Erica Chito-Childs

Erica Chito Childs is a leading qualitative researcher on issues of race, gender and sexuality, particularly in the areas of multiracialism, families, media and popular culture.

Her first book, Navigating Interracial Borders: Black-White Couples and Their Social Worlds (Rutgers 2005) explores the social world of black-white interracial couples and examines the ways that collective attitudes shape private relationships. Her latest book, Fade to Black and White: Interracial Images in Popular Culture (Rowman& Littlefield 2009) considers the larger context of social messages conveyed by the media—from movies to music to the web—that inform how we think about love across the color line. Having published extensively on the issue of interracial sexuality and multiracial families, she is currently conducting a global study of attitudes toward intermarriage in over twenty-five countries to develop a global framework. This research includes focus group interviews currently being conducted in New York City.

She is also working on a manuscript based on her multiyear ethnography of NYC public elementary schools. This research documents how race, gender and socioeconomic status affect children’s experiences, looking particularly at the experiences of boys of color. Issues covered included the school-to prison pipeline and the disproportionate number of youth of color pushed into special education.

Beyond these large research projects, she is also working on a number of smaller projects looking at media representations of race and sexuality, social media and NYC teens, and public health issues in New York City. She welcomes the opportunity to work with undergraduate and graduate students so please feel free to reach out to her if you are interested in getting involved.