Mixed Feelings

Posted in Asian Diaspora, Autobiography, Identity Development/Psychology, Media Archive, United States, Videos on 2015-02-16 20:14Z by Steven

Mixed Feelings

The Center for Asian American Media
1998
45 minutes, VHS

Mikko Jokela, Director/Poducer

Through interviews with five UC Berkeley students and teachers of mixed ethnic heritage, filmmaker Mikko Jokela illuminates the experience of what it is like to grow up part Asian in American society. His peers offer personal anecdotes detailing how their parents met, what it was like growing up, how they initially perceived their own cultural identities and how they see themselves today. Humorous and revelatory, this experimental documentary manages to tackle difficult issues of racial reconciliation while celebrating difference and diversity.

For more information, click here.

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Soledad O’Brien Returns to SBU with Her Black in America Tour

Posted in Live Events, Media Archive, Politics/Public Policy, United States on 2015-02-16 19:47Z by Steven

Soledad O’Brien Returns to SBU with Her Black in America Tour

Stony Brook University Happenings: The online newsletter for Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, New York
2015-02-06

Award-winning journalist and former CNN news anchor Soledad O’Brien brings her Black in America tour to Stony Brook University in an interactive event that includes a panel discussion of the key issues facing minority communities today. She will be on campus Monday, February 16, at 6 pm on the Main Stage at Staller Center, joined by panelists author Joan Morgan, former NBA basketball player Etan Thomas and New York City community member Luis Paulino.

“I’m excited to be back on the Stony Brook campus,” said O’Brien. “My dad was a founding professor, and I literally grew up on that campus. It’s been a thrill to go back over the years be meet with journalism students. Can’t wait to be back!”

Her father, Edward E. O’Brien was a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stony Brook University, where he taught fluid mechanics.

O’Brien was the originator of the highly successful Black in America and Latino in America documentary series for CNN. In 2013, she launched Starfish Media Group, dedicated to uncovering and producing empowering stories about issues of race, class, wealth, poverty and opportunity. Her honors include two Emmy Awards for 2012 election coverage and the special report “Kids on Race.”

To learn more about the tour, visit iamtheconversation.com.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Conferences & Special Events at (631) 632-6320 or conferences.events@stonybrook.edu

For more information, click here.

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Obama meets with 10 unsuspecting students for hourlong roundtable

Posted in Articles, Barack Obama, Campus Life, Media Archive, Politics/Public Policy, United States on 2015-02-16 02:32Z by Steven

Obama meets with 10 unsuspecting students for hourlong roundtable

The Stanford Daily
Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
2015-02-13

Victor Xu, Desk Editor


Vicki Niu ’18 (right) was one of 10 students who participated in an hourlong roundtable with President Barack Obama on Friday afternoon. (SAM GIRVIN/The Stanford Daily)

Rio LaVigne ’15 signed up to meet several White House officials after the morning session of today’s cybersecurity summit. She did not, however, expect to meet President Barack Obama.

Earlier this week, a group of 10 students with interests in cybersecurity was chosen by various Stanford professors and academics to potentially attend a roundtable meeting with “senior White House officials.” It was not until yesterday afternoon that the meeting was confirmed. And it was not until after Obama’s speech, in a back room of Memorial Auditorium, that the students figured out that they might be meeting the president.

“We walked into the room and pretty quickly noticed there was a nametag in front of every seat except one,” LaVigne said. “The table’s a horseshoe shape, and the one seat that was missing was the one in the very back in the center. It was like, ‘Hmm, okay. That’s interesting. I wonder who’s going to sit there. Someone who doesn’t need a nametag?’”…

Read the entire article here.

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Growing Up As A Hafu In Japan

Posted in Articles, Asian Diaspora, Identity Development/Psychology, Media Archive on 2015-02-16 02:20Z by Steven

Growing Up As A Hafu In Japan

GaijinPot
2014-08-23

Yumi Nakata

Even though Japan is far more Westernized today than it has ever been, it still remains a very homogeneous country. The government has been trying to promote internationalization and also improve the English curriculum in schools but the process takes times and Japan is not a country that moves quickly.

