Veronica Jones, PhD
University of Texas at Austin
The racialized norms of a predominantly white institution can affect multiracial students’ agency to self-identify. A university in the Southern region was chosen to explore sociohistorical inclinations to place individuals within a black-white dichotomy which implies either-or identification. Utilizing the theoretical white racial frame and individual identification patterns, in-depth interviews revealed barriers to acceptance and campus organizational culture. Findings indicate multiracial participants’ cognizance of imposed racial stigmas and organizational structures which ascribed a monoracial lens to students, regardless of how they chose to identify. This study gives insight into the need to deconstruct institutional practices which exclude multiracial perspectives.