimate goal is to get rid of all of them, but 
in fact she thinks that increasing the number undermines the 
"racial" 'categorization' system … and so will lead to its demise.

In essence, she is morally opposed to "racial" categories 
because they were invented to "justify slavery" and are 
thus not only `descriptively-invalid' (because lacking 
any biological basis) but unjust by their very nature.

The One-Drop Rule ^[157]

It is assumed that one can be [one "race" 
or another] but not [a combination].

But how do we square this with the fact 
that a vast number of people in America, in 
particular, have ancestors of [various] "races"?  

One possible answer: you are 
whatever "race" you 'appear' to be.

BUT, is that our culture's answer?  

NO.

Two examples showing that it isn't:

By the 'appearance'- standard, Michael 
Jackson's "race" would have changed.

But has it?

By the "appearance" standard, it would be possible to have 
two siblings who share both parents to have two different 
races (if one is particularly dark and the other isn't).

But is it?

Our culture's [racist] answer (to the question of how to categorize 
people of Mixed-Ancestry given that [a racist society does not] allow 
people to be [labeled in a way that's inclusive of their full-lineage): 
The [racistly-enforced and scientifically-invalid] "One Drop" Rule.

That is, [the racist concept wherein it is declared that the 
presence of] one [singular, known, visible, admitted or 
discovered] mono-racially `Black' ancestor trumps 
any other races and makes you "black" [categorized].

By contrast, to be `White' [categorized] 
you have to have ALL white ancestors.

[However: given the history of Racial-Mixing [in the United 
States – and even elsewhere], it is HIGHLY probable that 
huge numbers of self-described `White' people, [actually] 
in fact, [do] have at least one mono-racially `Black' ancestor.

If they discover this, do they discover that their race has changed?]

The Biology of Race ^[158]

Definition of race according 
to biological anthropologists:
a population that has more of some 
physical traits than other populations.

There have probably never been pure races because:
racial populations have not been isolated from other racial 
populations [so-called] social taboos against interbreeding 
have never been completely effective … [thus] … which 
`physical traits' are "racial" is determined by "culture" 
not `biology' – "race is what cultures take it to be" ^[158]

Contrast with sex: majority of people are 
XX or XY and each correlates to one sex.

If instead, some men were XX and some women were 
XY, we would deny that chromosomes track sex.

That's the situation for race: 
no gene or chromosome has been found 
that tracks "race" as we understand it.

Stronger point: it is impossible that one will ever be 
found if [the social-construct of] race continues to be 
determined by The [racist] One Drop Rule, because 

"The presence of a [mono-racially] `Black' ancestor does 
not ensure the presence of any of the genes of that 
ancestor … beyond the second generation" [138] 
because each person only gets half their genes from each parent, 
and as only some physical traits count as "racial" it is entirely 
possible that they will not get the `Black' genes from a grandparent.

[Note: Zack does not believe that there are "racial genes", [and 
although] she talks about them –she means … that if there were a 
racial gene it would be for a `physical trait' associated with "race".]

Of course Du Bois and many others have argued that no individual 
physical trait could be racial, because you can never find a trait 
that is possessed by all and only members of a particular "race".

As Zack says: "the designation of these traits as "racial" is 
a purely `cultural construction' " and it used to be thought 
that [perceived] "cultural differences among "racially"-
designated groups were physically inherited" ^[159].

[The History of the racist One-Drop 
Rule in the United States ofAmerica] ^[159]

It is usually assumed that [various mono-racially `Black'] 
Africans were enslaved because there was a prior-existing 
concept of the "superiority" of the `White' "race", and an 
assumption that mono-racial `Blacks' were "not fully human" 
and that, while enslaving [mono-racial] `Whites' would 
have been wrong, enslaving [mono-racial] `Blacks' was not.

In other words, the assumption was that the 'concept' 
of "race" came first -- and [then] `slavery' followed.

Not so, says Zack.

In fact, in reality it was the reverse:

FIRST (i.e., from the time of the first settlers): 
African prisoners [were] made [into] slaves (along 
with certain Europeans and Native Americans)

SECOND (following [the] "Enlightenment" 
political ideas of a human birthright of freedom): 
[The mono-racial `Black'] Africans 
were defined as a "race" of "Negroes"

That is, the `concept' of a "race" is comparatively 
novel, and -- in fact -- more recent than slavery.

So, we have a circular justification of slavery: 
[The mono-racially `Black'] "Negroes" [were] enslaved because 
they [were now being "perceived" as being] a different "race", 
BUT they [were now] only [being "perceived" as being] a 
different race in the first place [simply] because they
were `enslaved' [prior to that new "perception"].

