I'm writing to make a book request for a book I heard about from an interview with the author on the radio. The book is:
Fade: My Journeys in Multiracial America by Elliott LewisThe author is biracial and writes about his experience as a person who is never completely black or white but who is much-loved by his parents. My daughter is biracial, and I'd like to be able to read the book and talk with her about it. My family and I are white, and her father hasn't been around very much since she was little. I'm hoping to find some guidance as a parent and some understanding of how a growing number of people in our country experience their lives. Here's some info on the book from Amazon.
Former CNN reporter Lewis's head-scratcher of a book argues against pigeonholing and reductive classification systems (he mentions frequently the "one drop" rule that deems a person black if they have one drop of black blood and that the 2000 Census was the first in which a person could check multiple racial identity boxes) and for "a new racial compass." However, the compass in the borrowed metaphor can "grow old," and, for many biracial people, is "more sensitive" and "must be calibrated more often." However, Lewis does little to illustrate this concept in the real world, where he instead recounts many instances of people asking him (sometimes elaborate) variations of "What are you?" By way of answering, Lewis interviews other bi- and multiracial people, examines statistics, recounts his own experiences and offers up a new definition of race ("a catch-all term referring to a loosely defined population group"). Lewis is more interested in finding different ways to look for answers than in providing pat responses; all of Lewis's interviewees come to different conclusions about what they are and how they forged their identities. Written in conversational prose, Lewis's book is an approachable and thoughtful meditation on
a controversial topic.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. -- From Publishers Weekly Broadcast journalist Lewis looks at the ever-shifting landscape of self-identification among individuals of mixed racial heritage, including himself. Focusing on the generational differences in perceptions, Lewis observes that older individuals of biracial heritage identify primarily as black, while the younger generations emphasize their biracial identity as primary, if not exclusive, from black status. Lewis, whose parents are of mixed racial heritage but have always identified themselves as black, also identified himself as black while growing up but evolved into a biracial self-identity. From his own experience, in a chameleon-like context, Lewis has been identified as black, Latin, or Jewish, expanding the dilemma for many blacks of mixed racial heritage. He examines the substantial and informative experiences of other multiracials, including those mixtures outside the black-white context. This is a most interesting read on evolving notions of racial self-identification in America. Vernon Ford
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved -- From BooklistTelevision journalist Elliott Lewis weaves his memoirs as a black-and-white biracial American with the voices of dozens of multiracial people who are challenging how we think and speak about race today. "What are you?" This seemingly ordinary but politically charged question has become a touchstone for debate around race and ethnicity. Now, more than ever, mixed race Americans are calling themselves biracial and multiracial rather than feeling forced to choose only one race. Nearly seven million people checked more than one racial category in the 2000 US census, the first time in history Americans had the option to mark more than one box. With Fade, Lewis offers a comprehensive look at the multiracial state of the union. Here he speaks with dozens of individuals, tackling hot button issues such as the often complicated lives of multiracial people in communities of color, interracial dating, transracial adoption, and the birth of the multiracial movement. The author also shares his own moving ? and often humorous ? firsthand experiences with race, along with intimate stories from those at the forefront
of nationwide efforts to formally recognize the multiracial population. "Don't let yesterday use up too much of today!" Will Rogers Monica Willyard, rhyami@xxxxxxxxxAdd rhyami to your Skype if you'd like to chat.
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