Race Transcenders

Transcend:

To pass over or go beyond (a physical obstacle or limit); to climb or get over the top of (a wall, mountain, etc.). (Oxford English Dictionary)

To pass or extend beyond or above (a non-physical limit); to go beyond the limits of (something immaterial); to exceed. (Oxford English Dictionary)

“My journey has taken me past constructions of race, past constructions of mixed race, and into an understanding of human difference that does not include race as a meaningful category. (Spencer in Penn, 2002, p.10)”

Race Transcendence
This study seeks individuals who are commonly identified as black (or African American), biracial or multiracial identity groups, but whose self-understanding does not incorporate race or racial identity. This type of self-understanding will be referred to as race-transcendent. Please read the statements below. If, after careful consideration, you feel that the statements accurately represent how you feel about race as part of your self-identity, and you are at least 18 years old, you are encouraged to contact me.

Definition of a race transcendent self-understanding
The non-racial or transcendent identity involves consciously denying having any racial identity whatsoever. Individuals who choose this type of self-understanding simply do not use race as a construct to understand the social world or their relative place in it (Rockquemore, 2002). This perspective is not the typical color-blind ideology because, although race-transcenders wish less attention were paid to race, they are actually aware of how race negatively affects the daily existence of people of color. They have very likely experienced discrimination, yet they respond by understanding those situations as part of a broad societal problem; one in which they are deeply embedded, but not one that leads to their subscription to racial identity (Rockquemore, 2002).

Illustration
Rob was adamant that race was a false categorization of humanity and did not want to be thought of as a member of any racial category whatsoever. Rob’s greatest desire was to be understood by others as the unique individual he was, to be appreciated for his particular gifts and talents, and not to be “pigeon-holed” into a pre-formulated category that carried with it a multitude of assumptions about the content of his character. Rob was not black, white, or biracial. He was a musician, a thinker, a kind-hearted individual, a good friend, a Catholic, and a hard-working student with dreams and ambitions. For Rob, race had interfered with others perceiving his authentic self, and he could see that it would continue to color how others viewed him, his work, and his personal talents in the future. …he didn’t see himself in any [racial category] and…he resented being falsely stuffed into a rigid and unrepresentative typology or being excluded as an “outlying case” (Rockquemore, 2002.)