Mixed-race thought – making and unmaking (mixed) race

Across the globe, racial and ethnic categories continue to play a central role in the regulation and organisation of social and political life. Mixed-race in all its forms requires us to move beyond categorical thinking and question epistemological and methodological singularities. Andrew Sanchez’s development of ‘mixed race thought’ (MRT) suggests a pluralist theory and methodology with radical potential. The papers here take a critical approach to untangling the complex, sometimes contradictory, always shifting temporal geo-political foundations of ‘mixed race’ and the diverse ways they manifest in practice. Using queer of colour, feminist, de- and postcolonial thinking I argue that we cannot disregard the gendered, sexualised dynamics of race-making and its impact on contemporary boundary making and identities. I draw on three interrelated themes: embodiment, experience and dis/identification and their co-constitution to argue that understanding processes of identification provide a lens for dismantling racism.