We are extremely pleased to have writer May-lee Chai as part of our Featured Writers Reading. You can hear her read on June 10, 2017 at 1:00pm at the Mixed Remixed Festival. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.
What are you?
Mixed-race Asian-American, specifically Chinese-Anglo/Irish/German.
What is your mixed experience?
I am biracial, daughter of a Chinese father and White Irish-Anglo-German American mother.
What is the most important thing you want people to know about the mixed experience?
We are not half anything, we are wholly ourselves. Our families have a right to exist and we have a right to celebrate our existence and to see our families represented in American culture in a positive way through a non-racist lens.
Do you remember when you first started thinking about the mixed experience? Was it because of a certain moment or event? Please tell us about that.
I had to think about the mixed experience for survival’s sake when I was 12 and we moved from the NYC-area to rural South Dakota and people started driving by our house to stare at us, shout racial slurs, and eventually to shoot and kill our dogs. I had to assert my right to exist when monoracial adults and their children told me God didn’t want the races to mix and that I by my existence was a sign of the “End Times” and Satan’s reign on earth. I learned to insist upon my family’s right to exist and our right to be represented in American culture in a positive light rather than through the lens of racism.
Is this your first time attending the Mixed Remixed Festival?
Yes
Why did you want to be a part of the Mixed Remixed Festival? What do you hope to gain?
I want to represent my family, I want to tell my story, I want to meet other mixed-race writers and artists and families.
What are you looking forward to most at the Festival this year?
Meeting everyone and hearing all the stories!