The M Word and Multiracial Advocacy

The M Word and Multiracial Advocacy

Many changes happen all around us all through our lifetimes, so why doesn’t the government think sticks and stones will break our bones, but words will never hurt us? Multiracial, mixed, multiracial, half-breed, multiracial, multiethnic, mixie, multicultural, other, multiracial, multiracial, multiracial! So many words to choose from, but which is the right one?

The worlds of psychiatry and psychology are not ones I know much about, but I am going to try to explain why words are always important. Try to stick with me.

President Barack Obama signed “Rosa’s Law,” which mandates that the term “mental retardation” be replaced by “intellectual disability” in federal education, health, and labor laws.

Now the American Psychiatric Association is considering making the same change. The International Classification of Diseases, which is published by the World Health Organization, has already made the change.

So what does this have to do with the multiracial population? Plenty. We’re talking about nine million people and what they are called. Does this sound familiar? The government calls the multiracial community “people who check more than one race,” “the combination population” and more silly terms. Some people refer to themselves or other multiracial people as “mixies, half-breeds, mutts, etc.”

This is what Rosa’s 14-year-old brother said in state testimony about the term “mental retardation” and why it needed to be changed:

“What you call people is how you treat them. What you call my sister is how you will treat her. If you believe she’s ‘retarded’, it invites taunting, stigma. It invites bullying and it also invites the slammed doors of being treated with respect and dignity.”

What Rosa advocated for was a more positive change in wording. It has to do with what society labels a person. It has to do with respectful terminology. This seems to be an ongoing debate because of many other factors in the psychiatric community, but they are headed in the right direction. The term “multiracial” is also a respectful term. Advocate for “multiracial.” You and our kids deserve that same respect.

Susan Graham

Project RACE

The TOP TEN Reasons to be a Multiracial Advocate

10. Just because we have a multiracial president and the census forms now have “check two or more,” discrimination is still blatant toward multiracial people. It’s the hate crime that is ignored. Don’t just complain; make a difference! No one else, no other groups are going to do this for us. 

9. The US Department of Education suggests but does not mandate that schools allow students and staff to check more than one race. They do not let schools know that it is OK to add “multiracial” to forms—we know it is and so do they. 

8. I heard a community leader refer to his son recently as a “half-breed.” I don’t think there is any excuse to call anyone a term that is less than respectful. 

7. I received an email recently about a school district in a major US city that is allowing parents enrolling their children in school as two or more races, but then FORCING them to specify which race is their “PRIMARY CHOICE.” 

6. Young children can’t speak for themselves about being forced to choose between their parents’ races. Maybe it’s your child or maybe you have multiracial grandchildren. They depend on us to speak for them. 

5. The multiracial community is still not being invited to the table in Washington for talks that include our needs. If we don’t advocate in force, we remain invisible. We will lose any gains we have made. 

4. We have been told that multiracial people are not “protected by any laws because they don’t exist legally.” Other minority populations have advocated for protection under local, state, and federal laws and they have won their rights. What’s WRONG with us?!

3. The federal government refuses to use respectful terminology for our population. They call multiracial people “People who check two or more boxes” or “A more than one race person.” It’s an outrage. Get mad. Speak up. 

2. Multiracial people are dying and only other multiracial people can save them. For those with diseases of the blood and some cancers, patients must get a bone marrow transplant. Bone marrow crosses racial and ethnic lines. In other words, the BEST chance at a compatible match is someone with the same race or ethnicity. If you only do one proactive, positive, selfless part of this movement, save a life. Register to be a donor.

And the number one reason to be a multiracial advocate…

1.     If the multiracial community stops advocating, the government will go back to the “check only one” rule. They are talking about it. Trust me on this.

The TOP TEN Reasons to be a Multiracial Advocate

10. Just because we have a multiracial president and the census forms now have “check two or more,” discrimination is still blatant toward multiracial people. It’s the hate crime that is ignored. Don’t just complain; make a difference! No one else, no other groups are going to do this for us.

9. The US Department of Education suggests but does not mandate that schools allow students and staff to check more than one race. They do not let schools know that it is OK to add “multiracial” to forms—we know it is and so do they.

8. I heard a community leader refer to his son recently as a “half-breed.” I don’t think there is any excuse to call anyone a term that is less than respectful.

7. I received an email recently about a school district in a major US city that is allowing parents enrolling their children in school as two or more races, but then FORCING them to specify which race is their “PRIMARY CHOICE.”

6. Young children can’t speak for themselves about being forced to choose between their parents’ races. Maybe it’s your child or maybe you have multiracial grandchildren. They depend on us to speak for them.

5. The multiracial community is still not being invited to the table in Washington for talks that include our needs. If we don’t advocate in force, we remain invisible. We will lose any gains we have made.

4. We have been told that multiracial people are not “protected by any laws because they don’t exist legally.” Other minority populations have advocated for protection under local, state, and federal laws and they have won their rights. What’s WRONG with us?!

3. The federal government refuses to use respectful terminology for our population. They call multiracial people “People who check two or more boxes” or “A more than one race person.” It’s an outrage. Get mad. Speak up.

2. Multiracial people are dying and only other multiracial people can save them. For those with diseases of the blood and some cancers, patients must get a bone marrow transplant. Bone marrow crosses racial and ethnic lines. In other words, the BEST chance at a compatible match is someone with the same race or ethnicity. If you only do one proactive, positive, selfless part of this movement, save a life. Register to be a donor.

And the number one reason to be a multiracial advocate…

1.     If the multiracial community stops advocating, the government will go back to the “check only one” rule. They are talking about it. Trust me on this.

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