Mixed Roots At JANM And Watermelon Sushi Auditions

Aloha Hip Hapa Homeez!

If you weren't there, you missed an incredible event. The second annual Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival in J-town (Little Tokyo) was all that and more. I promise to post photos on the next few blogs once I get the okay from folks who are in them. I'll also be interviewing some of the attendees, so stay tuned.

Arriving at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) on Friday, June 12 (Loving Day), I was greeted by Fanshen Cox and Heidi Durrow (The Mixed Chicks) who were heading to the Democracy Forum to hear the opening remarks by Curtiss Rooks. Afterwards, I hung out in the lobby and met Facebook friends like journalist Amina Kangiwa of MixedChild.com, writer/performer Kaypri Actswrite, Arana Fossett founder of The Topaz Club, Mulatto Diaries filmmaker Tiffany Jones, musician Jason Luckett, Hip Hapa Homeez officer Martine McDonald, Blended Nation authors Pamela Singh and Mike Tauber, and so many more. In spite of having a bad hair day, I agreed to be photographed by way too many of them and now I'm suffering on their Facebook pages.

First up, I went to Kaypri's presentation of the piece her mother planned to do before she fell and hurt herself. What an awesomely revealing hour! The discussion was about Kaypri's white southern mother who met and married her African American father while both were active in the Civil Rights movement.

Next, I got caught in a swirl (props to Jen Chau!) as I gathered panel participants and help in setting up my camera for the discussion I was moderating called Mixed-Race Relationships. Between listening to Kim Noonan's Short Filmmaking Crash Course, greeting friends who came to offer support, and checking mics and water bottles, I totally forgot to introduce myself to the audience when it was my turn to go on. But the important thing is that we had an interesting and lively discussion about who multiracial people have relationships with. Panelists Sam Cacas (author of BlAsian Exchanges, a novel about Asian men and black women), Sachiko Jackson (a Nurse Case Manager), and Ann Carli (an independent film producer and former music executive) all freely shared their personal stories. Since I haven't viewed the taped session yet, I won't trust my memory to write more at this point, but I will soon. Some of what was revealed was so deep that I had to come up for air. Gulp!

Hey, what a coincidence that my good buddy Trace happens to work at JANM! During her break, she and I refreshed ourselves in the museum's elegant tea shop. Here's a pix of me sitting with tomodachi. And, yes, those are the raccoon dog's genitalia. Don't ask me.

That night, we partied in honor of Loving Day. See the cake, below. Anyone reading this blog probably already knows that June 12, 1967 was the day the Supreme Court overturned earlier decisions that made Richard and Mildred Loving's marriage illegal in the state of Virginia (and 15 others). He was white, she was black, and they had been arrested in their bedroom for the act of miscegenation (race-mixing).

Returning to the Mixed Roots Festival on Saturday, I sat in on the Mixed In Hollywood session completely intrigued. Karyn Parsons (Hillary of Fresh Prince of Bel Air) was very vocal about what she, as an actress of mixed ancestry, had to endure in the biz. Karyn's father is Jewish and her mother African American. Also on the panel were writer Angela Nissel (Scrubs), film director/producer Joseph Anaya, actress Jenny Rich, and moderator Elliott Lewis.

In the lobby, I briefly spoke with Kim Wayans and her husband Kevin Knotts who have a children's book called Amy Hodgepodge. Yes, she's a Wayans sister and, yes, her spouse is Caucasian and, yes, they wrote the book for their child.

Following lunch at a Japanese restaurant where I had the "House Special" aka the only veggie dish on the menu, I returned to JANM. btw, when are Japanese eateries in America going to become as accommodating as their Thai and Vietnamese brothers and sisters? Look, if you want my money and you've got tofu in the kitchen, whip up something that doesn't contain fish broth for vegans like me! Back at JANM, I sat in on the film screenings and, at Fanshen's request, moderated the Q&A on behalf of filmmaker Tiffany Jones.

Finally, on Sunday, we held auditions for Watermelon Sushi and were totally unprepared for this surprise talent. Check out Killa Chan's YouTube vid here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRjDwwWYWIw

Too soon, the wonderful weekend was over. Mad love to the Mixed Chicks for organizing such an amazing event and to all you players who contributed to it. Mahalo nui loa also to all who helped with Watermelon Sushi auditions, and for joining me for dinner in Santa Monica.

My personal rear crawl includes (in alpha order):

Glenn Boggs

Rene Brown, her son Alex and her friend J.C.

Sam Cacas and his wife Dora

Ann Carli

Aklia Chinn*

Robert Clements

Daphne Delores

Gina Hiraizumi

Val hm

Sachiko Jackson

Rae Jones

Pearl, Jr.

Jeff Lee

Miwa Lyric

Yoon-Suk Kim Navarre

Kiyoshi Parker

Gigi Pique

Dmitri, Atsuko and Elena Ragano, and their friends

Ed Rampell

Marlon Ransome

Luis Reyes

Chez Shoji

*Special thanks to Aklia for so generously providing us audition space. Check out her store, Aklia's, at 1515 N Cahuenga in Hollywood (323-461-1810).

Until next week, I'm still...

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

P.S. Don't forget we've still got t-shirts!

Mixed Roots Film And Literary Festival This Weekend!

Aloha Hip Hapa Homeez!

