We hope that you are enjoying a happy and peaceful holiday season! And we can’t wait to see you next year!
Be a Part of the Largest Multiracial and Mixed-Race Cultural Arts Gathering!
We are seeking writers, bloggers, performers, filmmakers, comedians, spoken word artists, community leaders and storytellers of every stripe for the 2017 Mixed Remixed Festival. The Festival is the largest gathering of mixed-race and multiracial families and people in the United States. The 2016 Festival attracted close to 1000 people for two days worth of programming.
We are excited to learn about your work. Please read the FAQ and then use the appropriate submission forms (links at bottom of that page) to share your work for consideration for inclusion in the 2017 Mixed Remixed Festival.
Please note that we have provided pdfs of the application so that you can see what information you need handy to complete your submission. However, you can only submit your work on-line via the links above. No pdf submissions will be considered. Thank you.
SUBMISSIONS DUE 1/23/17!
Accepted presenters and performers will receive notice by mid-March 2017. If you have questions about submissions, please email info(at)mixedremixed.org.
Top Ten Stories About Mixed-Race, Biracial, Multiracial People and Experience 2016
We’re taking a look back at the year and wanted to highlight some of the big stories about biracial and mixed race people and experience that made the headlines this year. Here are our top 10-ish in no particular order. What did we miss?
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Loving, the film
If you haven’t seen the film yet, you simply must. We were so excited that Focus Features signed on as a sponsor this year as they worked to reach the audience that this film would mean the most to. When we finally saw the film in a private advanced screening we were not disappointed. The performances of Ruth Negga (a mixed chick!) and Joel Edgarton are quietly stunning. Director Jeff Nichols has done a wonderful job in portraying the people behind the case of Loving v. Virginia. I’ll say it again: If you haven’t seen the film yet, go see it NOW–and if you have go see it AGAIN! We want to make sure that Hollywood knows that when they make stories about our experience and our lives we will support them!
2. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
There’s no telling how long this couple will continue to be a couple, but they are now and I think it’s pretty darn cool. We might have a mixed chick as British royalty soon according to this report. Stay tuned.
3. The Rock is People’s Sexiest Man Alive
The Rock was named People’s Sexiest Man Alive this year and who are we to disagree! He’s had an amazing year professionally as well with his hit comedy with Kevin Hart and then his star turn in the Disney animated film Moana –you’re welcome! I can’t wait to see what he does next.
4. Mixed Remixed Festival 2016
Yup, we put the Festival on the list because it was the very biggest and best it’s ever been. We received write-ups by NPR, NBC News and the Los Angeles Times. We set attendance records (close to 1000 people this year) and we had a line-up that was unparalleled–not to mention the most amazing live event show to date where we honored Taye Diggs and Shane Evans for their book Mixed Me! We’re working on how we can follow up all of the amazing-ness already. Again, stay tuned.
5. Kamala Harris Elected to U.S. Senate
I think Kamala Harris is the first mixed chick ever elected to the Senate (but please fact check me if you can). She will represent California as the first black female senator and the first Indian-American senator from our state. We hope you can do the important work the country needs, Sen. Harris!
6. African-American Culture and Denmark Conference
Okay, you may not have heard of this, but it was a really important conference. It was a two-day conference at the University of Copenhagen that really was illuminating. You would be surprised about how many connections there are between Denmark and African Americans: black American jazz artists that emigrated there, Nella Larsen, painter William H. Johnson, and even Booker T. Washington had ties to the country. The fact that they are talking about racial and cultural connectedness in Denmark that has for so long been a homogeneous population is real progress!
7. Key & Peele Take Home an Emmy
What can we say but BRAVO! Yes, we miss the duo on their show, but we’re so glad that they received the recognition that they so deserved. They are both busy with lots of new projects. We continue to be their biggest fans.
