Generation Mix? A Statement of Purpose

Call it a quarter-life crisis. A change in the winds, perhaps. Maybe it's my sad stack of rejection letters from graduate schools. Whatever the case may be, of late,  I've been having a bit of an intellectual, (even vaguely political) existential crisis when it comes to "mixed-race" issues. So, almost two years since I embarked on my self-proclaimed crusade toward a radical engagement with mixed issues, it's about that time to remind myself of the basics that started it all.

First off let me state: I'm a product of my times. I'm a millenial. We try hard to hang on to those foggy late 80s early 90s memories, pretending we weren't drooling Gerber mush over our bibs the night the Berlin Wall came down-- all in vain attempts to separate ourselves from our younger text-happy, equally tech-junky, mass media dependent, Disney Channel-fed, over-stimulated siblings born after 1990. We're all the same. Part of the newly christened "Boomerang Generation" of wandering twentysomethings who were raised partly, in the boomtown years of Clinton, but who really came of age under the dumbing apathy and silencing control of Bush Jr. We've gotten a pretty bad rep for being coddled, apolitical, just a touch nihilistic and downright lazy (Look! in our defense, try graduating from college right at the start of one of the greatest recessions in our country's history!)

And yet, we were the generation credited as most responsible for getting the first black president in the White House. We're the generation with the largest number of college graduates in the nation's history-- though we're now making history as much for being degreed as we are for being indebted and jobless. We're among the first children of the Internet age, though we vaguely remember early life without it. We're the "Ism" kids-- growing up amidst more (inter)national and societal ideological shifts and trends than we could imagine.

I myself was spoon-fed a good amount of liberalism... I blame that mostly on my New York roots and liberal arts education. The most activist and progressive among us have a nostalgic leaning towards revolutionary iconography of the 60s and 70s-- because if truth be told, we have few contemporary heroes... We were born at the height of multicultural politics only to currently find ourselves right on the cusp of colorblindness and post-raciality. We've been called Generation Mix- with a growing number of us choosing to claim multiple racial and ethnic identities. All of these things among many others have informed the type of young adult I've become and (most relevant to this conversation) how I see myself as a woman of color, as a mixed person in the U.S.....It's to my generation and those that follow that I often find myself speaking.

Mixed-Consciouness: In Search of a Political Education

Political education is crucial and yet, many of us are painfully deficient. For me political education is about developing a critical consciousness- a fancy word for a way of thinking and being and perhaps, most importantly understanding who we are and how we fit (and don't fit) into wider systems and structures of power, privelege and opression we are all a part of. Since mixed folk have historically never been recognized as legitimate social or political subjects in this country, figuring out who we are let alone how we fit into these systems can be a struggle to say the least.

So how do we politically educate and raise consciousness-- individually and collectively? Well, for me it starts with taking a look back into our pasts. Now, the type of reading and understanding of history I'm taking about it not this often random, ahistorical revisionist type that attempts to reclaim "mixed-race" people of the past and present: DuBois was mixed and so is Slash!!!Wooot!!!(though very cool, nonetheless). Our history is there, between the lines of  Indigenous histories, Black histories, colonial history,U.S. expansion, immigration, Asian-American history, Latina/o & Chicana/o histories,  U.S. military imperialism etc etc.-- we’re all there, we are and our ancestors are all part of these histories. Even me, with parents who didn’t come to this country until the early 70s. My history is nevertheless tied to immigrant histories and policies that made it possible for my parents to come here, my connection to Black, Latina/o and East Indian histories are rooted in my parent’s identities as part of the wider African and Indian diasporas and systems of global colonialism and imperialism that spread millions around the world over centuries and subjected them to the phenomenon of racialization.

I developed the "Mixed Dreams"  Experimental College course at Oberlin in a humble attempt to patch together a Mixed History 101 and to start to provide a “political education”--tools with which young mixed folk and transracial adoptees could explore who we are, where we’re coming from and how to feel empowered enough to locate ourselves in those histories and identities. I’ve also had students who identify as monoracial and my greatest hope is that we can use discussions on mixed identities, to also break open myths of monolithic identities, cultural & racial authenticity and purity. Isn’t being a 'hyphen American' in key ways also a “mixed” experience? Can we also discuss queer identities as parallel to if not linked to “mixed” experiences as well? What about issues of socioeconomic class and access. In the course, we speak very specifically about mostly “first generation mixed-race experiences post 1967 (acknowledging all the while the limitations of that)-- but we also use multiraciality as a lens through which we can engage with a wider range of issues concerning identity, belonging and perhaps most significantly social justice. In doing so, the discussion changes from some unique, community-specific discussion on our experiences that happens behind closed doors, into a wider, more powerful dialogue we can all deeply benefit from having.

