Toward Mestizaje: Supporting Integrated Racial Identity Development in Biracial Young People

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 12:40 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Unraveling Challenges to Social Justice Through Youth Activism and Agency (Table 36)

Abstract

Anzaldúa defines a mestiza consciousness as a successful personal integration of multiple cultural influences. In the current study, I sought to explore how the formative experiences of Alana, a Latina-white biracial university student, contributed to her development of a mestiza consciousness. Analyzing data from semi-structured interviews and book club-style focus groups, I began with descriptive, categorical themes, refining them into thematic statements that address how Alana’s experiences have shaped her mestizaje. Salient themes include her exposure to a race-conscious curriculum, her family’s asset orientation toward their diversity, and her positive view of hybridity. I believe that examining Alana’s experiences may prove instructive for educators who wish to support an integrated racial identity in their biracial students.

Author

• April Vázquez, University of Delaware