Black, white, and everything in between ...Through poems, interviews, and short essays, a group of young people tell what it's like to be biracial, multiracial, or of mixed race. These poignant firsthand accounts reflect the unique and varied voices of the writers, whose backgrounds range from Caribbean, Vietnamese, and Latin American to First Nations, Spanish, and Irish, among others. With devastating honesty, the youth tell what it's been like to make their way in the world with their roots in many places and in many cultures. Themes include navigating mixed-race relationships, dealing with prejudice and the assumptions people make based on appearances, and working through identity confusion to arrive at a strong and positive sense of self. Readers who share these experiences will find comfort, inspiration, and validation. Those less familiar with the issues will gain important insight and understanding.
This project of The Making Sense of One group under co-ordinator Karen Arthurton is absolutely brilliant, a must read for mix race children, mix race parents and families, caregivers and teachers. The honest (brutal at times) writing of all the contributors is at times heartbreaking and at times uplifting and hopeful. As the sister of a mixed race younger brother (Mohawk and Irish) who our family adopted when he was six, and the aunt of several mixed race nieces and nephews (both Filipino/French-Canadian and Mohawk/Irish and Dutch) I have seen how wonderful these relationships and children can be. They are all smart, funny, intelligent and well adjusted. The contributors of this book have had an great variety of experiences both within their families, at school and out in the world and their thoughts and feelings are worth exploring and listening too. I as always look forward to a day when no one has to be asked "what are you" and we can take someone at the value of what they are and we can all be colour blind when it comes to what a person's hair, skin and race are.
