Betwixt and Between: Studying Multiracial Identity, NPR’s Talk of the Nation, October 8, 2012.

My heart goes out to everyone who loved and was inspired by Reg Daniel. He was a wonderful colleague and friend. 

My heartfelt condolences to Reg’s loved ones. So sad! He was such a supportive and loving person!

My condolences to the family and friends of Reginald Daniel.It’s been many years since I sat in a room with him. Whenever we did, the conversation we shared was intense, insightful, and enjoyable. A majority of the conversation centered on issues related to mixed race identity. Back in 2012, Reg had asked me to be on the editorial review board for the Journal of Mixed Race Studies. Regarding a publication about abolitionists, we shared correspondence. He asked me to review it and I did so. In the aftermath of that, we spoke about mixed race identity in relation to multiracial people who are also mixed with African heritage. From the early days of the multiracial movement, Reg was someone with whom I could discuss the harder, complicated issues of that kind of multiracial identity as well as the intricacies of colorism that existed within mixed race culture. As a scholar and friend, he was bright, tough, kind, and courageous, which should inspire us all.

One of the key reasons I joined the Sociology doctoral program at UCSB was the opportunity to work with Reg Daniel. Reg was not only a dedicated advisor, but also provided me with opportunities to co-publish with him. I'll never forget the many discussions we had. He was, above all, a passionate and curious scholar, and awe-inspiring lecturer. I learned so much from his breadth and depth of knowledge in the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, and his comparative historical perspective on racial formation. Reg, I hope you have found peace and happiness wherever you are. I can only imagine you and Machado de Assis deep in conversation somewhere beyond the blue.

My deepest condolences for those who loved and learned from Reg Daniels, a leader and trailblazer in Critical Mixed Race Studies. He influenced so many through his visionary scholarship and in his role as a mentor and teacher.

Having been deeply impressed by his work when I was a student, I had the honor of working with him on the founding issue of the Journal of Critical Mixed Race Studies. I knew him as an exacting scholar, deeply dedicated to excellence. 

Sending my condolences to Reg’s bio and chosen families, his university family, his multiracial scholarly and activist families, and everyone who knew and loved this extraordinary human being. 

I first met him in Southern Cal in the 1980s, when we multiracial folks were first making our way into academia and the public sphere via Maria P. P. Root’s pathbreaking books and the papers, books, plays, poetry, presentations, and other tools we were using to make our presence felt. Reg was clearly a deep and dedicated scholar, but he was also a generous friend and a strong, positive presence in any group. 

Reg personally embodied so many cultures and experiences, and took the best lesson of all from that background — he was compassionate and welcoming to everyone  no matter what their background, and strove to build a world where everyone had a place at the table.  He was like one of the giant trees that shaded and protected all of the rest of us in the still nascent mixed race studies movement, so it’s hard to imagine him gone so soon. But he has left an enviable body of published work, a lineage of scholars who matured under his tutelage, and a community of mixed race scholars who will remember him fondly for all of our days. Thank you, Reg, and RIP. 

Reg has been my mentor since about 2005 so for nearly 20 years. He selflessly guided me in my early career as a professor, graciously reviewed and endorsed books I wrote and offered countless advice on my work and ideas for which I will be forever grateful. He is key figure if the mixed race movement and we are all blessed for his leadership!

Reg was a beautiful human being and great scholar. May his memory be a blessing to his family and friends.