The Next Stage:

The "One-Drop" rule was [created simply] to ensure 
that the children, [of those female slaves who were of 
any part-Black ancestry] would [then also] be enslaved.

This [racist and socially–enforced construct then allowed the horrific] 
"breeding" of slaves by [encouraging `White' plantation owners and 
overseers to forcibly rape, and otherwise sexually-assault and exploit 
those slave women who were of any part mono-racial `Black' ancestry 
(and who, obviously, were powerless to do anything about it – other than 
attempt to `escape to freedom' – which, due to continual rape-conceived 
pregnancies, etc., they were very rarely even able to attempt do and survive].

[The practice of the `White' plantation owners and overseers 
forcibly raping the slave women who were of any part-`Black' 
lineage was] particularly common after the 1830s when `importing' 
[directly from the African continent] slaves became illegal 
[on paper] (in 1808 – but 'ownership' of slaves was still legal)
[and] the invention of the cotton gin meant [the construct 
of `chattel-slavery' had become a rather lucrative business].

[[[Added Note on the sexual assaults on and exploitation of chattel 
slave women who were of any part mono-racially- `Black' ancestry:

The usual age that the slave "women" were chosen, by 
`White' plantation owners and overseers --  for being 
sexually assaulted and exploited was around 12 years old.

This was common in `all' levels of `White' socio-economic divisions – 
including `White' men who were very rich and of a high social status.

For example, Sally Hemings was a mere 12 years old 
when Thomas Jefferson began to `eye' her and decided 
to select her for his decades-long sexual exploitation.

Hemings was actually of only 1/4 mono-racial `Black' lineage (then 
referred to as being a `quadroon'); was also ctually the half-sister of 
Jefferson's deceased wife (to whom she was handed over as a slave --  
as part of a `wedding gift' from Jefferson's father-in-law); and was 
said to essentially look almost entirely like a mono-racial `White' 
woman (and eerily like Jefferson's daughters and deceased wife).

After his wife died and when Hemings was about 12 years old, 
Jefferson – in his perverted exploitation of this pre-teen child 
slave -- is said to have actually built a room off to the side of 
own his bedroom wherein he forced Hemings to "sleep" – 
AND – contrary to popular `myth' – not only did Jefferson 
*never* once even consider freeing his slave-hostage, but he 
also did *not* even once consider the idea of freeing any of the 
children that resulted from his exploitation of Hemings – but rather 
– when each turned 18 or 19 years old simply "allowed" them to `run 
away' from the chattel-slavery that he had forced them to live under.]]]

[An Added Note about the 'One-Drop Rule': 

While the state of Louisiana was] under French control [all of the] 
Mixed-Race children were [always] designated as [being] Mixed-Race.

Then --- when Louisiana came under US control -- suddenly 
these children were [re-categorized as being] "black".]

[Mixed-Race and Present 
Public Policy: In Principle] ^[161]

[[The One-Drop Rule (ODR) should have disappeared with 
chattel-slavery but it still remains a part of the U.S. public policy: 

Many `Whites' [incorrectly assume and many Mixed-Race 
Movement Advocates have made the false and unfair 
accusation] that the "blacks" `want it that way' --- the 
spurious "rationale" being "the more "blacks" – the bigger the 
voting bloc – and the greater the support for affirmative action.

This `myth' remains and is seen as `common-knowledge' -- 
despite the fact that it is well-known that the largest beneficiaries 
of affirmative action have actually been `White' women and gays) 

When interviewed, it was actually discovered that those 
very few "blacks" --- who were thought to have 
"supported" the ODR –actually "supported" it.

But rather, they had been `remaining voiceless' on the matter largely 
for the mistaken reasons of "presumed of solidarity" as well as a 
"presumed inability to have the right to choose" their own category.

This misconception seemed to largely be the result of the fact 
that certain Mixed-Race Movement Advocates – (ex. Susan 
Graham and Project RACE) -- in their rhetoric, often gave the 
false impression that the Mixed-Race Movement was concerned 
only with the re-categorization of people who were the offspring 
of parents who were part of an interracial union and place in 
two (2) separate "racial" categories (which would, of course 
leave the Mixed-Race people whose families had been so for 
`multiple generations' completely and unfairly out of the picture).

As a result, it was realized that even if many of the so-called 
"blacks" didn't actually think or even perceive of themselves 
as being solely or predominately mono-racially `Black', many, 
if not most, were being left under the impression that `they', 
yet again, would still would not be given much of `any' choice 
in how they would be `categorized' by the government offices.]]]

