Mixed Remixed Festival

Day 47 Fun Fact Countdown to 50th Anniversary Celebration of Loving v. Virginia at Mixed Remixed Festival

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Loving v. Virginia Is Important to Mixed Race Families Today

The Loving v. Virginia decision continues to play an important role in the lives of interracial couples and mixed-race people.  Here are quotes from moving essays about what the Supreme Court decision has meant in the personal lives of these writers:

Do you have a story about how Loving v. Virginia affected your family? #multiracial #mixedrace

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Do you have your own story of how the Loving v. Virginia decision has affected you or your family?  Let us know info(at)mixedremixed.org.

Join us for the 4th annual Mixed Remixed Festival at the Los Angeles Theatre Center 6/10. FREE! Registration opens 5/1.

Day 48 Fun Fact Countdown to 50th Anniversary Celebration of Loving v. Virginia at Mixed Remixed Festival

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Mildred Loving Announced Her Support For Gay Marriage

Mildred Loving died in 2008.  She had stopped giving public interviews in her last years.  But in 2007–the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision–she issued a statement concerning marriage equality.

“My generation was bitterly divided over something that should have been so clear and right. The majority believed that what the judge said, that it was God’s plan to keep people apart, and that government should discriminate against people in love. But I have lived long enough now to see big changes. The older generation’s fears and prejudices have given way, and today’s young people realize that if someone loves someone they have a right to marry.

I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry.

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Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the “wrong kind of person” for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people’s civil rights.

I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about.”

It was just two years ago that the Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015).

The countdown continues!  See you at the Mixed Remixed Festival in Los Angeles 6/10! FREE!

 

Day 49 Fun Fact Countdown to 50th Anniversary Celebration of Loving v. Virginia at Mixed Remixed Festival

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Mildred Loving Was Mixed Race

mildred loving mixed raceI was surprised to learn last year that that Mildred Loving did not consider herself African-American.  While researching her excellent book That the Blood Stay Pure: African Americans, Native Americans and the Predicament of Race and Identity in Virginia, Arica Coleman had a chance to interview Mildred Loving.  Loving told Coleman emphatically: “I am not black . . I have no black ancestry. I am Indian-Rappahannock.  I told the people when they came to arrest me.”

Mildred Loving did not consider herself black. #mixedrace #multiracial #50thanniversary #mixedremixed

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Arica Coleman has done some great writing about this subject and all of the implications.  You can read her Time Magazine article The White and Black Worlds of Loving v. Virginia and her scholarly piece Mildred Loving The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Woman. 

What do you make of that fun fact?  Let us know by leaving a comment or email us at info(at)mixedremixed.org.

The countdown continues! 

Join us for the 4th Annual Mixed Remixed Festival June 10, 2017 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in downtown LA. FREE!

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Join us for the 4th Annual Mixed Remixed Festival June 10, 2017 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in downtown LA.  FREE! 

Day 50 Fun Fact Countdown: the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Loving v. Virginia at the Mixed Remixed Festival

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Today we kick off our 50-day Fun Fact Countdown until the Mixed Remixed Festival where we are hosting the nation’s largest celebration of the 50th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia.  We thought it would be fun to highlight a different aspect of the case and how it has changed America each day for 50 days.  Do you have a fun fact about the case or the way it affected your life? We want to hear about it!  Email us at info@mixedremixed.org with your story and we will feature it in one of our posts.

Richard and Mildred Loving were accused of violating was the Virginia Racial Integrity Act of 1924 #multiracial #celebrate50

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Today’s fun fact is: 

The law Richard and Mildred Loving were accused of violating was the Virginia Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which prohibited interracial marriage and defined a white person as someone with “no discernible nonwhite ancestry.”

Okay, this is not a “fun” fact.  But can you believe it? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re Reading Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon Join us 4/23 5PM Pacific

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Multiracial, mixed race, biracial, growing up biracial, biracial identity, multiracial identity, multiculturalism, biracial family, blasian, hapa, mixed race adoption

Join us for our On-Line Book Club Discussion About Mixed Race and Multiracial Books!

