Biracial in America: Forming and Performing Racial Identity Reprint Edition

Biracial in America expands on Rockquemore & Brunsma’s pioneering foundation, taking the best that has been done previously and pushing the theoretical envelope several steps further ahead. Rejecting the erroneous notion that identity is “something easily ascertained through categories checked on a form,” Khanna usefully gets at biracial identity formation through skillful analysis of the processes and negotiations-oftentimes seemingly contradictory-that some biracial individuals go through in shaping their identities.

This is the book for which multiracial and racial identity scholars have been waiting. Nikki Khanna’s Biracial in America: Forming and Performing Racial Identity moves us a giant leap forward in our understanding of racial identity among black-white biracial Americans. Through captivating interview excerpts, Khanna brilliantly and clearly describes the underlying social psychological processes through which biracial Americans shape and negotiate multidimensional racial identities. In the process, she reveals both the lingering impact of the one drop rule and the power of individual biracial Americans to actively ‘perform race’ in an era of increasing racial flexibility.