Nonetheless, many individuals of [Mixed-Race lineage] … 
experience the `One-Drop Rule' not only as racist in itself, 
against them [and others], but [also] as fundamentally 
supportive of the `false categories' of "race".

The whole idea of "race" requires an assumption of a population 
stable in certain physical characteristics, which will "breed true".

That is, the idea of "race" rests on fantasies of "racial purity".^[161]

Now, although Zack believes there are no races, 
she [feels] that even if we suppose there are, the 
status of "Mixed" individuals raises a question: … 

Identifying one's race is, says Zack, an "existential process".

What happens is that a person "chooses" a racial `identity' 
after they have learned how others "identify" them.

A person of `Mixed' "race" "invents her racial identity at 
the same time that she tells herself she is discovering it":

This is an existential point.

The person of `Mixed' "race" is as entitled to this existential 
process, with its self-defining illusion of `invention' masquerading 
as "discover", as is the person of "presumptively pure" race.
… she has a right to be [`categorized' as being] `Mixed' "race" 
rather than [one mono-racial `category' or another] .^[162]

This is an odd passage to unravel, first because she seems to say first 
that it is not really a choice because it is 'imposed' from outside, 
and then she says that it is `invention' perceived as `discovery'.

Perhaps the latter is the case because [biologically] "races" 
don't really exist, so there's nothing really to `discover'.

[[[Mills would agree that there are no "real" races to discover, 
but would argue that there are `constructed' "races" to 
"discover", and these are not `invented' by individuals).

Another strange thing is that she seems to [want to falsely] 
imply that Mixed-Race people are "missing out" on 
choosing `a' race, when it would seem that they of all 
people get to choose (if they are ambiguous enough).

A truly dark [mono-racial] Black person cannot choose to be [of 
the mono-racial] `White' [`category'], nor can a blond blue-eyed 
person choose to be [of the mono-racial] `Black' [`category'].

But what she seems to be arguing is that the Mixed-Race person 
"loses out" `because' she cannot choose to have the race "Mixed".

(But if that person really buys `The One-Drop Rule', 
as presumable the "pure" race people `must', 
then why wouldn't that person automatically self-identify 
as [mono-racial], and not even think of herself as "mixed"?)

Would a `Mixed-Race' category hurt [the group that has 
been, for the most part, `falsely' categorized as being 
the ] "blacks, because it would sap their numbers?  

No, says Zack ^[163] because, [not only are many of them 
already truly Mixed-Race individuals themselves, but, 
a `Mixed-Race' category] would undercut the notion 
of racial purity and bring Americans closer as a result.

Zack further argues that `Mixed-Race' individuals 
have a right to self-identify as such analogous 
to national rights of self-determination.

Also that this follows from the idea that all individuals 
should have the same rights regardless of race …

A better case is that the UN charter stipulates that no 
one "may be `compelled to belong' to an association".

Mixed-race individuals would also have a right to reject all [false]
"racial" `identification' [as well as `categorization'], just as a full 
right to freedom in religious affiliation would include the choice 
of no religious affiliation, or the choice of atheism.^[164]

[Mixed-Race and Present 
Public Policy: In Fact] ^[164]

In American culture at large, the `fiction' of "race" continues to 
`operate as fact', and in situations of backlash against Emancipatory 
Progress, the victims of racial oppression, non-Whites', are insulted 
and injured further for their progress against oppression.^[166]

[It does still remain factual that the] danger of the idea that "race is a 
fiction" spreading -- is that people will then say [as many people who 
have been categorized as being mono-racial `Whites', and who, thus, 
are recipients of the `White "Privilege" ` associated with it, quite often 
do] that we don't need Affirmative Action and "there is no racism" [the 
false rationale being that "there can't be racism if there are no races"].

In effect, Zack is distinguishing between biological 
"races" [something which scientist have repeatedly 
proven simply does not exist] and socially constructed 
`races' [a construct remains alongside that of racism]

Her denial of the former doesn't mean 
that the latter don't affect people's lives.

Naomi Zack works as a Professor of 
Philosophy at the University of Oregon. 
Naomi's analyses are informed by her 
own experience as a person of Mixed-Race 
('Black', 'Amerindian' and `White') lineage.

RELATED LINKS:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1421  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1572  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/640  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1417  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/197  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1399 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/3331  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1400  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1050  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1024 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/200  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/95  

SOURCE: http://spruce.flint.umich.edu/~simoncu/167/zack.htm