We’ve been having so much fun reading together since we launched our on-line book club last fall.  This month we’ve been reading Nicola Yoon’s Everything, Everything, a heart-wrenching and fast-paced read.  The book has been made into a major motion picture starring Mixed Remixed Festival fave Amandla Stenberg.

Join us this Sunday April 23 at 5pm on the phone (it’s a community call), listen live on your computer, or talk with us in the chat room to discuss this wonderful book.

We’re talking about @nicolayoon Everything, Everything! Listen in!

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Our Literary and Workshop Director Jamie Moore and Festival Founder Heidi Durrow lead the discussion.  If you can’t join us live, you can always download the podcast from itunes.  You can also submit any questions or comments you have on our Goodreads book club page.  What’s your favorite line from the book?  What’s your favorite scene?  We’ll read your comments on the air!  We can’t wait to talk with you about another great book about the Mixed experience. 

Multiracial, mixed race, biracial, growing up biracial, biracial identity, multiracial identity, multiculturalism, biracial family, blasian, hapa, mixed race adoption

 

 

4 Lies About Why People Identify as Biracial or Mixed Race

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Identifying as Biracial or Mixed Race is Not a Pathological Stance

1. We think we are (or really want to be) white.

 
If only I had a nickel for every time I’ve read a comment like this.  It’s really an offensive comment too.  How on earth do YOU (read random hater) know what I want for myself.  When I say that I am biracial or am specific about my racial and cultural background, it means that I want to be all of what my experience makes me. Period.
 

2.  We are uncomfortable around people of color.

 
This comment is also so thoroughly offensive.  Half of my family is made up of people of color.  In fact, I’m a person of color.  Just because I don’t buy into the idea of race as America insists I should doesn’t mean that I feel alienated from my own family or my own people.
 
 

3. We don’t understand the reality of white or light-skinned privilege.

 
Yes, we do.  Can we just start the conversation there?  
 

4. We harbor self-hating beliefs.

 
Okay, I did struggle with that growing up hearing that I didn’t belong anywhere.  But as an adult I understand that my psychic health demands that I embrace and accept all of who I am–even if that identification makes other people uncomfortable! 

5 Things That Will Make You Feel Like You Can Embrace a Mixed Race or Biracial Identity

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1. Recognize that your psychic health may require self-acceptance of your mixed race and multiracial identity.

Multiracial, mixed race, biracial, growing up biracial, biracial identity, multiracial identity, multiculturalism, biracial family, blasian, hapa, mixed race adoption

A study published in 2015 in Current Directions in Psychological Science by Sarah Gaither found that multiracial children who are “raised to identify with both parents and to understand their complex racial heritage [can] have higher self-esteem than mono-racial people. They are adaptable, able to function well in both majority and minority environments. They are more likely to reject the conception that race biologically predicts one’s abilities, which may, in turn, insulate them from the negative impact of racism or bias.” Source: New York Magazine.

5 Things That Will Make You Feel Like You Can Embrace a Mixed Race or Biracial Identity #multiracial

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2. Learn about historical figures who were mixed.

One of the things that helped me start to accept the fact that I could not hide from my complicated cultural and racial identity was learning about other mixed-race people of the past.  For me, Nella Larsen who also wrote about being black and Danish (like me) back in the 1920s became an important figure.  I saw her bravery about talking about being mixed in a racially divided world as a kind of permission.  It’s important to feel like you have a history.  Seek out mixed historical figures.  Here’s one fun resource in The Mixed Experience History Month.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

3. Read books about biracial people (fiction and non-fiction).

 
Multiracial, mixed race, biracial, growing up biracial, biracial identity, multiracial identity, multiculturalism, biracial family, blasian, hapa, mixed race adoptionThere is an ever-growing literature about biracial and mixed-race characters and people.  Read those stories and find yourself!  We have a couple of resources here if you’re looking for memoirs or kids’ books.  The Mixed Remixed Festival also has its own on-line book club.  You should join us and read some great books!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

