Abstract
This article examines the development of ‘Critical Mixed Race Studies’ (CMRS) as a crucial framework to critically engage with the shift in US racial discourse from long-standing politics of the one-drop rule to a pervasive celebratory multiracialism and its support in the early formation of ‘Mixed Race Studies.’ With a focus on the black-white paradigm, this contribution sketches the preconditions of this academic discourse, discusses a number of its foundational scholarly texts and contrasts them with prominent black critiques. Finally, a call for CMRS as a part of the Black Studies project will be formulated via trend-setting examples.
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