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Multiracial Oath of Social Responsibility

I want to make a difference in this world. Therefore:

I strive to improve race relations.

• I know that race and ethnicity are not solely defined by one’s genetic heritage;
• I refuse to confine my choices in love or loyalty to a single race;
• I make efforts to increase my knowledge of U.S. racial history;
• I know that race and ethnicity can be used as political, economic, and social tools of oppression.

I recognize the people who have made it possible for me to affirm my multiracial identity.

• They are my relatives, friends, and mentors;
• They are people who have crossed color lines to fight discrimination;
• They are people who identified as multiracial before this choice was recognized;
• They are people who have exposed and explained the suppression of multiraciality.

I must fight all forms of oppression as the oppression of one is the oppression of all.

• I recognize that oppression thrives on fear and ignorance;
• I seek to recognize my prejudices and change them;
• I know that it is neither helpful nor productive to argue over who is more oppressed;
• I recognize that my life interconnects with all other lives.

I will make a difference!

© 2004, Maria P. P. Root. Reprinted with permission from Maria P.P. Root, Ph.D., an independent scholar and clinical psychologist at http://www.drmariaroot.com/doc/OathOfSocialResponsibility.pdf. Dr. Root is a trainer, educator, and public speaker on the topics of multiracial families, multiracial identity, cultural competence, trauma, work place harassment, and disordered eating.