4. Watch films featuring biracial and mixed race characters.

 
Multiracial, mixed race, biracial, growing up biracial, biracial identity, multiracial identity, multiculturalism, biracial family, blasian, hapa, mixed race adoptionDitto films!  It’s an amazing experience to be in a theater and see families that look like your own like the wonderful film, Loving, and now more recently A United Kingdom.  Heck, you can find our stories on Netflix too.  Stream one now! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

5. Connect on-line and in-person with other mixed race and biracial people.

 
Multiracial, mixed race, biracial, growing up biracial, biracial identity, multiracial identity, multiculturalism, biracial family, blasian, hapa, mixed race adoptionIt’s been so amazing to connect with other mixed folks and families on line in various Facebook groups and on Twitter and Instagram.  Our favorite way to connect though is the Mixed Remixed Festival.  It’s the largest nationwide gathering of mixed families and people held each year in June.  You should join us! It’s free! 
 
 

5 Great Videos About Growing Up Biracial and Mixed Race

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Multiracial, mixed race, biracial, growing up biracial, biracial identity, multiracial identity, multiculturalism, biracial family, blasian, hapa, mixed race adoption

5 Great Videos About Growing Up Biracial and Mixed Race #multiracial #mixedrace

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1. The Struggles of Being Mixed Race via Buzzfeed Yellow

This video has been incredibly popular.  It has its fans (because it tells hard truths) and detractors (because, well, you tell us).  What do you think?  

 
 

2. Mixed Kid Problems: Growing Up Multicultural via Liza Koshy 

Liza is fun and funny.  We know that you will agree!

 
 

3. Being Multiracial in America via New York Times

This video is almost 10 years old now!  But you’ll be surprised at how much the conversation has stayed the same.

 
 

4. What’s So Funny About Being Mixed? via Mixed Remixed Festival 

This will make you laugh and remind you that no, we are not tragic mulattos.  Mixed folks got jokes too.

 
 

5. What Are You? via Mixed Remixed Festival

 

This great video features Festival favorites Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele as well as the cute as a button Cheerios girl!

 
 
 

3 Clever Tools to Simplify Your Curly Hair Days

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3 Clever Tools to Simplify Your Curly Hair Days

Some days I wonder why people use the term “naturally curly” when talking about my hair.  I have been in a life-long search to figure out how to make my naturally curly hair look curly.  These are some of the tools that have helped me on my curly hair days.

1. Mixed Chicks Hair Products

Multiracial, mixed race, biracial, growing up biracial, biracial identity, multiracial identity, multiculturalism, biracial family, blasian, hapa, mixed race adoptionMixed Chicks Hair Products have worked wonders on my hair.  The products define my curls without weighing them down.  And the product doesn’t flake off like other products can.  My favorite product is the leave-in conditioner, but check out the whole line of shampoos, conditioners, and now hair brushes and hair accessories too!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2. Fast-drying hair towel

Multiracial, mixed race, biracial, growing up biracial, biracial identity, multiracial identity, multiculturalism, biracial family, blasian, hapa, mixed race adoptionIf you have long, thick curly hair, a fast-drying hair towel is a real life saver.  In the past, my hair has been damp up to five hours after I’ve washed it.  And maybe you too have experienced that ring around the shoulders of a tshirt when your hair was still wet?  Your curls will dry happily in a fast-drying hair towel without getting smushed.  Try it.

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t smoosh your curls! Dry them fast with a special towel! #multiracial #mixedrace

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3. Lavender Water in Spray Bottle

 

You know how you finally have a great curly hair day and you want it to last forever.  Well, you don’t have to wet your hair completely to make that happen.  Why not just use a little lavender water in a spray bottle to spruce it up.  Here are tips on how to use it from Naturally Curly.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Join us for the largest gathering of multiracial and mixed-race families and people in June 2017 for the 4th Annual Mixed Remixed Festival.

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