Susan Fales-Hill

Growing up biracial is not the miserable experience that many have claimed, writes Susan Fales-Hill in the following viewpoint. Recalling her childhood with a white father and Haitian mother in a New York multiethnic enclave, Fales- Hill maintains that she feels enriched by her racially mixed background. Although the life of a biracial child may not be free of racial turmoil, Fales-Hill contends, many mixed-race individuals learn to embrace all aspects of their identity and become well-adjusted adults. Fales-Hill is the author of an autobiography: Up From Loehmann’s: One Black Girl’s Struggle.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What is the origin of the word “mulatto,” according to Fales-Hill?
2. How did Fales-Hill first learn about her parents’ racial difference?
3. What is “Black Princess Guilt,” according...