Who am I? . . . Where do I fit into American society? . . . For most of my 47 years, I have struggled to find answers to these questions. I am an American of multiracial descent and culture [Native American, African American, Italian American, and Puerto Rican]. In this aspect, I am not very different from many Americans [but] I have always felt an urge to feel and live the intermingling of blood that runs through my veins. American society has a way of forcing multiracial and biracial people to choose one race over the other. I personally feel this pressure every time I have to complete an application form with instructions to check just one box for race category. —Butch, a 47-year-old man1 Yeah, my people came from all over—Italy, Ireland, Poland, and others too. I don’t really know when they got here or why they came and, really, it doesn’t matter much to me. I mean, I’m just an American . . . I’m from everywhere . . . I’m from here! —Jennifer, a 25-year-old white American woman3 Based on the terms, themes and concepts of this course, provide the best possible explanation for why these two people feel so differently about being “American”.

Question

Who am I? . . . Where do I fit into American society? . . . For most of my 47 years, I have struggled to find answers to these questions. I am an American of multiracial descent and culture [Native American, African American, Italian American, and Puerto Rican]. In this aspect, I am not very different from many Americans [but] I have always felt an urge to feel and live the intermingling of blood that runs through my veins. American society has a way of forcing multiracial and biracial people to choose one race over the other. I personally feel this pressure every time I have to complete an application form with instructions to check just one box for race category.

—Butch, a 47-year-old man¹

Yeah, my people came from all over—Italy, Ireland, Poland, and others too. I don’t really know when they got here or why they came and, really, it doesn’t matter much to me. I mean, I’m just an American . . . I’m from everywhere . . . I’m from here!

—Jennifer, a 25-year-old white American woman³

Based on the terms, themes and concepts of this course, provide the best possible explanation for why these two people feel so differently about being “American”.