Location
2008 NACCS Conference Presentation
Abstract:
This paper explores the racial/ethnic identities of multiracial Black-Mexicans or ‘Blaxicans.’ In- depth interviews with 12 Blaxican individuals in California reveal how they negotiate distinct cultural systems to accomplish multiracial identities. I argue that choosing, accomplishing, and asserting a Blaxican identity challenges the dominant monoracial discourse in the United States, in particular among African American and Chicana/o communities. That is, Blaxican respondents are held accountable by African Americans and Chicanas/os/Mexicans to monoracial notions of ‘authenticity.’ The process whereby Blaxicans move between these monoracial spaces to create multiracial identities illustrates crucial aspects of the social construction of race/ethnicity in the United States.
Included in
African American Studies Commons, Chicana/o Studies Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons
Blaxican Identity: An Exploratory Study of Blacks/Chicanas/os in California
2008 NACCS Conference Presentation
Abstract:
This paper explores the racial/ethnic identities of multiracial Black-Mexicans or ‘Blaxicans.’ In- depth interviews with 12 Blaxican individuals in California reveal how they negotiate distinct cultural systems to accomplish multiracial identities. I argue that choosing, accomplishing, and asserting a Blaxican identity challenges the dominant monoracial discourse in the United States, in particular among African American and Chicana/o communities. That is, Blaxican respondents are held accountable by African Americans and Chicanas/os/Mexicans to monoracial notions of ‘authenticity.’ The process whereby Blaxicans move between these monoracial spaces to create multiracial identities illustrates crucial aspects of the social construction of race/ethnicity in the United States.
