Books
Passing by Irene Redfield is a Black woman living an affluent, comfortable life with her husband and children in the thriving neighborhood of Harlem in the 1920s. When she reconnects with her childhood friend Clare Kendry, who is similarly light-skinned, Irene discovers that Clare has been passing for a white woman after severing ties to her past--even hiding the truth from her racist husband. Nella Larsen's exploration of race and identity is the inspiration for the 2021 Netflix film of the same title.
Incognegro by In the early 20th century, when lynchings were commonplace in the American South, a few brave reporters - light-skinned African-Americans - risked their lives to expose the truth. This undercover work was known as 'going incognegro'. Zane Pinchback's latest case hits close to home: his brother has been arrested for murder.
Caucasia by Birdie and Cole are the daughters of a black father and a white mother, intellectuals and activists in the Civil Rights Movement in 1970s Boston. The sisters are so close that they have created a private language, yet to the outside world they can't be sisters: Birdie appears to be white, while Cole is dark enough to fit in with the other kids at the Afrocentric school they attend.
Born on the Edge of Race and Gender by This poetic, journalistic memoir shines an intersectional beacon on the ambiguity and complexity of mixed heritage, transgender, and disability experience, and offers an intimate window into how current legislative and policy battles impact the lives of transgender people.
The Vanishing Half by Call Number: ebookBennett here features identical twin sisters, who at age 16 run away from their small, black, 1950s Southern town and take different paths, one passing for white. What's key is the relationship between their daughters. -Library Journal
Other things to check out
- All Mixed Up: What Do We Call People Of Multiple Backgrounds?"In a country where the share of multiracial children has multiplied tenfold in the past 50 years, it's a good time to take stock of our shared vocabulary when it comes to describing Americans like me."
- Ambiguously Brown - TV TropesAn article on how the Ambiguously Brown trope is used in TV, film, anime and more.
- As a 'white passing' Asian American I feel grief, shame, anger and confusion right nowA broadcast producer and digital editor share their experiences growing up with Filipino mothers but passing as non-Asian. As Asian Americans across the country are targeted for their appearance, they share their identity crisis.
- Code Switch Podcast:'Racial Imposter Syndrome'A discussion with biracial and multiracial folx (the fastest growing demographic in the U.S.) who connect with feeling "fake" or inauthentic in some part of their racial or ethnic heritage.
- Who's Black? One Nation's DefinitionF. James Davis is a retired professor of sociology at Illinois State University. He is the author of numerous books, including Who is Black? One Nation's Definition (1991), from which this excerpt was taken.