For young adults entering college, social pressures can exert significant psychological stress. For Caribbean nationals, these challenges can be exacerbated by experiences with the U.S. racial binary framed by the rule of hypodescent --the one drop rule. Using testimonio as method and borrowing elements of critical autoethnography, I delve into…

This report catalogues the growth of the modern mixed-race population in the United States and highlights the many complications this population presents for the future of civil rights law and policy. What is most distinctive of today's mixed-race individuals is their assertion of a mixed-race identity which they claim embodies a different…

This article describes the challenges that multiracial students face in professional work while emphasizing potential resources and strategies for individuals who advise these students towards their career success.

This article presents the experiences of Multiracial students at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and the unique challenges they face in exploring their racial identities and finding belonging.

As mothers and education professors, we weave these two identities to reflect on the anti-racist K--12 schooling we envision and work toward for all children, including our own multilingual, multi-ethnic, and multi-racial children. We begin this article with a brief introduction to who we are as mothers, then shift to problematizing dominant…

This paper seeks to explore the complexities of being Indo-Caribbean American to provide educators a better understanding of how to help their students navigate racial-ethnic identity spaces that are not clearly defined and negotiate when others seek to define, or mis-define, them. It explores the idea of diaspora, culture and third space. It then…

This article provides context for understanding how colorism shapes the identity and lived experiences of multiracial women in college and how higher education institutions can create inclusive and supportive environments for racially mixed students on their campus.

Although there is significant research devoted to the needs and experiences of different student populations, many groups remain under-researched, resulting in less attention being devoted to their needs. Among the groups that have not been sufficiently studied are multiracial students and graduate students, with considerable less understanding of…

From the moment a child is born, they create a self that it is influenced by their external world, this includes social and political factors. As the sense of self develops one cannot ignore the importance of interpersonal relatedness and social interactions. School experiences are therefore key. This paper addresses the experiences of mixed…

Through the exercise of collaborative autoethnography, we propose intentional and purposeful dialogue can act as a pathway for transformative learning. We seek to first deepen our understandings of transformative learning, particularly for underserved students in higher education and second to advance autoethnographic methods, a method that…

Author Anne Lamott wrote "This is a difficult country to look different in...and if you are too skinny or too tall or dark or weird or short or frizzy or homely or poor or nearsighted, you get crucified." Lamott's comment speaks to what happens when people do not fit into neat social categories. Such experiences of not fitting, of being…

The purpose of this paper is to describe effect coding as an alternative quantitative practice for analyzing and interpreting categorical, multi-raced independent variables in higher education research. Not only may effect coding enable researchers to get closer to respondents' original intentions, it allows for more accurate analyses of all race…

This is the third and last paper in a series published by the National Alliance in partnership with Public Impact, highlighting the experiences of school leaders in charter schools across the country. While the impact school leaders have on student performance has been well documented, there has been little attention to how leaders' experiences…

The collective findings of the six articles in this special issue highlight the importance of ethnic-racial socialization and ethnic identity among international transracial adoptees (ITRAs). A multidimensional developmental phenomenon, ethnic identity intersects with other identities, notably adoptive identity. Family, peers, community, and host…

The multiracial population increased by 32% between 2000 and 2010 and represents 9 million people in the United States. The author reflects on her lived experiences of being multiracial but with visibly White skin. She details the lessons she learned about her multiracial identity--from her early positioning as a young student to her role as a…