3/22/10: Author #8: Andrew Jolivétte

I decided to focus on a writer today since I am trying to narrow down and make my work more concise. When I research biracial artists all that comes up is stock imagery of interracial families and attractive light skinned people. Its interesting and a bit irritating. In a way it sort of confirms how I feel. Feeling apart from my general peer group... Feeling other. There are limited resources.

Andrew Jolivétte is an author and lecturer that is an associate professor at San Francisco State University in American Indian Studies. He also teaches Ethnic Studies, Educational Leadership and Race and Resistance Studies. He is the board president for iPride and Speak Out which is part of the Institute for Democratic Education and Culture.

Part of his iPride bio: "Professor Jolivétte is a mixed-race studies specialist with a particular interest in Comparative Race Relations, Creole studies, Black-Indians, and mixed-race health disparities. Andrew is the author of, Cultural Representation in Native America (AltaMira Press, July 2006) which is a part of the Contemporary Native American Communities Series. Dr. Jolivette also recently received an advance book contract for his second book, “Louisiana Creoles: Cultural Recovery and Mixed Race Native American Identity” to be published sometime in 2007. Andrew will begin work on a third book, “Mixed Race Gay Men and HIV: A Community History” in the fall of 2006."

iPride is a really interesting organization. I wish that I knew about things like this. There definitely needs to be more advertising and networking. Their mission is: "We envision a cohesive multiethnic society based on justice, inclusion, and respect for all human diversity. We actively seek to build and foster broad coalitions that will result in an environment that supports the right of every person to be recognized as whole and complete."


He identifies as French Creole, a combination of French, American Indian, African and Spanish. He is committed to working within colored communities.

 

I read a good portion of this book online. I could relate to him immediately and it was an amazing feeling. Chapter One was an introduction titled, "Who is White?". He talked about questioning what white is and who identifies that way. "For people of mixed decent, questions of race and ethnicity are compounded by the question of choice." Choice. You choose how you identify, but you cannot choose where you came from. His book focuses on the experience of the Creole. While I am not Creole, I feel like it gives good dialogue for my work. "Questioning who is white subverts the typical power dynamic in racial classification that usually marks as other those who are not white." Now he is really speaking my language.

Interracial, Intercultural Pride