Journal of Critical Mixed Race Studies

Migration to Scandinavia has increased in the last fifteen years. Still, little scholarly research has been devoted to the topic of mixed individuals, particularly those of African Danish or African Swedish heritage. This study seeks to fill this gap by delving into how individuals of mixed heritage navigate their identities in the Danish and Swedish contexts, a region where there are no socially accepted terms for identifying or classifying them. This study can provide an excellent starting point into the race discourse that is being overlooked in both Denmark and Sweden. Drawing from qualitative data, this article examines the position of mixed heritage individuals with a special consideration of their sense of identity and belonging as well as the reality of being mixed. Consequently, three pivotal questions drive this research: What are the individuals’ realities in the context of understanding mixed heritage? How do they define themselves? How do they navigate the challenges that come with mixedness? The mixed heritage individuals in this study reveal two common strategies of identity: they position themselves as possessing an “in-between” identity or one that is simply “Black.” Sometimes they use the term “African” to imply Black and “European” to refer to either a Dane or Swede. None of the respondents self-identify as White.