As more foreigners choose to live in Japan, the number of interracial children has been on the rise. These children who have a non-Japanese parent are called “Hafu”, a twist on the English word half. Some people say these mixed children should be called “double” instead of “half”.

I am actually Hafu myself. My mother is from South East Asia and my father is Japanese. They met while my mother was studying in Japan as an international student. All of us, Hafu who grow up in Japan share the same dilemma. Hafu children are minorities so we struggle to fit into the mainstream Japanese society that constantly teaches us the importance of harmony and unity. At least, I look Japanese and people would never know that I am Hafu unless I tell them but what about the Hafu children who look non-Japanese?…

Read the entire article here.

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EXCLUSIVE: Meet Hip-Hop’s Next Big Thing Nitty Scott, MC

Posted in Articles, Arts, Interviews, Latino Studies, Media Archive, United States, Women on 2015-02-16 02:10Z by Steven

EXCLUSIVE: Meet Hip-Hop’s Next Big Thing Nitty Scott, MC

Latina
2015-02-13

Raquel Reichard

If you’re a hip-hop fan, you may already be familiar with the genre’s latest heavy hitter: Nitty Scott, MC.

This year alone the half-Puerto Rican, half-African American artist has been called the next big MC and a woman you should know. And when Nitty’s not creating new music, working on a video project for her mixtape The Art of Chill, or preparing for her NBA All-Star Weekend performance, where she’ll be opening for Drake, she’s emailing fans about mental health and bringing up issues of sexism, sexuality and sexual orientation during interviews with New York’s Hot 97.

This is a lot for any artist, but especially for a 24-year-old working without a manager or record label support. Somehow, the Michigan-born, Orlando-raised and Brooklyn resident is doing it (and killin’ it!), making her an inspirational Latina and all-around badass.

Take a read and find out for yourself:…

…What do you hope your music can accomplish?

On an individual level, I want what most artists want: to find themselves through their art, express themselves uninhibitedly and be able to make a living off of that as well. Once the music takes me where it needs to, I want to break into more philanthropic, humanitarian efforts. Music is the medium and the vessel that will carry me to the level of influence I need to make the world better, as cliché as it sounds. In the scope of my culture, I want it to bring light to the experiences of Afro-Latina women growing up in this generation, really be one of the people who help fill a void and represent us honestly and with nuance…

Read the entire interview here.

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Dorothy Roberts: Bringing Different Perspectives into Class

Posted in Articles, Campus Life, Media Archive, United States, Videos on 2015-02-16 01:53Z by Steven

Dorothy Roberts: Bringing Different Perspectives into Class

University of Pennsylvania
Multimedia
2015-02-12

When Dorothy Roberts was 3 months old, she moved with her parents from Chicago to Liberia, where her mother, Iris, had worked as a young woman after leaving Jamaica.

It was the first of Dorothy’s many trips abroad, and one during which her father, Robert, took a bunch of photographs and filmed home movies with his 16-millimeter camera. The Roberts family moved back to Chicago when Dorothy was 2, and she can recall weekly screenings of the 16-milimeter reels from Liberia in the living room.

“I had a very strong interest in learning about other parts of the world from when I was very little,” says Roberts, the 14th Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor. “My whole childhood revolved around learning about other parts of the world and engaging with people from around the world.”…

Read the entire spotlight here.

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Mixed Race 3.0: Risk and Reward in the Digital Age

Posted in Anthologies, Books, Communications/Media Studies, Identity Development/Psychology, Media Archive, Politics/Public Policy, Social Science, United States on 2015-02-16 01:42Z by Steven

Mixed Race 3.0: Risk and Reward in the Digital Age

USC Annenberg Press
2015-01-30
113 pages
ISBN: 9781625175564

Edited by:

Ulli K. Ryder
Department of Gender and Women’s Studies
University of Rhode Island

Marcia Alesan Dawkins, Clinical Assistant Professor
Annenberg School for Communication and Jounalism
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Have you been asked, “what nationality are you” or “what country are you from”?
Have you been puzzled when forms tell you to “select only one ethnicity”?
Have you been disturbed to hear that you’re the “face of a colorblind future”?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, this book is for you.

