Growing up in the heart of cosmopolitan San Francisco, it was easy for my mother to infuse her culture into me. Here, Japanese culture was ubiquitous. I had Japanese doctors, dentists, abacus classes, and grocery stores. Every Saturday morning, I attended Japanese school with full-Japanese students. I hated it. I was at a disadvantage with only […]
People would sometimes ask me if I’m part Asian. I’ll usually respond by saying, “Somewhere down the line.” My slanted eyes are a dead giveaway. I used to feel self conscious about them. Whenever I laughed they’d become more pronounced. There was the occasional annoying class clown who would slant his eyes by using his […]
Living as a multiracial person has its challenges. Most of us write about our experiences with the many cultures that define us, or how others react to our racial and ethnic makeup. But there is one thing we may not ordinarily think about that is very important to people of multiple races — our names. […]
In this age of sensory overload and oversimplification, of people being vilified or martyred for one cause or another, it was refreshing to see a film that did not do any of the above. Ryan Coogler debuts his directorial skills with a compassionate representation of the complexities and contradictions that exist within any modern day […]
One of my favorite parts from Mo’ Meta Blues, a memoir by The Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, occurs about two-thirds of the way through the book. Questlove is talking about Things Fall Apart, the band’s fourth album, and one in which critics first began saying that the band wasn’t “black enough.” Questlove says: “I […]
By now, we all know about the Cheerios ad from early this summer and we all had our own strong reactions to the backlash. It amazed us that people on the web, distinguished only by an arbitrary username, felt so anonymous that they could attack an ad that depicted a normal American family. I am sure […]
When I was growing up, I assumed surfing was a White people sport. All the images I saw on mainstream media perpetuated this mistaken assumption. It wasn’t until I was in my mid-20s that I learned about how surfing originated in Hawaii and that discovery only came about because I had a summer job in […]
I love the skin I’m In Blessed God made me such a beautiful blend Wonderfully and fearfully blended To make me special and unique were his intentions I love the skin I’m in Where browns, blacks, pinks, and whites Meet colorfully in an intersection Perfect is my complexion So if you ask me I love […]
Our brains are hardwired to categorize things. It is a function for survival, but human beings and society has evolved and this disposition to stereotype and pigeonhole things can be a disservice to our modern-day human interactions. Commercials do it, TV shows and movies do it too. Stereotypes have gotten less hurtful over the years […]
