Multiracials and Civil Rights
Mixed-Race Stories of Discrimination
Published on 19. January 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-1-4798-0606-5 (ISBN)
Description
Narratives of mixed-race people bringing claims of racial discrimination in court, illuminating traditional understandings of civil rights law
As the mixed-race population in the United States grows, public fascination with multiracial identity has promoted the belief that racial mixture will destroy racism. However, multiracial people still face discrimination. Many legal scholars hold that this is distinct from the discrimination faced by people of other races, and traditional civil rights laws built on a strict black/white binary need to be reformed to account for cases of discrimination against those identifying as mixed-race.
In Multiracials and Civil Rights, Tanya Kateri Hernandez debunks this idea, and draws on a plethora of court cases to demonstrate that multiracials face the same types of discrimination as other racial groups. Hernandez argues that multiracial people are primarily targeted for discrimination due to their non-whiteness, and shows how the cases highlight the need to support the existing legal structures instead of a new understanding of civil rights law. The legal and political analysis is enriched with Hernandez's own personal narrative as a mixed-race Afro-Latina.
Coming at a time when explicit racism is resurfacing, Hernandez's look at multiracial discrimination cases is essential for fortifying the focus of civil rights law on racial privilege and the lingering legacy of bias against non-whites, and has much to teach us about how to move towards a more egalitarian society.
As the mixed-race population in the United States grows, public fascination with multiracial identity has promoted the belief that racial mixture will destroy racism. However, multiracial people still face discrimination. Many legal scholars hold that this is distinct from the discrimination faced by people of other races, and traditional civil rights laws built on a strict black/white binary need to be reformed to account for cases of discrimination against those identifying as mixed-race.
In Multiracials and Civil Rights, Tanya Kateri Hernandez debunks this idea, and draws on a plethora of court cases to demonstrate that multiracials face the same types of discrimination as other racial groups. Hernandez argues that multiracial people are primarily targeted for discrimination due to their non-whiteness, and shows how the cases highlight the need to support the existing legal structures instead of a new understanding of civil rights law. The legal and political analysis is enriched with Hernandez's own personal narrative as a mixed-race Afro-Latina.
Coming at a time when explicit racism is resurfacing, Hernandez's look at multiracial discrimination cases is essential for fortifying the focus of civil rights law on racial privilege and the lingering legacy of bias against non-whites, and has much to teach us about how to move towards a more egalitarian society.
Reviews / Votes
"[Hernandez's] personal story as told in the preface helps enrich and inform this highly recommended work." - CHOICE "In Multiracials and Civil Rights, Tanya Kateri Hernandez insightfully analyzes the claim that mixed race people will end racial discrimination as we know it and render inadequate the existing legal tools to address it. At the same time, Hernandez skillfully addresses the claims that the civil rights laws fail to address the discrimination against multiracial people in American social life. Unfortunately, racism and discrimination based on physical appearance -- even with the rise of multiracialism -- is alive and well in the modern United States and the traditional legal tools exist to support efforts to challenge discrimination against multiracial people. Multiracials and Civil Rights is a 'must read' for anyone interested in sophisticated analysis of the use of the civil rights laws to challenge discrimination in the United States." - Kevin R. Johnson,Dean, UC Davis School of Law "The increase in interracial marriages following the Supreme Courts decision in Loving v. Virginia ushered in an era of racial self-identification as Lovings children struggle to define themselves in a world that views race as monolithic. Multiracials and Civil Rights is an important contribution to the emerging literature about the post-Loving multiracial generation. It explores claims that multiracials experience a unique form of race-based discrimination. This thoroughly researched book is a must read, the first legally-focused discussion of whether current anti-discrimination law adequately addresses discrimination claims by multiracials." - Taunya Lovell Banks,Jacob A. France Professor of Equality Jurisprudence, University of Maryland Law SchoolMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
318 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4798-0606-5 (9781479806065)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
08/2018
New York University Press
€20.49
Available for download
Person
Tanya Kateri Hernandez is the Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law, where she co-directs the Center on Race, Law & Justice as its Head of Global and Comparative Law Programs and Initiatives.