The Biracial and Multiracial Student Experience: A Journey to Racial Literacy

"With great pleasure, I accompanied Bonnie Davis on her learning journey to better understand the plight and perspective of biracial and multiracial students. Once again, she has enriched my understanding of the powerful intersection of race and schooling. Educators of all races will benefit from the personal narratives, prompts for self-examination, and provocative research she has compiled."
―Glenn Singleton, Founder and President, Pacific Educational Group, Inc.
Author, Courageous Conversations About Race

What does it mean to be "in between"?

As more biracial and multiracial students enter the classroom, educators have begun to critically examine the concept of race. Through compelling student and teacher narratives, best-selling author Bonnie M. Davis gives voice to a frequently mislabeled and misunderstood segment of the population. Filled with research-based instructional strategies and reflective questions, the book supports readers in examining:

• The meaning of race, difference, and ethnicity
• How mixed-identity students develop racial identities
• How to adjust instruction to demonstrate cultural proficiency
• Complex questions to help deepen understanding of bi- and multiracial experiences, white privilege, and the history of race in the U.S.

This sensitively written yet practical guide fills a gap in the professional literature by examining the experiences of biracial/multiracial students in the context of today′s classrooms. The author calls upon readers to take a transformational journey toward racial literacy and, ultimately, become empowered by a real understanding of what it means to be biracial or multiracial and enable all students to experience increased self-confidence and believe in their ability to succeed.

Bonnie M. Davis, PhD, is a veteran teacher of more than forty years who is passionate about education. She taught in middle schools, high schools, universities, homeless shelters, and a men’s prison. She holds a doctorate in English from St. Louis University and is the recipient of numerous awards, including Teacher of the Year in two public school districts, the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Anti-Defamation League’s World of Difference Community Service Award. She has presented at numerous national conferences and currently works in school districts across the country.

Dr. Davis’ work centers on examining what “we don’t know we don’t know” about ourselves in order to more effectively teach students who don’t look like us. Moving from self reflection to action, her books offer educators culturally responsive, standards-based instructional strategies that bridge culture, language, race, and ethnicity.

Dr. Davis’s publications include the How to Teach Students Who Don’t Look Like You: Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies(2012);How to Coach Teachers Who Don’t Think Like You: Using Literacy Strategies to Coach Across Content Areas (2007); The Biracial and Multiracial Student Experience: A Journey to Racial Literacy(2009); and Creating Culturally Considerate Schools: Educating Without Bias (2012) with coauthor Kim L. Anderson. She is currently working on the Equity 101 Series with Curtin Linton, Executive Vice President of School Improvement Network.