Association of MultiEthnic Americans

The Association of MultiEthnic Americans (AMEA) is an international collaboration of community organizations. With dedication to advocacy and education on behalf of the mixed-race community, AMEA works to promote a community of acceptance and equality.

On July 4, 1986, the Organizing Committee for a National Association of MultiEthnic Americans was formed by representatives of local mixed-race groups, which emerged during the late 1970s and early 1980s. These were the first groups to focus specifically on mixed-race identities. Many of these organizations, such as I-Pride (San Francisco Bay Area) and the Biracial Family Network (Chicago) formed after anti-miscegenation laws were struck down. With an increased amount of legally recognized interracial relationships, parents of mixed-race children organized and gave their children spaces to socialize together. After parents, multiracial adults and others began organizing, they began challenging the official classification of mixed-race individuals, particularly in connection with the public school system.

In November 1988, members of the Organizing Committee for a National Association of MultiEthnic Americans met in Berkeley, California and founded AMEA to serve as a national platform to advocate for their rights. I-Pride President Carlos A. Fernandez was elected President and Biracial Family Network President Ramona Douglass was elected Vice President.

There are three main areas of AMEA’s work: maintenance of a resource network with a competency around mixed-race issues; facilitating collaboration between organizations dedicated to multiethnic, multiracial and transracial adoptee issues; and conducting needs assessments to identify the unmet needs of the mixed-community and develop recommendations to service providers.

Most of AMEA’s events are organized by its local affiliates. These groups, concentrated in the west and midwest, offers services ranging from cultural events to social support groups. AMEA's first major public event was the Loving Decision Conference in 1992 held in Washington DC. AMEA subsequently organized the first National Conference on the Multiracial Child in 2002 and another Loving Decision Conference in 2007.

In 2004, AMEA and Mavin Foundation partnered to launch The National Mixed Heritage Resource Center, a national clearing house of information related to the mixed-race community.[1]

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