What are you? Voices of Mixed Race Young People
Simply put this book is wonderful book. This book is a collection of interviews with mixed race people around the ages of about 16-24. Gaskins gives us an introduction to the book, and talks about why she has written this book, some of the history of mixed race issues in America, and then steps aside to let all of the pieces speak for themselves. Gaskins adds some comments at the beginning of sections, or to add to certain ideas within a piece, but the majority of this book is young people sharing their experiences of growing up mixed race, and what it means to them to be mixed race. This book was a very important piece for me personally. Within each section there were passages that I related to strongly. Having this kind of text validates the feelings and experiences of anyone who has ever been annoyingly asked “What are you?” This is a great book for parents to read, and would be especially helpful for parents of young children who are looking to see what the future will hold in terms of what their child might experience. This is also an especially good book for counseling professionals and student development types who may not have much experience with the mixed race student population. This book offers up a wide range of experiences, good and bad, and I think helps the reader see a good cross section of the mixed race population with the understanding that the true diversity on experiences of this population really could be infinite. Lastly this is a VERY good book for young people who may be feeling like no one understands them, or who may be exploring what it means to be mixed race. Where as some identity development models assume that a person will come to identify with one particular race or ethnicity, this book offers up examples of people who have done the opposite, instead choosing to create their own ethnic or racial definition for themselves and have it be a positive thing, something they are proud of. Also for a mixed race person, or at least from my experience, this book can certainly offer new insights after reading it again. As we go through life our focus changes and perhaps a story we didn’t get as much from in the past holds more relevance for us now.
Posted on Tuesday, October 31st, 2006 in the following categories: 1999, Book, Counseling Resources, Gaskins, Student Development Resources, Students/Family Resources
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