Living on the Color Line: Fighting for Social Justice

Mixed folk's racial loyalties and politics are often under attack. There are quite a number of haters out there who for good reason, are wary of the multiracial wave and its implications on racial justice. The need to be recognized as multiracial on forms and in the general schema of American racial politics has been seen as an empty, individualistic desire that is not only pointless, but feared as destructive to the advancement of other "monoracial" communities of color. Those fears are not without some basis. But I am starting to get a tad defensive about people questioning just how “down” mixed people can be. It’s getting old. It’s true, as mixed people we live on the colorline, but just living there isn’t going to provide any buffer or change much if any of the tensions and violence that still continue to erupt on that line. I believe the only way we can truly start to be a part of changing the racial landscape and speaking some truth to power is by tapping into what Prof. G. Reginal Daniel  (Sociology, UC Santa Barbara) called the ‘greatest tool in our arsenal-- our anti-racist possibilities.’ For me that requires us to tell our stories (the Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival is truly committed to that), critically and with sensitivity while educating ourselves and building that consciousness so that we can find the voice to say,  

I’m mixed and proud, my mixed identity is rooted in the legacies and struggles of people of color in this country and transnationally and I recognize the privileges that can effect the ways I move through this world in relation to white supremacy and power.  I won’t collude or be coopted by disguised white supremacy  and its insidious henchmen Multiculturalism, Colorblindness and Post-racialism. I’m no mixed-up, confused, tragic anything, nor am I some hybrid, superhuman. I’m family,  a legitimate member of various communities--I’m a partner, an ally, and I stand and act in solidarity.

4th Annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival!

Happy Mixed Heritage Month!!! This weekend June 11th- 12th is the 4th Annual Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival at the Japanese American Museum in Los Angeles. Check out the schedule of events here!

 

The Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival is a sponsored project of the New York Foundation for
the Arts, a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt

organization. Contributions on behalf of the Mixed Roots Film &
Literary Festival must be made payable to the New York Foundation for
the Arts, and are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.  

Please support this project with your tax-deductible
donations. Donate on-line at www.mxroots.org donation link. Or send checks payable
to New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Dusky Sally Productions PO
Box 291775, Los Angeles, CA 90029. Please specify “Mixed
Roots Film & Literary Festival” in the memo.

4th Annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival Coming this JUNE!!

The fabulous duo of Mixed Chicks Chat and their team of amazing organizers will be hosting the 4th Annual Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival in Los Angeles, California this June 11th- 12th at the Japanese American National Museum. The festival is currently seeking nominations for their event line-up! See their call for nominations below and if you have any great nominees fill out the survey by February 14th.

Seeking YOUR nominations!

What's the proudest Mixed moment of 2010? What film or book best depicts the Mixed experience?* We're gearing up for the: 4th Annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival: June 11-12, 2011 to be held at the Japanese American National Museum Los Angeles, CA! And we need your help!  We are creating the Festival line-up and we'd like for you to be a big part of the process. This year we are going to have an Awards Presentation based on your nominations!  So we are asking you to nominate films, media, and literature in the following categories. And please feel free to make suggestions for more categories! ...drum roll, please... The 4th Annual Mixed Roots Festival Nomination Categories are: Best film or book depicting an interracial/intercultural relationship Best film or book starring a person with a Mixed background Best reveal of a person who is "passing" Most historically accurate representation of the Mixed experience Best commercial representing the Mixed experience Best film or book representing the Mixed experience Proudest Mixed moment of 2010 Your suggestions   We are accepting nominations until February 14,2011.  Voting will then take place from February 21,2011 - March 7, 2011.  The winners will be announced at the Festival in June! Click HERE to take the Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival Nominations Survey! *Remember, when you make your nominations, to consider that the "Mixed experience" refers to interracial/intercultural relationships, transracial/transcultural adoptions, and anyone who identifies as having biracial, multiracial, Hapa or Mixed identity. Thank you for being a dedicated supporter of the Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival and for being a critical part in the planning this year.

Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival 2010!

The Third Annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival (June 12-13th, 2010) was like every multi kid's dream.

For ONCE in my ENTIRE twenty three years of life I was in a space where a "mixed community" was actually visible; where I was surrounded by fellow curly-headed, ambiguously complected people, families, children, friends and allies-- people who were interested in discussing multi community, history, identity, experiences and even politics-- people who were making films, writing books, recording music, community organizing, fostering entrepreneurship advocating and producing scholarship all in the name of Mixedom. Understandably, I've been geeking out ever since...

It's taken me a few days to fully process just how amazing Mixed Roots really was and the significance of simply having a physical space for multi people to come together. Held in both the  Japanese American National Museum (JANM) and the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy  in Los Angeles, the festival was organized by a team of dedicated and talented people like the festival's coordinator Jennifer Frappier and education outreach coordinator Rayme Cornell as well as co-founders Fanshen Cox and Heidi Durrow (together this dynamic duo make up Mixed Chicks Chat) who's infectious warmth, humility and welcoming spirit I felt as soon as I came in to register and check-in for volunteering.

