Sarah Ratliff's Blog

Ten years ago, I co-edited a book called Being Biracial: Where Our Secret Worlds Collide. It was a collection of personal essays by people from all over the world who live, breathe, and navigate multiracial identity every day. At the time, the topic wasn’t often explored outside academic journals or identity theory books, but it was starting… Continue reading What I’ve Learned About Multiracial Identity — 10 Years Later

Kamala Harris is the 32nd Attorney General of California. She was born in Oakland, California in 1964. Her mother is Indian and her father is Jamaican-American. Harris’ mother was a doctor with a speciality in breast cancer, and her father was an economics professor at Stanford University. Still young when her parents divorced, Harris lived with… Continue reading Kamala Harris

Jessica Ennis-Hill CBE was born Jessica Ennis in Sheffield, England in 1986. She is a track and field athlete and the current Olympic and world heptathlon champion. Ennis’s father is Jamaican and her mother is English. She began her athletic career at age 11, when she won a prize at a local summer track event,… Continue reading Jessica Ennis-Hill CBE

Wentworth Miller was born in England in 1972 to two American parents. His father is Black with African-American, Jamaican, English, German, Jewish and Cherokee ancestry. His mother is White and is of Russian, French Dutch, Syrian and Lebanese ancestry. Miller’s father was a Rhodes Scholar and was studying at Oxford when Miller was born. Both… Continue reading Wentworth Miller

Singer and songwriter Rihanna was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in Saint Michael, Barbados in 1988. Her mother is Afro-Guyanese and her father is of Barbadian and Irish descent. She has sold more than 200 million records worldwide, which makes her one of the best-selling artists in history. Rihanna grew up in Barbados with her mother… Continue reading Rihanna

Frederick Douglass was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in 1818. He was a social reformer, abolitionist, writer, orator and statesman who escaped slavery before the Civil War. Douglass was born on a plantation to a Black slave mother, from whom he was soon separated, as was the custom in Maryland. Though not verified, the master… Continue reading Frederick Douglass

Troian Bellisario was born in Los Angeles, California in 1985. Her mother is Black and her father is half Italian, half Serbian. Both of her parents are television producers, and her father is known for producing Magnum P.I., Quantum Leap and NCIS. Bellisario is best known for playing Spencer Hastings on the television show Pretty… Continue reading Troian Bellisario

Amandla Stenberg is a young Biracial actress whom Time Magazine named one of the 30 Most Influential Teens of 2015. Born of a Black mother and a Danish father, Stenberg has been in the entertainment industry since age four. She is best known for playing Rue in The Hunger Games. Stenberg being cast as Rue… Continue reading Amandla Stenberg

Barack Obama was born Barack Hussein Obama II in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961. Obama is the 44th President of the United States and the first Black man to be elected to the Oval Office. Obama was born to a White mother from Kansas and a Kenyan father. Obama’s parents divorced in 1964, and he was… Continue reading President Barack Obama

Alicia Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook in New York City in 1981. She is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actress and record producer. Keys’ father is Black and her mother is White, of Italian, Irish and Scottish heritage. Keys’ unique style has led to 35 million album sales and 30 million singles worldwide. In […]