Journalist and Author to Discuss the Multiracial Experience at Colorado State University on Tuesday April 7

The experiences of interracial families and multiracial students in the post-civil rights era will be the focus of a presentation at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 7 at Colorado State University in the Lory Student Center Room 228.

Elliott Lewis, a television reporter and author of "Fade: My Journeys in Multiracial America," will discuss the shifting landscape of racial identity in the United States today.        

Lewis’s book, "Fade," weaves his own life story as a black-and-white biracial American with the voices of dozens of other multiracial people, illuminating a wide range of racial experiences and revealing stark generational differences in the ways people of mixed race have come to terms with their identity.

The Washington Post described "Fade" as "a postcard from the edge of racial boundaries" and praised the book as "a much-needed clarification of America’s new racial reality."

"People often make snap judgments of anyone who says they’re biracial," said Lewis, whose mother and father are both mixtures of black and white. "Some people think we’re confused or we’re trying to escape being black or Asian or what have you. Others go to the opposite extreme and think we’re exotic and the wave of the future. Neither view captures our reality."

Lewis is a freelance television journalist in Washington, DC, and a former board member of the National Association of Black Journalists. A book signing will follow his remarks.

The event is sponsored by Shades of CSU, an organization for multiracial students.

For more information about the event contact Kate Wormus at (970) 372-8523. For more information about Lewis, visit www.lewisfreelance.com.

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