2026 Critical Mixed Race Studies Association Conference

Last week I returned to my alma mater, UCLA, for the first time in over a decade to participate in the 2026 Critical Mixed Race Studies Association Conference, which took place from February 19-21. It was an incredible experience to visit the campus where I spent my formative undergraduate years and to convene with scholars of critical mixed race studies who had traveled to Los Angeles from all over the world. 

​I organized a panel that took place on February 20th titled "Writing as Process: Loss, Healing, and Identity Affirmation in Mixed Asian Storytelling." During this panel, I presented preliminary research from my second book project, which explores how mixed race authors represent and process grief after the loss of a loved one through narrative forms like fiction and memoir. My talk, "Mourning in the Mixed Race Memoir: Loss, Racial Trauma, and Writing Toward Healing in Michelle Zauner's Crying in H Mart​," explored how loss can activate an identity crisis for mixed race Asian Americans and how self-reflective writing might offer a pathway to healing from such racial trauma.

An all-smiles selfie on the first day of the conference.

One of the best parts of organizing this panel was getting to work with my fellow panelists, Elizabeth (Lisa) Liang (creator of Alien Citizen: An Earth Odyssey), Ingrid Hu Dahl (author of Sun Shining on Morning Snow), and Rena Heinrich (associate professor at USC and author of Race and Role: The Mixed-Race Asian Experience in American Drama). It was inspiring to hear them talk about their writings and personal experiences navigating loss, artistic expression, and identity definition as mixed race Asian American women. Here we are posing with our publications in the lobby of the James West Alumni Center.

When I wasn't presenting, I was attending many fascinating other panels covering the latest research on multiraciality from a variety of humanities and social sciences scholars based both in the United States and abroad. It was a delight to hear such a diverse range of disciplinary and geographical perspectives on multiracial issues. One particular highlight was attending a talk by Rhianna Garrett (a scholar at Northumbria University) and learning that her latest research was inspired by a presentation I had given at the CMRSA conference two years ago, in which I analyzed Danzy Senna's novel New People. To read about my experience at the 2024 CMRSA conference, click here. To read the 2025 essay that Dr. Garrett published in Genealogy ​after being inspired by my 2024 CMRSA conference talk, click here. 

In addition to attending a rich variety of panels, I had the great pleasure of building community with members of the Mixed Asian Caucus and the Mixed Family Caucus, selling my book ​Refiguring Race and Risk: Counternarratives of Care in the U.S. Security State at a community vendor table, and exploring the UCLA campus with my family, who had come along for the trip. ​

With Dr. Rhianna Garrett after her talk.

In front of Royce Hall with my two children.

At the community vendor table with Rena Heinrich (middle) and Farzana Nayani (right).