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UU Faith Works Summer/Fall 2003 Administration
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Of Many Colors: Portraits of Multiracial Families
Interviews by Peggy Gillespie, Photographs by Gigi Kaeser
Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1997Review by Pat Hoertdoerfer
Children, Family, and Intergenerational Programs Director , UUA
Boston, MABased on an award-winning photo exhibit Of Many Colors, this book documents the feelings and experiences of Americans who live in multiracial families. The stories of thirty-nine families who have bridged the racial divide through interracial marriage or adoption are told in the voices of parents and children. The black and white family photographs are natural and the interviews allowed families—children and parents—to reflect on their lives, their relationships, and the ways they have dealt with issues of race.
The number of multi racial families in America is steadily rising but interracial marriage remains a controversial issue that often divides families and strains friendships. Many of the families in this book testify to this fact. For centuries, America has depended on perceived racial categories for its social, political, and economic organization. And the current debate over the inclusion of a "multi-racial" category on census forms illustrates the extent to which the deeply embedded construct of race continues to divide this country. In fact the first exhibit was called OTHER: Portraits of Multiracial Families because many members of these families had to check the racial category "Other" on official forms.
Transracial adoption has also generated fierce controversy and debate. Similar to the case of racial categories, the discussion of transracial adoption reflects the ever-changing social standards. Thirty-five states as recently as 1987 still had laws prohibiting the adoption of black children by white families. However, in 1996 President Clinton signed a bill making it illegal to prohibit adoptions based on race.
When viewed with historical context, the images, experiences, and insights of each family in Of Many Colors provide a clearer picture of how mixed-race families are challenging racism, contradicting stereotypes, and demonstrating that people of different races can live together in harmony. And the families in this book speak courageously to every Unitarian Universalist.
These families—whether by marriage or adoption—have made a commitment to love and cherish one another in spite of society's disdain. And these families have much to say about the most intimate form of integration and familial love. As Ifecoma J. Nwokoye writes in the Afterword of the book: "All humans are confronted with an identity crisis. Biracial children, too, must go through it, and for them it is a greater challenge because it is doubly hard. In America, people are often unwilling to accept the idea of a biracial person. In our everyday lives we are constantly confronted with situations in which we must define who we are. I know that I must ignore the limitations and labels society places on me, and realize that I am an individual with unique insight, able to encompass the best of both worlds. As my mom said I have mixed blessings. "
This beautiful book belongs in every UU family's library and every UU congregation's library!
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