OATH OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, by Maria P.P. Root, PhD

Multiracial Oath of Social Responsibility

by Maria P.P. Root, PhD


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