Mixed Race 3.0: Risk and Reward in the Digital Age is an e-book that contains 17 contributions (many with exclusive photos) from award-winning writers, researchers and artists who embody a “mixed mindset.” Audacious and razor-sharp, Mixed Race 3.0 exposes the many monochromatic portrayals of multiracial people’s richness, variety and struggles in history, politics, mass-media and technology. Fans of Loving Day, Race Remixed, Mixed Chicks Chat, The Mixed Experience Podcast, Mixed Girl Problems and Critical Mixed Race Studies will be captivated, incensed and inspired by the powerful discussions of risks and rewards of being multiracial today.

Beyond memoir or case study, this book offers three versions of what it means to be mixed from a variety of voices. Version 1 is “Mixed Race 1.0: A Monologue.” Or, how did multiracial identities emerge in the U.S. and what challenges did they face? Version 2 is “Mixed Race 2.0: A Dialogue.” Or, what are some core differences between how multiracials think and talk about themselves and how U.S. and global cultures think and talk about them? Version 3 is “Mixed Race 3.0: A Megalogue.” Or, where in the world is this entire thing going as technology plays more of a role?

With honest storytelling and up-to-date critical inquiry, Mixed Race 3.0 plots a path not just to being mixed in the 21st century, but one open to anyone interested in simply “how to be.” The result is a poignant, intelligent, and daring journey that dissects the controversial label—multiracial—and challenges any politician, pundit or provocateur that purports to speak for or about all multiracial people.

Table of Contents

  • Foreword
    • Herman S. Gray
  • Introduction
  • Section 1 Mixed Race 1.0: A Monologue
    • Gary B. Nash
    • Peggy Pascoe
    • Jordan Clarke
  • Section 2 Mixed Race 2.0: A Dialouge
    • Ken Tanabe
    • Lori L. Tharps
    • Andrew K. Jolivette
    • Ulli K. Ryder
    • Marcia Alesan Dawkins
    • Stephanie Sparling
  • Section 3 Mixed Race 3.0: A Megalogue
    • Rainier Spencer
    • Velina Hasu Houston
    • Lindsay A. Dawkins
    • Amanda Mardon
    • Shoshana Sarah
    • Mary Beltrán
    • Lisa Rueckert
  • The Authors and Artists
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Biracial males wanted to take part in research project

Posted in Media Archive, United States, Wanted/Research Requests/Call for Papers on 2015-02-12 16:21Z by Steven

Biracial males wanted to take part in research project

Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies
University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
2014-12-21

Remi Joseph-Salisbury, Doctoral Researcher
R.Salisbury@leeds.ac.uk

  • Are you a biracial male of black and white parentage?
  • Are you aged between 16 and 21 and went to school in the U.S.?
  • Would you like to take part in a discussion group or one-to-one interview considering the educational experiences of black/white biracial males?

Interviews can be conducted in person (I will be situated in Pennsylvania), using Skype, E-mail or an Instant Messaging program.

Participants will be offered a $15 gift voucher as a thank you for their participation.

To take part or for an informal chat about the project, please contact me, Remi Joseph-Salisbury, by e-mail. I look forward in hearing from you.

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The Lazy Storytelling of ‘Black or White’: Love and Justice Are Not Colorblind

Posted in Articles, Book/Video Reviews, Media Archive, Religion, United States on 2015-02-12 03:23Z by Steven

The Lazy Storytelling of ‘Black or White’: Love and Justice Are Not Colorblind

Christ and Pop Culture (CAPC)
2015-02-11

D. L. Mayfield

I was at a writing retreat once where a bunch of us gathered together to talk about how to write well about social justice issues in our world. A young singer-songwriter with a folksy vibe came and played a set for us. He introduced a song as inspired by how sad he was at the racial divide of the city, and how it seemed that white folks and blacks folks didn’t get along. He launched into a song, the chorus going something like this: we used to sing so beautifully together/perhaps one day we’ll sing together again.