8. Saying You’re Multiracial Makes People Think You’re Prettier
I wouldn’t exactly categorize this as good news, but there it is. Robert Reece in a study found that black people who simply said that they had multiracial identity were perceived as more attractive. According to Reece: “Not only were people who identified as multiracial rated as more attractive on average, but even the multiracial people with the darkest skin tones were rated as more attractive than the monoracial black people with lighter skin tones. In essence, this combination of results means that simply identifying as multiracial may make a black person appear more attractive to others, regardless of how he or she actually looks.” I’m not sure what the takeaway should be with this information. What do you think?
9. Women Are More Likely to Identify as Mixed
I wasn’t surprised to read about the study that found that mixed-race women are more likely to identify themselves as mixed race than men. According to Stanford professor Laura Davenport, who did the study: “It would seem that, for biracial women, looking racially ambiguous is tied to racial stereotypes surrounding femininity and beauty.” This was another important study that is helping us understand how racial and gender identities work together–something we will need to understand better as we become an increasingly mixed-race and multiracial country.
10. Hamilton
What can I say about Hamilton that hasn’t already been said? It’s an amazing genius achievement in every way and has had a profound impact on American culture with everyone from teens who have memorized the soundtrack and now also the mixtape songs. Congrats to Lin Manuel Miranda and the whole multicultural cast on all of the success and thank you for the great work you do!
Okay, so what did I forget? Do tell! And happy new year!
Join us for the largest gathering of multiracial and mixed-race families and people in June 2017 for the 4th Annual Mixed Remixed Festival.
Read Nella Larsen’s Passing: February’s On-Line Mixed Race & Multiracial Book Club Pick
We’re excited to read Nella Larsen’s Passing for our next on-line book club pick! Nella Larsen was a black/Danish writer of the Harlem Renaissance who was writing about issues of the Mixed experience way before her time. I have read the book at least a dozen times as has Jamie Moore. So please don’t miss this discussion that we’re planning for Feb. 5 at 4pm Pacific!
You can get a copy of the book here OR really anywhere (including used bookstores). You can also find it as an e-book. Make sure you join us for the on-going discussion over on Goodreads if you can’t join us on 2/5. And remember you can also email us questions or post them on Goodreads if you’d like to ask a question or make a comment and you’re not able to join us live.
Here is my synopsis of Passing in my NPR commentary on the book:
“Passing is set at the height of the Jazz Age — when Harlem was in vogue. It’s the story of two light-skinned black women whose comfortable lives unravel when they are reacquainted in a whites-only restaurant: Irene, the wife of a prominent African-American doctor and the mother of two boys; and her childhood friend Clare, who is passing as white.
Clare longs to be among black folks again. And at the risk of her racially intolerant husband discovering her real identity, Clare secretly joins Irene and her husband at the best clubs and parties where the Harlem literati and intelligentsia meet. Larsen’s slim book reads like a literary page-turner. Will Clare’s secret be exposed? Will she return to Harlem? Will the women’s friendship survive Clare’s renewed interest in her African-American roots?”
Learn More About the Mixed Remixed Festival On-Line Book Club
We choose books that we think will speak to you and deal with mixed-race and multiracial families and people. Each month we host a call-in podcast so that we can discuss the book together and if we get more interest we will start an on-line Twitter chat. Can’t make those events? Well then you can keep the conversation going in our new Goodreads Book Club all month long. Join the group now.
Holiday Gift Guide with a Mixed Race & Multiracial Focus
For Kids and Young Adults
We love this toy! It truly empowers children to explore a world of possibilities and build all kinds of modern families that looks like their own. Order NOW directly from the toy maker or from one of the fine retailers listed here.
Sound of Silence, Katrina Goldsaito
We were so lucky to have Katrina present at the Festival this year! Her book has since earned rave reviews everywhere. Get a copy of this great children’s book now.
The Sun is Also a Star, Nicola Yoon
This is Yoon’s follow-up to her New York Times bestseller Everything Everything and it doesn’t disappoint. If you are a fan of Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, you’re really going to love this. It’s a YA novel but it also has definite cross-over appeal.
First of all we love Mixed Chicks hair products! And we really love these sassy new Mixed Chicks dolls! It’s so hard to find mixed-race and multiracial dolls, but Mixed Chicks has found a way to celebrate all of the diversity of mixed-chick-ness! We think you’ll love these too.