The JANM featured an exhibit of Kip Fulbeck's latest work "Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids" and the festival was widely attended by mixed families and children. Kim Wayans did a reading of her children's book Amy Hodgepodge which she co-wrote with her husband while Maya Soetoro-Ng (Obama's sister) read from her unpublished illustrated children's book. Maya was honored along with NFL superstar Hines Ward, actress and screenwriter Jenny Lumet and co-founder of Multiracial Americans of Southern California (MASC) Nancy Brown (who I soon found out, is one of the godmothers (aka: OGs) of the multiracial movement of the late 80s and 90s) at the Loving Day Party.

The weekend was full of readings and film screenings (the full schedule of events is available at www.mxroots.org). We'll be here forever if I give you my play by play of the festival. So I'll try my best to give you the Campbell's Condensed version of highlights from two events that still have me thinking.

Panel Exploring the Historical Context for Contemporary Stories of the Mixed Experience

OK, so I'm really big on "knowing your history." I think it may very well be the single most important cornerstone in creating a radical multi movement. So, when I saw that there would be a panel on exploring the historical context of the multi experience, I nearly flipped out and then when I saw that Reginal Daniel PhD would be on the panel-- it was over. I knew that come hell or highwater I would be sitting there, pen and pad in hand waiting expectantly for those esteemed panelist to drop some knowledge.
Which they sorta did...
The panel moderated by Frank Buckley included Kelly Jackson, Larry Aaronson, Farzana Nayani and Reginald Daniel. Larry Aaronson definitely dominated the conversation, which made it difficult to fully hear the thoughts of the rest of the panelists. Yet here were some of the key points I gleaned:

• Multi history starts with the colonization of the United States and is steeped in the histories of both slavery and Native Americans.
• Subjectivity and the creation of narratives from and for multi people is essential
• Multi history is also a history of activism and advocacy of the (relatively) young multiracial movement
• More work needs to be done on the intersections of socio-economic class and multi identity formation
  
• The multiracial movement actually has the potential to be a radical anti-racist, anti-oppressive social justice movement. But that potential needs to be consciously and actively fostered, because it is not part of the "natural" progression of the movement (AMEN!!!!!!!)

Screening of Bi-racial, Not Black....Damnit Part 2!
(you can watch the trailer on the Multifacial:Videos Page)

The controversial 2009 documentary film directed by Carolyn Battle Cochrane explores the complexities of bi-racial (black/non-black) individuals (mostly in the U.S.). I had come across the trailer for the film a few months ago on YouTube. Unfortunately, whoever made the trailer did a terrible job, because instead of feeling inticed, I was left feeling kind of annoyed-- believing that this was yet another film peddling a whiny "mixed-up" "confused" "self-hating" "neo-tragic mulatto" image of biracial individuals.
Despite my initial chagrin, however, I found the film to contain a depth and complexity that I had not expected from the trailer. In addition to one-on-one interviews, Part 2, which was shown at this year's festival, featured clips from a focus group the filmmaker moderated with a group of eight biracial people. It also included interviews and footage of a white mother raising her three bi-racial daughters which provided a different, though at times wholly problematic perspective. While I grapple with my own feelings about biraciality/multiraciality and the construction of blackness, at it's heart the film was advocating for the importance of self-identification. It highlighted some of the real stigmas (yes, they still exist) around interraciality and growing up biracial and provided a range of both complementary and opposing thoughts and opinions. At the end of the day, the film showed that we have quite a bit to talk about and a great deal of work left to do when it comes to understanding multiraciality and race, generally.

One of my biggest issues with the film is actually it's title. Being black and being biracial or multiracial aren't mutually exclusive in the least. It's about self-identification, but it's also about re-imaging this idea of "wholeness." As multi people we're often asked to split ourselves into parts-- becoming perpetual Osiris'-- halves of this, quarters of that. When do we accept the wholeness of our mixedness? It's not like my right arm is just black and my left foot is something else. The word "biracial" itself connotes a fractured, dual self-- which is usually a common feeling-- "walking in both worlds". Yet at the same time we need to demand to exist in spaces on our own terms and make visible all that we are. I think that a great deal of work needs to be done by all of us as a society, but also we as multi people need to empower ourselves to self-identify, know who we are and break out of the tunnel vision that threatens to keep us in our self-made "mixed" box by recognizing how we are connected to other marginalized communities and yes, even the dominant group (power & privilege is a huge part of multiness- and we need to confront that).

I often wonder how relevant these thoughts and dilemmas will be twenty-- even, ten years from now as the number of multi people increases. Everything is so generational and seeing all those multi babies with their families at the Mixed Roots festival, I felt a sense of mingled pride but also something resembling envy that unlike myself, (hopefully) these kids will grow up in a world where they can freely express the fullness and wholeness of who they are and be part of an actual mixed community in addition to all the other communities they may come to call home...

Mixed Roots, I'll be back for an amazing festival next year!