"Hafu" an AMAZING Start But We Need to Go Deeper

[image from hafufilm.com]

About a week ago I had the chance to do something I've been wanting to do (and bugging the filmmakers about for a long time) -- finally go to a local screening of the documentary Hafu, meaning "half," which represents 5 stories of mixed heritage Japanese folks navigating their multi/identities in Japan today. The film was made by a production team of mostly mixed-race Japanese themselves many either having been raised, born and raised, or with very close ties to the country. The movie shares with us the lived lives of: Edward (Venezuelan/Japanese), The Oi Family particularly their son Alex (Mexican/Japanese), David (Ghanaian/Japanese), Fusae (Korean/Japanese), and Sophia (Australian/Japanese).

Talking Mixed-Race Identity with Young Children

by Sharon H Chang
for Hyphen Magazine: Asian America Unabridged  ~ www.hyphenmagazine.com
 
“Mom, am I white?”

A few weeks ago, I got this question from my four-year-old. Technically he is “biracial”—but that label does him a severe representative injustice, because his bloodline is actually Japanese, Taiwanese, Slovakian, German, French Canadian, British, and Welsh. He also does not possess a parent of one race and a parent of another race as “biracial” is usually assumed—both my husband and I are mixed-race Asian/white too. To that end, I much prefer to describe us, and him, as multiracial.

I write about and research race, families, and children with an especial focus on multiraciality and the intersection of mixed-race ID/Asian. I don’t believe in avoiding race talk with my child, though I do discuss it in age-appropriate ways. I’ve tried to stand by my conviction that it’s better he learn how to think and talk about these issues within the family first, rather than have normative ideals force-fed down his throat by everyone else when he walks out the door.

That said, I wasn’t fully prepared when he turned to me and asked, “Mom, am I white?” When I told him no, he immediately followed up with, “Am I Black?” Then when told he wasn’t that either, he started crying and plaintively turned downtrodden eyes to me, “But I want a color too.”

Mixed or Not, Why Are We Still Taking Pictures of "Race"?

[image source]

By Sharon H Chang, as seen on Racism Review

Just days ago PolicyMic put up a piece entitled “National Geographic Concludes What Americans Will Look Like in 2050, and It’s Beautiful." In it writer Zak Cheney-Rice attempts to address the so-called rise of multiracial peoples which has captured/enchanted the public eye and with which the media has become deeply enamored. He spotlights a retrospective and admiring look at National Geographic’s “The Changing Face of America” project of last year featuring a series of multiracial portraits by well-known German photographer Martin Schoeller, and also peripherally cites some statistics/graphs that demonstrate the explosion of the mixed-race population. “In a matter of years,” Cheney-Rice writes, “We’ll have Tindered, OKCupid-ed and otherwise sexed ourselves into one giant amalgamated mega-race.” Despite admitting racial inequity persists, he still flirts with the idea of an “end” approaching (presumably to race and by association racism), and suggests while we’re waiting for things to get better, we might “…applaud these growing rates of intermixing for what they are: An encouraging symbol of a rapidly changing America. 2050 remains decades away, but if these images are any preview, it’s definitely a year worth waiting for.” We are then perhaps left with this rather unfortunate centerpiece of his statement, “Here’s how the ‘average American’ will look by the year 2050” referring to the woman pictured above.

Why Isn't College for Learning About Mixed-Race Identities?

[image from engagefamilyminute.com]

By Sharon H Chang, as seen on Racism Review

There are some incredible opportunities out there right now to get certificates, higher ed and even advanced degrees specializing in the experience of Americans of color. Want a degree in Asian American Studies? Sure. How about African American, Native or American Indian, Latin American, Mexican American or Chicano studies? Absolutely. Google all of these and you’ll find brilliant choices to be credentialed in these heritage experiences at very fine colleges and universities.

But what if you ID as mixed-race multicultural across any of these racial lines? Is there a degree for that?