Well, let’s just say, why wouldn’t you want to have your very own The Rock doll to keep close!
These t-shirts are the ultimate in cute and answer that question you know you or your kids always hear: What are you? Put an end to the questions and support the Festival by buying a t-shirt for someone you love.
For the Cook
We are huge Ziggy Marley fans and now are huge fans of the Ziggy Marley and Family Cookbook. You are going to love the variety of recipes that will fit you multi-culti life.
Do you have a budding cook in your house? Do you just want to learn to up your game? Well, if you live in the Los Angeles area this is the place you want to go. The chefs in residence teach a variety of classes on how to make fresh pasta, ice-cream from scratch, Indian food, spice blending, and the most delicious bread in the world. You can get a gift certificate for your loved one. I know that they would love it!
For the Music Enthusiast
I heart Pink Martini, the ultimate band with a multi-culti vibe. The musicians are as diverse as the music. You won’t go wrong by gifting this CD, newly released by the band or any of their other CDs either.
Maya is one of the most talented singers you may not know about it. But you defintely should. She sang at the Festival this year and had the standing-room only crowd enthralled. She has just released a new song Unleash Me that you should check out here. But also go check out some of her other work. Her voice is always beautiful and she always has an inspiring message in her songs.
For the Book Lover
Fiction
Loving Day, Mat Johnson
Mat Johnson’s excellent book about a mixed-race man who must come to terms with his own racial identity when he learns that he has a daughter he never knew about. In a hilarious send-up on race and color and class, Johnson tackles the question of what would happen if there really were a utopia for mixed-race folks and families.
Non-Fiction
Same Family Different Colors, Lori Tharps
Lori Tharps‘ latest non-fiction book Same Family Different Colors is an excellent read and is bound to spark much-needed conversations. She tackles the difficult subject of colorism within families and society as whole. Her research and interviews are solid and entertaining.
FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST
You can’t go wrong if you give this as a gift! And if you place your order by Dec. 15 we’ll be able to ship it so that it can arrive by Dec. 24. Quantities are limited!
My Yearly Jewish Breakdown by Arianna Skibell, The Forward
This essay is a great reminder that our identities are complicated and the stress on being questioned about who we are is real. Thanks Arianna for this great piece!
My Yearly Jewish Breakdown
Arianna Skibell December 16, 2015
The first time I broke down, I was walking along the Thames in London with my friend David. It was early on in our five-week backpacking trip, and we started debating the authenticity of the Torah. I said that it didn’t matter to me whether God literally gave Moshe the tablets on Mount Sinai — the stories are true because we tell them and live by them. David was unimpressed. “It happened or it didn’t. There’s no in the middle,” he said.
I felt furious but simultaneously jealous of his certainty. And I started to cry. Right in the middle of a busy London street. Which was strange, because as a kid, I felt pretty confident in my Jewishness. We drove to synagogue on Friday and Saturday — which meant running around with my friends until it was time to collect those weird jelly candies they threw at bar mitzvahs. I went to day school and I was already writing Hebrew script.
My troubles began in the third grade, when we moved from Austin to an Orthodox neighborhood in Atlanta. The practices and teachings seemed a good fit for my spirituality-seeking parents. However, I’d gone from playing with the children of freethinking Austinites to navigating the cultural landscape of children raised on a combination of dogma and a good old Southern-seeming repression. I’d always been praised for speaking my mind. But now I felt too loud, too wild, too other.
It got worse. That year, I learned I wasn’t technically Jewish. My mother was raised Irish Catholic, and when I was six, we both had a Conservative conversion, which was not considered valid in our new black-hat community. Now I didn’t just feel other. I was other.
But I’m Jewish, I protested! My whole life I’d known I was Jewish. I’d known that my blood was the blood of Abraham, that my people had wandered in the desert for 40 years, that I’m alive because my great-grandfather escaped the Holocaust. Suddenly, I was being stripped of that identity
READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE.
