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Growing Up Mixed: Identity, Race and Early Adulthood

An illustration of a family portrait. One parent, on the left, is white and masculine-presenting with short, brown hair. The other parent, on the right, is Black and more femme-presenting with natural hair gathered in a ponytail. The white parent is holding and looking down at a young girl who presents as Black with kinky-looking hair in a bun on top of her head. She is looking at the camera and smiling. The Black parent is holding a little boy who has lighter brown skin and hair that looks wavier. Both parent and child are looking at the camera.
Charnel Hunter

The number of people in the U.S. who identify as two or more races is on the rise. So what can help diminish the sense of unbelonging that is common for mixed folks?

There are more than 30 million people in the U.S. who identify as two or more races. But there are a lot of questions that come with a multiracial, multicultural background: where do I belong? What does it mean to be mixed race? One key point in life that brings up these questions is the transition to adulthood, brought on by life events like college, new friends and new jobs.

Host Anita Rao talks with two mixed race college students about family life, dating and identity. Adiah Siler is a rising senior at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia studying creative writing. And Claire Gallagher is a rising senior at the University of Michigan studying public policy.

Anita also talks with Sarah Lotus Garrett, a life and goal fulfillment coach who works with mixed adults and parents of mixed children, about how she helps folks feel confident in who they are.

Special thanks to everyone who contributed to this episode, including Naomi, Sarah R. and Gabrielle!

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Kaia Findlay is the lead producer of Embodied, WUNC's weekly podcast and radio show about sex, relationships and health. Kaia first joined the WUNC team in 2020 as a producer for The State of Things.
Anita Rao is an award-winning journalist, host, creator, and executive editor of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships & health.