Mixed Heritage and Knowing We Still Have Work To Do

"When I think of heritage, I don't think of race"

"I'm just Japanese"

"I'm just mixed"

"I consider myself mixed within the context of Mexico"

"I just feel whole because I'm human"

"I'm confused. What box do YOU want to put me in?"

*  *  *

 by Sharon H Chang

My head is swimming as I sit here wondering how to begin. On Saturday night I had the distinct honor of sitting as a panelist for Mixed Heritage at Seattle's Union Cultural Center along with youth speaker Saiyana Suzumura and Jabali Stewart, Director of Intercultural Affairs at The Bush School. The event is part of an annual series Dialogues of Resistance & Healing funded by a recently awarded 4 Culture grant. The dialogues are a forum for folks to come together around issues, conversations and art forms that are important to the community but often underrepresented. That formally and technically said, these are no ordinary dialogues. You won't find yourself sitting in a conference room with stock commercial carpeting and fluorescent lights; over-warmed, under-cooled by artificial air and a central system; eating bagels and cream cheese, muffins or veggies off a Costco party platter.

Meet 3 Wonderful Women

I am thrilled and honored to introduce to you the 3 amazing women who have agreed to serve on my thesis committee. Please take a moment to meet them. These women are not only beautiful and intelligent, but powerful allies; academics/professionals invested and interested in listening to our stories. They bring an incredible range of personal/professional experience and expertise to the table in helping me refine and move my research towards publication. They are fabulous and I am deeply grateful for their contributions...

Sheila Capestany

Sheila Capestany has over twenty years of experience in nonprofit leadership, strategic planning and policy work. In addition she has extensive experience in bringing multiculturalism and anti-oppression work into systems and organizations. Sheila holds a Master of Public Health and a Master of Social Work from the University of Washington. She currently serves as Executive Director of Open Arms Perinatal Services, a community-based nonprofit whose purpose is to provide community-based support to pregnant women and their families. Sheila has served in positions with the Seattle City Council, Seattle Human Services Department, Public Health Seattle & King County and Big Sisters of King County. She is passionate about community work and the well being of women, children and families. Sheila and her husband have three children.

Dr. Wei Li-Chen

Wei Li-Chen was born, raised, then worked and had her undergraduate education in China. After she came to the United States with a one-year UNICEF fellowship, Wei completed her Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Early Childhood Education in University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where she met her husband who also came from China and contributed the “Chen” part in her current last name. Personally and professionally a main focus has been parenting her two U.S. born children to be bilingual (Chinese/English) and bicultural persons (Chinese/American). Wei lived in the Seattle area for 11 years, served as a Core Faculty and Academic Director of Human Development Program for Pacific Oaks College Northwest, and was the Lead Researcher for Asian/Pacific Islander Child Care Needs Assessment in King County, 2000. Following, she lived and worked in Shanghai, China with her family for 8 years. Wei currently lives in Southern California.

Lu Pilgrim

Lu Pilgrim has been active in the field of Human Development most of her 78 years as a student and a teacher, occupations that, from her point of view, tend to intertwine.  Her formal education, B.A. and M.S. was completed at Utah State University and the University of Utah, the places she found herself when the time was ripe. A number of other institutions of learning contributed to those degrees along the way over a period of 40 years.  Her vastly more important education she says, has been life long and springs from life experience, nature, observation, self-reflection and mentors of the moment, of whom there have been many. Lu is currently a faculty member at Pacific Oaks College. She has lived in many places but presently makes her home near Ann Arbor, Michigan where she gardens, experiments with recipes, writes, mentors students who are pursuing ongoing education, and enjoys the companionship of family, friends and pets.

My 3 Year Old Has Experienced Racism (and yours probably has too)

(image by Tina Kugler)

©  Sharon Chang, Aug 26, 2013  as seen on Racism Review

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But if there is a child of color in your life and if you ever read to them – then they have already experienced racism.