Cultural Competency should include more on interracial and transracial families
I am in my senior year of college, and I am double majoring in social work and English. Now, originally, I was double majoring in sociology and English. However, because I wanted to work with people face-to-face, and not study people from a distance, I switched to social work. Because that department focuses so much on empathizing with a variety of people of hyphenated identities, as a mixed race person, I grew to love my department right away!
In my major, I have done research on policy that has affected mixed race populations, and I am doing research with other awesome social work students in transracial adoption. Having the freedom to do research and interventions on our passions and passions we never knew could develop is a delightful freedom to have.
The most important thing for me, personally, that the social work department emphasizes, as any serving department emphasizes, is cultural competency. Cultural competency is being able to work cross culturally with other individuals and groups. Being able to acknowledge the culture you come from, while also knowing the best tools and the best way to be intentional for people of a culture, or cultures, you are outside of.
In the majority of my textbooks on social work, there are chapters that emphasize how to work best with certain racial populations, and what you need to know about them. However, I’ve noticed that as each of the authors go through each group, interracial families are either barely touched on or not touched on at all.
There isn’t enough research done, or interracial families are touched on in one example case study out of the many case studies the authors present to the reader.
Moreover, when discussing transracial families, the Indian Child Welfare Act is briefly touched on, or the process for kids transitioning from being a foster child to an adopted child. However, there still isn’t enough research done on what transracial families are like, or, how to best work with transracial families. Especially when there has been debate on whether or not parents should adopt children of a race(s) that isn’t their own (Smith, Jacobson, Juárez 2011).
A problem I have with this lack of attention and lack of research is that it perpetuates the idea that interracial and transracial families are exotic rarities when they are anything but.
Another problem I have with this is that it perpetuates a particular binary when it comes to doing research in diverse populations.
Social workers have to compare monoracial white people and monoracial people of color (yes, the phrase “people of color” to group so many people in one category marks my last statement as a binary). Social workers have to compare straight people and the LGBTQIA community (again, grouping various people together into one still perpetuates a binary). This list can go on and on into class, religion, etc.
There’s not enough middle ground. There’s not enough of a spectrum present. And more and more people ought to know by know how wide the spectrum is when it comes to interracial families having mixed race children, transracial families in regards to the background(s) of the children that are a part of their unit.
When I presented my policy research last year, people were shocked to find that there are no policies that are enacted to protect and provide benefits to various mixed race communities in the same way that there are for various monoracial communities (Campbell & Herman 2010). And even in that, it can be difficult to present, because if I want to be a social worker, how helpful am I going to be by using a monoracial verses multiracial binary? Whether it’s individuals or families?
One positive that can come out of this process of figuring this out, for me, personally, is to advocate for more of that research to be done, if not do it myself, as a mixed race person.
There needs to be more of us in the social work field.
There needs to be more of us researching policy to see how mixed race populations are affected by certain policies.
There needs to be more of us making sure the cultural competency in our backgrounds and other people’s backgrounds is done much better than it has been.
Jamie Moore Wants Us All to Help Build the Literary Canon of Mixed-Race Literature
Want to know more about the moderators behind the Mixed Remixed On-Line Book Club? Today, meet Jamie Moore who is the Festival’s Workshop and Literary Director. And don’t forget to join us over on Goodreads as we get ready for our next book club pick set for a discussion next month.-Heidi Durrow
What do you hope that people will get out of the Mixed Remixed Festival On-Line Book Club?
I hope that participating in the Mixed Remixed Festival Online Book Club that people will have the opportunity to extend the discussion about literature of the mixed experience and it’s role in shaping the way we think about ourselves and our community. I hope we can reach out and include those who haven’t been able to join us in person in this dialogue and build community with each other!
Why do you think it’s necessary?
I think this is necessary because I can think of any other group or conference that is having this conversation. I believe our focus and our strength is in personal story, and by making the space to talk specifically about literature with mixed characters or stories, then we create the demand. We support and build an appreciation and distinction of the mixed experience that is multifaceted, individuals and unique.
What sparked your love of books and reading?
