PAGE TURNER
by Abigail R. Case and Tony W. Cawthon
Who are multiracial people in higher education? How is this language used? How do people identify with it or not? These questions and many other important concerns are addressed in Multiracial Experiences in Higher Education: Contesting Knowledge, Honoring Voice, and Innovating Practice (Stylus), which significantly contributes to recognizing the intricacies of multiracial identities and experiences. For this text, the editors, Marc P. Johnston-Guerrero and Charmain L. Wijeyesinghe, define a multiracial person as “anyone who claims heritage and membership in two or more (mono)racial groups and/or identifies with Multiracial identity terms.” However, they acknowledge that multiracial is an expansive identity and caution against limiting definitions or uses. By naming and framing multiracial experiences in higher education, the editors hope to contribute to “the creation of spaces and building of community . . . toward a future where Multiracial faculty, staff, and students can all thrive in higher education.”
Part One establishes a context by highlighting the growing history of and need for research on multiracial college students and their identity development. To provide a deeper understanding of identity development, the experiences of multiracial people, and the intersection of the two, the authors suggest asking crucial and fundamental questions to inform future research and models: What is identity, where does identity develop, how does identity develop, and how is identity experienced?
It’s also important to understand that, though multiracial people may relate to each other in their shared identities, they may relate more from their similar experiences of encountering monoracism. In his 2014 doctoral dissertation, Eric Hamako defined this as “the systemic privileging of things, people, and practices that are racialized as ‘single-race’ and/or ‘racially pure’ (e.g., ‘Monoracial’) and the oppression of things, people, and practices that are racialized as being of more than one race.” One major critique of monoracism is that the demand to identify with only one racial category inhibits multiracial people’s sense of belonging, as they may feel rejected from the different communities they identify with – being seen as inauthentic or not enough of either racial identity to be in spaces meant for that community. The authors warn readers that a single, specific definition of monoracism can limit meanings and ignore transformative opportunities to dismantle white supremacy. They propose a revision of the definition as a fluid, ongoing process guided by these tenets: (a) monoracism maintains oppression of people who do not uphold monoracial norms, (b) it exists at every level, (c) it influences everyone in the U.S., (d) it is one form of many racisms that function to maintain white supremacy, (e) it contributes to and is inextricably linked with other forms of oppression, and (f) it necessitates an intersectional lens to be fully comprehended.
Part Two provides counternarratives through the lens of six authors sharing their college experiences. These stories reveal that, while there are some commonalities in multiracial identity development, students identifying as multiracial or multiethnic do not exist as a monolithic group, so assuming that they share similar identities or experiences negates nuance, intersectionality, and individuality. When on-campus organizations, clubs, communal spaces, courses, or programs are based on the expectation that people identify with monoracial categories, they overlook and isolate multiracial students, staff, and faculty. As Andrew Jolivétte remarks in Chapter 10, “Being in academia has often meant ‘fitting everywhere’ and ‘fitting nowhere’ because some colleagues and students see me as fitting across a range of monoracial categories,” thus reminding readers of the harmful restrictions imposed by monoracism on multiracial people as they navigate higher education.
Part Three showcases initiatives or programs that foster the inclusion and celebration of multiracial students. Housing professionals will be especially interested in revisions to the original Integrative Model of Multiraciality, which is now referred to as Contextualizing Multiraciality in Campus Climate. This model aims to transform the campus climate into one that is more inclusive of multiracial students, staff, and faculty. Other authors envision a supportive environment for exploring the complexities of multiracial identities, which came to fruition through a social justice retreat for students (a “Multiracial Aikido”) where participants engaged in storytelling, practiced embodiment exercises, read multiracial theories and research, shared deep conversations, and reflected on areas for personal growth. The authors suggest that anyone hoping to re-create the retreat should approach it with intentionality and adaptability to meet the changing needs of participants each time.
Art is a powerful medium that can deconstruct rigid social constructs, and it “empowers individuals and groups to provide abstract or realistic imagery to process their lived experiences, including experiences of racialization.” Addressing their observations to staff advisers of multiracial student organizations, the authors offer insightful strategies for involving students through “inclusive critical pedagogy” that accounts for a diverse student population and invites students to share counternarratives and artistic expressions in an otherwise restrictive academic environment that was not built with them in mind. Finally, they explore the history of how the field of Critical Mixed-Race Studies (CMRS) developed and describe the process of building a minor at San Francisco State University, making it the first institution to approve a degree-granting program in CMRS. Along with the tangible examples mentioned above, the authors equip readers with practical advice and considerations for implementing change at their own institutions, calling for definitive action from other leaders in higher education to bring multiraciality to the forefront.
The book concludes with a single chapter written from a multigenerational approach by three authors who represent the next generation of scholars, mid-career scholars, and senior-level scholars who demonstrate “the experiences of those who paved the way” for multiracial people in higher education. The conclusion also highlights gaps in the literature for future research on multiracial identity, such as colorism, transracial adoptees, richer diversity of multiracial people and their experiences, intersectionality, institutional diversity, community contexts, social media impacts, and pedagogical reconsiderations.
Common themes about multiracism in higher education appear throughout this volume: struggling with a sense of belonging and community, not feeling enough of one racial identity to show up in spaces meant for that racial group, identifying in monoracial versus multiracial terms, and enduring conflict between the perceptions of identity dictated by others and one’s self-identification. These experiences are a frequent reality on campus, and many multiracial students, faculty, and staff express feeling isolated, confused, less than, in crisis about their identity, forced to choose one racial identity over the other, and left out – of both spaces and conversations. True to its subtitle, the book contests knowledge as imposed by monoracism and white supremacy in academic spaces, honors the voices and authentic expressions of a diverse group of multiracial scholars, and innovates practice by reimagining pedagogy and challenging institutional climates to be inclusive of the varied range of multiracial identities and experiences.
This book is a must-read for housing professionals. Readers are encouraged to read the book in chronological order to maximize the book’s strengths. It is a powerful and relevant resource that assists housing staff and residents in understanding the experience of multiracial individuals. The authors challenge housing and residence life professionals to expand mindsets, reimagine and redesign practices and policies, and educate staff on the lived experiences of multiracial individuals within the residence halls and participating in higher education.
Abigail R. Case is a transfer engagement and transitions graduate assistant at Clemson University in South Carolina. Tony W. Cawthon, Ph.D., is an Alumni Distinguished Professor at Clemson. “Page Turner” is a recurring column that pairs Cawthon with a graduate student or professional colleague as they review books and scholarship of interest to campus housing and student affairs.
