Fielding The “What Are You?” Question

Fielding The “What Are You?” Question

Anna Coats, Children’s Librarian at East Rutherford Memorial Library, Rutherford, New Jersey recounts a set of real-life conversations about the confusion her multi-ethnic and multi-cultural origins usually invoke. Coats, who is half Indian Guyanese Hindu and half Hungarian Dutch Welsh Cherokee Catholic, concludes: "It is not as though people cannot visualize a multiethnic and multicultural person; I stand before them. This leads me to question, “Who gets to define race, ethnicity, identity, and group inclusion? Does it matter?”

Includes a list of resources on 1) National/Racial Identity; 2)On Being Mixed; 3) Overcoming Stereotypes; and 4) West Indies.

Anna Coats

APALA (Asian Pacific American Librarians Association)

January 4, 2014

From the APALA series: What’s Your Normal? Personal essays and helpful resource lists on the many different kinds and forms of APA identities.

“What’s Your Normal?” is a series of personal essays, accompanied by resource lists, highlighting the different kinds and forms of identities within APA populations.

Why - Learn about the inspiration for “What’s Your Normal?” and how you can contribute.

Essays - Read stories shared by APALA members on insights into their identities and what is “normal” for them.

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