Fade: My Journeys in Multiracial America

by Elliot Lewis

Television journalist Elliott Lewis weaves his memoirs as a biracial American with the voices of dozens of multiracial people, who are challenging how we think about race today.

“What are you?” This seemingly ordinary but politically charged question has become a touchstone for debate around race and ethnicity. Now more than ever, mixed-race Americans are calling themselves biracial and multiracial rather than feeling forced to choose only one race. Nearly seven million people checked more than one racial category in the 2000 U.S. census, the first time in history Americans had the option to mark more than one box.

With Fade, Lewis looks at the multiracial state of the union. Here he speaks with dozens of individuals, tackling hot-button issues such as the often complicated lives of multiracial people in communities of color, interracial dating, transracial adoption, immigration, and the birth of the multiracial movement. His interviews illuminate a variety of coping strategies and reveal stark generational differences in the ways mixed-race people have come to terms with their identity. The author also shares his own moving — and often humorous — firsthand experiences, along with intimate stories from the forefront of nationwide efforts to formally recognize the multiracial population.

Genres: Nonfiction

306 pages, Hardcover

First published January 2, 2005

Reviews

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Wake up, white people!" That's the battle call of Daniel Carver of the KKK, but the author and his fans would do well to adopt it. If you've ever asked someone whose race you can't identify "what are you," you need this book. Don't worry; it's not a litany of complaints. It's a documentation of how people who have more than one ethnicity in their blood identify with themselves, their parents, and the rest of the world. And, yes, how they'd really like to answer you when you ask "what they are."

[Buddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you are finished with this book, you will question the entire idea of "race" as it understood in America. Elliott (a personal friend) is multi-racial and offers his own perspective of growing up in color-conscious America. He has interviewed dozens of persons of more than one ethnic origin and explains how each of them dealt with the racial designations Americans -- white and black -- thrust upon them. It's revealing how these same people decide on a racial description of themselves. With the election of America's first multi-racial president, this book is even more relevant.

[Quentyn Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

When we think of race, we don't think of those multiracial kids and the issues that it brings. His book highlighted the difficulty of trying to identify with being half white and half black, along with the difficulty that other mixed ethnic kids dealt with. It kinda dragged on, especially in the parts where it feels like a school book. But overall it's a solid read.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elliott, the author, is a friend of mine...an old television news colleague who often encountered the "So, what are you?" question from people trying to racially identify him when he was out reporting. I haven't finished the book yet, but I'm thoroughly enjoying Elliott's writing style. He's reverent, refreshing, and incredibly funny.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book so far! Really has made me stop and think about my experiences growing up bi-racial and the way I have been perceived vs how I perceive myself!