Fade: My Journeys in Multiracial America

Former CNN reporter Lewis's headscratcher of a book argues against pigeonholing and reductive classification systems (he mentions frequently the ""one drop"" rule that deems a person black if they have one drop of black blood and that the 2000 Census was the first in which a person could check multiple racial identity boxes) and for ""a new racial compass."" However, the compass in the borrowed metaphor can ""grow old,"" and, for many biracial people, is ""more sensitive"" and ""must be calibrated more often."" However, Lewis does little to illustrate this concept in the real world, where he instead recounts many instances of people asking him (sometimes elaborate) variations of ""What are you?"" By way of answering, Lewis interviews other bi- and multiracial people, examines statistics, recounts his own experiences and offers up a new definition of race (""a catch-all term referring to a loosely defined population group""). Lewis is more interested in finding different ways to look for answers than in providing pat responses; all of Lewis's interviewees come to different conclusions about what they are and how they forged their identities. Written in conversational prose, Lewis's book is an approachable and thoughtful meditation on a controversial topic.