Some speak of a post-racial America, suggesting that we have moved past racial discrimination and prejudice as a society. Yet, race and racial tensions seem to be the topics of the hour: it’s all we hear about on the news. Headlines featuring “Dolazel”, “police brutality” and etc. keep repeating themselves and reminding us that the abstract concept of race is still a very touchy and relevant subject in our country. Growing up as a biracial individual in Eastern Kentucky, 2008 Berea Watson fellow Alexander Gibson took it upon himself to learn more about the very concrete ways in which race affects people’s daily lives around the world.

For his Watson project, Alexander traveled to Venezuela, Vietnam, India and South Africa to understand how multiracial people across the globe define their identities individually and collectively. “When given a choice between the predominant ethnic group and a marginalized minority, most biracial people identify with the marginalized minority. This is interesting because you would expect that self-interested, rational, people would chose the identity that offers the most objective advantage, yet that is not the apparent result”, he told me.

Alexander’s year of exploration was fundamental in his effort to comprehend his own identity. It also opened his eyes to the realities of multiracial people in vastly diverse contexts. “The Watson Fellowship can be a highly-isolating experience”, Alexander reflected. “It made me feel less connected with my fellow Americans and more interested in global, as opposed to local, politics. A year as a vagabond creates a feeling of freedom and separateness from traditional human experiences that I don’t know I will ever recover from. Nor, am I sure I want to”.

Interested in applying for the Watson Fellowship? Visit https://legacy.berea.edu/cie/thomas-j-watson-fellowship/ to learn about deadlines, eligibility, and how to apply!