CVK
Great post at Autobiography of a Face about the ways in which mixed race identities can actually be used to further racism:

Perhaps what makes the multiracial movement so threatening to the power structures that be is its potential to disarm carefully crafted racial stratums. But then again, in places like Brazil where a multitude of racial categories exist, racism is extremely virulent and socially exclusive. Thus, is this a sign of inclusivity or another stratum for racial exclusion and preference?…

I contend that the only progress that will be made in the name of race in this country is the elimination of race in and of itself. As new racial categories become apparent, new hierarchies of power, beauty, and acceptance are being constructed…

As I said in the comment I left in response to this post,  we mixed folks like to talk about the ways in which we are oppressed: how our authenticity/legitimacy is always called into question, how we are often called upon to declare our loyalty to one community over another, etc. Of course, these are all important issues that we need to discuss. However, what I don’t hear us talk about is the privilege that often comes along with being mixed — especially if you’re part white.

This comes back to the point that Jen and I discuss a lot on Addicted to Race, which is that we’re always stuck in this binary model of talking about race, where you can only be one of two things: an oppressor or the oppressed, a perpetuator of racism or a victim of racism, and so on. Guess which side people are more willing to identify with? Of course, it’s the oppressed victim. That’s why even white people are playing the victim card now, complaining about reverse racism due to affirmative action programs, etc.

The way we live race in 2006 is much more complex than this binary view allows for, and it’s about time we moved past it. Because otherwise we get stuck in this endless cycle of accusation and denial and counter-accusation (You’re racist! No I’m not! You’re the racist one accusing me of racism!) and nothing ever gets resolved, nothing changes. We need to recognize that all of us experience a mixture of privileges and disadvantages - it’s not one or the other. People of color are not all universally oppressed. White people are not all universally oppressors.