Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Creighton Law Review
Publication Date
6-2017
ISSN
2168-9261
Page Number
719
Keywords
race, multiracial, black lives matter, Loving v. Virginia, equal protection
Disciplines
Fourteenth Amendment | Law | Law and Race
Abstract
Race plays an important organizing function in society, and one over which we have little control as individuals; this can be difficult to reconcile with the self-determination many multiracial individuals possess to control their own racial identity and how it is perceived by others. While some are dismissive of that premise, instead favoring a racial solidarity approach that minimizes the relevance of subcategories, I have contended that it is important to allow multiracial individuals to define their own identity. This is a sentiment that has been echoed by Justice Kennedy's language in several recent opinions discussing racial identity (if not addressing multiracial identity directly). Yet this sentiment need not necessarily be at odds with broader identity-based movements. An individual can remain free to define her own identity under the terms that she desires while simultaneously recognizing that society often does not operate under those same terms and will more likely than not group her with individuals who assume a different racial identity.
Recommended Citation
Lauren Sudeall,
Reflection: How Multiracial Lives Matter, 50 Creighton Law Review. 719
(2017)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/faculty-publications/1390