I was a shy kid growing up, and outside of my close friends, didn’t make a huge effort to be social. Yet, I still craved adventure and story. My mother made a huge effort to put books in my hands as soon as I could read, and then I was obsessed. As I got older, I looked to books for information and for validation of my experiences and feelings. I had a lot of conflict growing up mixed, and stories made me feel like my own journey was valuable and worth talking about.
Growing up mixed, did you find books or stories that reflected your story?
I didn’t find books that reflected my mixed experience until late high school. I read a lot of books that had characters of color, specifically young black girls. (Thanks again to my mom!) I read the Amazing Grace books and others that made me wish I was darker; that I could fit within these characters’ worlds. Perhaps the first mixed-heritage character I remember is Sal from Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons, which I read over and over again. In high school, James McBride’s The Color of Water was required reading, and it changed my life. I related to the anxiety he felt around identity, and the descriptions of his family. This book made me believe there were others like it out there. In college, I started my blog Mixed Reader to find those books, and build that canon for myself.
Who are your favorite authors? Or can you name some of your favorite books with mixed characters or interracial families?
My favorite authors are those who talk about intersectional and interracial experiences, in fiction and beyond. My current favorites include James Baldwin, James McBride, Heidi Durrow, Danzy Senna, Mat Johnson, Jamie Ford, Toni Morrison, Zadie Smith, Ross Gay, and Roxane Gay.
If someone has never been part of an on-line book club before, what should they expect?
If this is someone’s first time in an online book club, they should expect a similar community as an in person book club, with the ability to communicate with a larger group! The difference I feel, is that the communication and participation has to be a lot more intentional. We have so many distractions online, and in order to build this community and feel connected to one another, we need everyone to participate. Join the group discussion on Goodreads, send us questions, comments and suggestions there or on the festival twitter and Facebook pages. I was so excited to see the discussion about Loving Day, and the conversation was both analytical and personal; so reflective of our community as a whole!
How did the first on-line discussion go?
I am so energized and proud about the first discussion. I feel like in both the podcast and online discussion there was a lot of honest conversation about the different aspects of Loving Day and how we can connect it to larger issues/topics of the mixed experience. I’m excited for our next discussion!
Jamie Moore is an English Professor in California. She is the author of the novella Our Small Faces and received her MFA in Fiction from Antioch University Los Angeles. She is the Literary and Workshops Director for the Mixed Remixed Festival. Her work was recently featured in the September 2016 issue of Drunk Monkeys.
In My Experience, Monoracial Topics Receive More Attention than Multiracial Topics in Writing
I would like to make something clear: monoracial people of color are just as valid as multiracial people of color. Therefore, this piece is not to pit one group of people against another group of people.
Another fantastic thing to love about Mixed Remixed is how inclusive they are to various facets of identity, and, yes, that means people who identify as one race are just as welcome to the dialogue often presented.
This piece is to simply let you in on a perspective on content that you haven’t thought of before.
So, without further ado:
I have been blessed to write on platforms such as Mixed Remixed and The Tempest about my identity, and the many parts of my identity. Because I have that freedom, I have written about pieces where I mostly identified as mixed, and where I mostly identified as black.
There is one particular piece that made me realize about how more people are willing to give their readership to topics on monoracial identity rather than multiracial identity.
I wrote a piece about depression, the black community, and how, as a black person, it shouldn’t be taboo for me to talk about my experiences with anxiety and depression anymore. As a black person, I am allowed to view therapy just as valid as prayer and other spiritual practices.
There have been experiences where my mixed race identity played a role in my depression, such as seeking the best friendship groups for me without being deemed as betraying specific racial groups by doing so, or trying to figure out whether or not it was even okay for a generationally mixed person to identify as mixed.
However, white family members have been more open to talk about depression, although there have been times where it was popular to use euphemisms for depression such as “tired” or “sick,” more so than my black family members.
I didn’t have the courage to talk about my depression with my black family members growing up, because a lot of my black family members didn’t believe mental health issues were real, and they didn’t believe mental health professionals could be trusted.
It made sense for me to put that particular piece in a context about my blackness and the black community.
