Builders of a Racial Bridge: Biracial College Students

Posted in Articles, Campus Life, Media Archive, United States on 2010-10-13 22:34Z by Steven

Builders of a Racial Bridge: Biracial College Students

The Journal of Pedagogy Pluralism & Practice
Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Issue 11 (Fall 2006)

Atina Andrea White

This study addresses issues surrounding Black/White biracial students in a multiracial student run organization at a diverse liberal arts college in Massachusetts.   The impact of the United States race history on biracial individuals is presented. The insights of the biracial individuals are reported along with suggestions for constructively addressing concerns of multiracial students.

Despite a history of oppression and marginalization, biracial individuals are surviving, thriving, and positively impacting our society. Black/White biracial individuals can be seen as a bridge between Black and White America. The purpose of this study is to explore aspects of biracial identity, increase awareness and understanding of biracial individuals and address various implications associated with college curriculum and activities.

Black/White biracial college students and their involvement in the Multiracial Organization of Students at Tufts University (MOST) has been the focus of this study. It addresses issues of identity-construction and development in a college setting. I selected this liberal arts college in Medford, MA because of its diverse population and because MOST, a specific organization for multiracial individuals, exists at the college. This organization designed and operated entirely by students, focuses on creating a community, offering support to its members, increasing awareness of multiraciality and seeking to bridge racial, ethnic and cultural divides (MOST, 2003). The students I have interviewed for the following study all participate in MOST and were willing to share their experiences as biracial human beings in America…

…MOST, however, is not only about finding a space to feel comfortable and supported in but also represents a place from which to begin to bridge differences across all races and ethnicities on the Tufts campus and in the larger community. Despite the fact that biracial and multiracial individuals are so often being excluded from all groups, they have not reciprocated this exclusive behavior and have introduced a different idea of welcoming all groups. There is a strong tendency in a racialized society to close-off and stay within your own culture or group but the MOST organization and its members are working to change this trend…

Read the entire article here.

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