After he was done singing, one of my fellow writers—the only black man in our cohort, who also happened to live in North Carolina—asked the singer-songwriter to elaborate on the interactions that inspired the song. The singer stumbled over his words and told a few stories of interacting with African-American folks who to his perception seemed less-than-friendly to white folks. We all sat quietly as he shared his perspective, and later debriefed about that particular song. Why did it make us all feel so uncomfortable? Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, the leader of our group (a man who has been involved in racial reconciliation work for decades now) leaned forward and in his southern drawl poignantly identified the trouble. What I want to know is this: and just when, exactly, did we ever all sing together?

…The recent release starring Kevin Costner, Black or White, is uncomfortable in the exact same way. Ostensibly this is a movie which dares to look at race issues: Costner is a white grandfather parenting his bi-racial granddaughter who becomes entangled in a custody battle by the black father and his extended family. By turns a tragedy, a comedy, a courtroom drama, with a dash of heart-warming family film. Costner plays Elliot Anderson, a wealthy alcoholic lawyer reeling from the sudden death of his wife. Octavia Spencer plays Rowena, the paternal grandmother of Eloise, the girl in Elliot’s sole care. Rowena (Grandma “Wee Wee”) and the extended family she takes care of live in Compton; Elliot lives somewhere else—a better part of LA, we shall say. Rowena and the family want to see more of Eloise but Elliot resists. In exasperation, they retain Rowena’s younger brother, a lawyer, to sue Elliot for full custody of the child. Reggie, the birth dad, shows up halfway through the movie, adding emotional intrigue. The audience is left wondering at the motivations of Reggie, who is introduced as a crack-addict and absentee father (“you’re a stereotype, Reggie—you ruin it for all of us”—his uncle tells him).

The themes explored are certainly worthy of a full-length movie. Eloise and her biracial identity, the way economics affects both parenting and legal procedures, the stereotypes we put onto one another, how certain addictions are more culturally acceptable—these are all fascinating and could prove to be invaluable insights into the pulse of a nation that is currently struggling with racial injustice and unrest. But Black or White addresses all of these issues in both a superficial and strangely maudlin way—so much emotion, but so little truth behind it…

Read the entire article here.

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What Are Words Worth: Hapa, Hafu or Mixed-Race?

Posted in Articles, Asian Diaspora, Identity Development/Psychology, Media Archive, United States on 2015-02-12 03:10Z by Steven

What Are Words Worth: Hapa, Hafu or Mixed-Race?

Pacific Citizen: The National Newspaper of the JACL
Los Angeles, California
2015-01-27

Gil Asakawa

I’ve just finished writing revisions for a new edition of my book, “Being Japanese American: A JA Sourcebook for Nikkei, Hapa … & Their Friends,” which will be published this July by Stone Bridge Press. I mention this not just to pimp the book to you all, but because I wrote in the new foreword how I have decided not to use the word “hapa,” at least for now.

Instead, I wrote that I’ll use “mixed race” instead.

Hapa is a word originally used in Hawaii to describe mixed-race people, like half-Asian, half-Hawaiian. The term was used as a slur, but over the years, it’s become commonly used even by mixed-race people. In fact, I’ve heard mixed-race people other than Asian combinations refer to themselves as hapa.

But in 2008, when I moderated a panel in Denver titled “The Bonds of Community: Hapa Identity in a Changing U.S.” for a conference sponsored by the Japanese American National Museum, a man stood up during the question-and-answer period and said he thought it was a racist term. At the time, I pushed back gently and noted that it’s already a pretty common term.

The interchange with this man has stayed with me ever since…

Read the entire article here.

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