In this episode of the Mixd Project, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dennis Norris II, reader, writer, and co-host of the popular podcast Food 4 Thot (https://food4thotpodcast.com/).  Seated in their Brooklyn home, we had an in-depth conversation about their mixed-race heritage.  Like many African Americans, Dennis has significant European and Indigenous heritage in their family’s lineage.  However, non-black ancestry doesn’t always fit neatly into the construct of the African American identity. The one-drop rule, the painful history of slavery, and the continued oppression of Black people by whites are just some of the reasons why.

Yet in spite of this, the injection of European ancestry into the African American genome has real implications for the community and its individuals.  In my interview with Dennis we talk about how their family’s specific European ancestry has impacted their lives, including what it has afforded them and how it has complicated their existence.  We also go beyond the genetics of white identity and get into the social aspects of whiteness. What does it mean to be socialized white and what are the implications for brown-skinned bodies socializing and existing in predominantly white spaces.