For the first time in United States history, the Year 2000 census
allowed people to check more than one box to identify their race. This
new way of gathering data and characterizing race and ethnicity reflects
important changes in how racial identity is understood in America.
Besides acknowledging the presence of mixed race citizens, this new
understanding promises to have major implications for American law and
policy.
With this anthology, Kevin R. Johnson brings together ground-breaking
scholarship on the mixed race experience in America to examine the
impact of law on these citizens. The foundational essays that comprise
the collection present the historical, social, and political contexts
surrounding the body of law that addresses race while analyzing the
implications of multiracialism. Divided into 12 sections, the reader
includes an introduction by Johnson and essential essays by contributors
such as Garrett Epps, Judith Resnick, Richard Delgado, Ian Haney-López,
Randall Kennedy, and Patricia Hill Collins. Selections address
miscegenation, racial classification, interracial adoption, the 2000
census, "passing," and other topics; each section includes questions to
promote further discussion. This book is an invaluable resource for
examining the complexities of racial categories in modern America.