And I’m glad that I was placed in a position to publish that piece where I knew people would read it, and that enough people read it so that more conversations about people of color, mental health, and religion, can be had.
This piece crashed The Tempest’s site three times, I have received dozens of tweets and messages of great feedback about it, and an editor from The Huffington Post even reached out to me.
However, I can’t help but think that if it were a piece that focused mostly on mixed race identity and depression, people wouldn’t have been as receptive.
This piece, and my piece on being black in a predominantly white missions culture, has more page views than any of my other pieces on mixed race identity combined. I had even mentioned being mixed race and being depressed in other pieces.
When I pitched a piece about mixed race identity to The Huffington Post, the same people who reached out to me about my piece about being black and having depression, before reaching out to The Tempest, they never got back to me.
I am very proud of myself for writing and publishing my piece about depression. It needed to be written, and it needed to be read. It’s just interesting to me that certain things about it haven’t been acknowledged.
With more and more people identifying as multiracial, more experiences will be documented, more people will be willing to speak up, and more topics will come to the surface when it comes to multiracial experiences. It’s just going to take forever to get to that point, and as hard as I try, patience is still not one of my strongest virtues when it comes to things like that.
Nevertheless, I’m not just going to write on one topic about myself, and I’m not going to try to force certain topics about myself out of myself either. It doesn’t make my writing genuine, and it doesn’t make my writing as great as it can be.
And I still want to question and analyze why certain topics have more readership and attention than others. I still want to know what people are willing and unwilling to talk about.
I’m certain the piece I have mentioned one too many times won’t be the last piece where I wonder about where people are.
Maya Williams, Mixed Remixed Blogger
Join Our On-Line Mixed-Race and Multiracial Book Club: November’s Pick is The Book of Dead Birds
We’re Reading Gayle Brandeis’ The Book of Dead Birds for November’s Mixed Race & Multiracial Book Club
Our inaugural book club discussion of Mat Johnson’s Loving Day was a big hit! Well, we’re excited to keep it going with our November read: Gayle Brandeis‘ The Book of Dead Birds which won the PEN/Bellwether Prize.
Join us for our on-line chat and call-in discussion on 11/10 at 6pm EASTERN/3pm PACIFIC. And guess what? We will have the author Gayle Brandeis on the line with us to answer your questions as well. You don’t want to miss this. Get a copy of The Book of Dead Birds now! And share your thoughts with our Goodreads Book Club Group in advance of our call next month!
The Book of Dead Birds is an intimate portrait of a young woman at a defining moment in her life, who stands at the intersection of two cultures and races.
Here is the book synopsis:
“Ava Sing Lo has been accidentally killing her mother’s birds since she was a little girl. Now in her twenties, Ava leaves her native San Diego for the Salton Sea, where she volunteers to help environmental activists save thousands of birds poisoned by agricultural runoff.
Helen, her mother, has been haunted by her past for decades. As a young girl in Korea, Helen was drawn into prostitution on a segregated American army base. Several brutal years passed before a young white American soldier married her and brought her to California. When she gave birth to a black baby, her new husband quickly abandoned her, and she was left to fend for herself and her daughter in a foreign country.
With great beauty and lyricism, The Book of Dead Birds captures a young woman’s struggle to come to terms with her mother’s terrible past while she searches for her own place in the world.”
Here is praise for The Book of Dead Birds:
The Book of Dead Birds has an edgy beauty that enhances perfectly the seriousness of its contents.”
-TONI MORRISON
“A moving and perceptive novel.”
-O: THE OPRAH MAGAZINE
You can buy a copy of the e-book here. Or order it from your local indie bookstore. We recommend Skylight Books, our favorite bookstore in the LA area.
Learn More About the Mixed Remixed Festival On-Line Book Club
We choose books that we think will speak to you and deal with mixed-race and multiracial families and people. Each month we host a call-in podcast so that we can discuss the book together and if we get more interest we will start an on-line Twitter chat. Can’t make those events? Well then you can keep the conversation going in our new Goodreads Book Club all month long. Join the group now!
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