If you're in L.A. this Friday and/or Saturday, stop by the Mixed Roots Film And Literary Festival at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. Your Hip Hapa will be moderating a panel discussion about Mixed-Race Relationships. Who are we mixies attracted to? Who do we date? Who do we fall in love with? Who do we live with? Marry? Have babies with? Do we prefer other mixies or monoracial partners? And, if we have a preference for monoracial partners, do we choose our mother's or father's ethnic group? Come and find out from my distinguished panel featuring author Sam Cacas, music and film dynamo Ann Carli, and the lovely Sachiko Jackson. If you need more info, google the Mixed Chicks or the Mixed Roots website to get a schedule. The event is free, but registration is required.

Just a quick shout-out to Brian Parker for sending me the link 'Dating 101' about interracial romance. Now, let's take it a step farther and ask, 'What about dating when you're the product of an interracial pairing?'

http://dating.personals.yahoo.com/singles/relationships/24298/dating-101-dealing-with-the-race-factor

And if you're New York, check out the Big Girls Club (Happy Dance Dance Princess Show) in celebration of Loving Day on June 12 at 8 pm.

https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/122/1243909800000

Above is a photo of me with my sister's kid, Shinzo, at about 10 months. His Japanese and black mother's choice of a partner? African American.

Happy Loving Day and until next week, I will always be...

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

Anzu, FGM v. MGM, And Upcoming Watermelon Sushi Events

Hey Hip Hapa Homeez,

I'm so hapa to hear from so many of you! As promised, each week I'll be posting stories and photos about you and your mixed-race experiences.

This week, allow me to introduce Anzu (aka Anzu Kristina Lawson). A very talented Los Angeles-based musician, actress and comedienne, Anzu is half Japanese and half Caucasian. Check out her story and accompanying pix, below:

"This is my parents', John and Keiko Lawson's, wedding photo taken in Japan. I was born seven months after it was taken. My dad was a G.I. stationed in Japan after the Korean war. My parents are divorced now. There was definitely a language barrier between them, but they managed to make two pretty cool daughters. My father fought prejudice because my mother was Japanese and Pearl Harbor was still fresh in people's minds, especially in Oregon. I remember my mother really craving Japanese food and having boxes of seaweed, noodles, pickled radish and condiments shipped from Japan by her relatives. Back in those days, they didn't have very many ethnic food stores like they do today. The ONE thing my parents had in common was that they both loved music. That passion was something they gave me, from both of them, besides their wonderful genes. I have a single out on itunes that is available under ANZU called TWO WRONGS. It's a rock duet featuring Sonny, the lead singer from the band P.O.D. (Columbia Records)."

Now, back to that FGM (First Generation Multi-racials, or Mulattos) v. MGM (Multi Generation Multi-racials) debate. Here's a response from Chancellor Files:

"I read the Watermelon Sushi World blog, and what Yayoi wrote about the FGM and MGM world that you (Kahlil Crawford) introduced her to. There are serious tensions between the two camps. I feel from what I’m seeing and hearing is that some FGM's are frustrated because there are light-skinned MGM's who look just as mulatto, and sometimes even lighter in complexion, than many biracials. They feel this helps FGM's remain seen as black because people are so used to seeing light-skinned MGM's.

Some FGM's are sad because light-skinned MGM's are lighter than some of them and, therefore, seen as mixed when the darker biracials are just seen as black first and mixed second. This is something that needs to be talked about among mixed-race people who are FGM's and MGM's.

This is why there is a forum so people can discuss these issues. This topic will come up eventually again, and it should."

And, still on that subject, I received the following from AllPeople Gifts:

"Hi Yayoi,

After having read your great article found at your website via the following link

http://watermelonsushiworld.blogspot.com/2009/05/susans-story-fgm-v-mgm-rain-brown-girl.html

in which you discussed the matter of MGM-Mixed and FGM-Mixed lineages, I thought you might be interested in learning about and becoming familiar with, as well as possibly joining, any or all of three (3) Mixed-Lineage discussion groups listed below.

Thus, we would like you to view this memo as a very cordial invitation to take a look at and to perhaps also consider joining and becoming a member (via either ‘active posting’ and/or ‘quiet perusal’) of any or all of the three (3) groups --- as we would be very honored to have you join in with us and our online communities."

The groups are as follows:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MGM-Mixed

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FGM-Mixed

Hey, Hip Hapa Homeez, we're getting close to the Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival taking place in Los Angeles in June. Don't forget to stop by to check out our Mixed-Race Relationships panel including Sam Cacas, Sachiko Jackson and Ann Carli. If you'd like a program schedule, drop me an email at hiphapa@comcast.net

That same weekend, Watermelon Sushi producers will be auditioning talent for our film. If you haven't already sent us your reels, headshots and resumes, it's too late. But if you'd like to be considered for a role without auditioning, go to the Hip Hapa Homeez group on Facebook for breakdowns. Remember, rapper Miwa Lyric will be in the house!

Oh, and my good friend Amina asked that I post the following:

"Share your experience as a person of mixed heritage with MixedChild.com, an online community celebrating the achievements of multiracial people. All are welcome - from childhood experiences to dating, beauty, family and inspiration for your art/career– tell us your story!

Contact:

info@mixedchild.com

Please include your name, contact details (email or phone number) and best time to reach you . We can either arrange a phone interview or you can send us an essay written in first-person."

Until next time, I am and will always be...

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi