If any of you have an interesting story to tell, drop us a
line. Whether you’re of mixed ethnicity, a transracial adoptee, in an
interracial relationship, or someone who crosses cultures, we want to talk to
you!
Meanwhile, let’s revisit a Hip Hapa Homee from the past who
was featured here earlier this year, multi-generationally mixed-race Kahlil Crawford.
Here’s a quick update. Since February, he's founded a
startup called http://kinortec.com. When
asked what he’d like us to know about it, Kahlil replied: “The new start-up was inspired by a bank executive who
believed my approach to IT Consulting warranted a larger platform.”
Congratulations, Kahlil!
Rob Lee
Meanwhile, our producer at large, Rob Lee, has been busy
campaigning on behalf of Hapa*Teez. Check him out in his BlacKorean tee.
Speaking of vids, if you’ve never been to Hawai’i--land of
the cultural melting pot--here’s a little taste for you. We call it Hapa Luau.
Hapa feasting!
Until we meet again, please visit our Watermelon Sushi website and join
us at Hip Hapa Homeez on Facebook for some pretty darn interesting discussions.
It’s a sad news day as we remember Steve Jobs and his monumental contributions to computer technology. I know that I, for one, am grateful for my iMac and MacBook Pro. It should be noted that technically (pun intended), Mr. Jobs was hapa as his biological father was of Syrian descent and his birth mother was Caucasian American. Add to it, the fact that he was also adopted; presumably by white Americans--making him a transracial adoptee.
In any case, Your Hip Hapa salutes the spirit that was (multiethnic identity or not) Steve Jobs.
This month’s featured Hip Hapa Homeez is James Daniel Lopez, a frequent contributor to the Facebook group Hip Hapa Homeez. Besides regularly posting interesting links to information and clips about multiethnic experiences, James often takes the initiative to respond to any group members who asks questions.
Along with these photos of James, please enjoy the Q&A below:
Q: Who are your parents, and how did they meet?
A: My parents, Luis and Diana, both came from Mexican-American families in Los Angeles. Ethnically, I identify as Mexican-American, Chicano, Latino, Hispanic/Hispano, American, and Mexican—altogether, and depending on the context I’m speaking of. But probably more than anything, I’m an American, both in the U.S. sense as well as simply being a citizen of the Americas.
“Racially,” however, I identify as “mestizo” (mixed), or “mestizo-moreno” as a nod to Mexico’s African heritage (as well as my own).
Q: How did you grow up?
A: I was raised for most of my life in South Central Los Angeles, which is where I still live.
Q: How did you become so involved with multi-ethnic issues?
A: That’s complicated, but I’ll try to answer as concisely as possible. I was informed at a young age, through my family as well as through history books at school, that being of Mexican heritage generally meant having a strong mixture of Spanish and Native American roots. But this was over-simplistic, as I found, upon doing my own research, that there were actually several ethnic roots that contributed significantly to the Mexican gene pool and culture, as well as Latin American culture as a whole. Also, as I got older, my phenotype began to change significantly, leading me to be visibly perceived by many people as having roots from various backgrounds, sometimes mistakenly so.
And to top it all off, I was raised in an English-speaking household in an area of Los Angeles which had both a large Mexican-descended population and a large African-American population; because of this, I absorbed many cultural influences from the local African-Americans as well as my Mexican heritage and the cultural fabric of “Greater America.”
Q: What propels you to be so active on the Hip Hapa Homeez Facebookgroup page?
A: I tend to gravitate towards various groups and websites that either study and/or celebrate mixed roots (both ancestral and cultural). I’m a fan of pluralism and multiculturalism in general, and as I celebrate these things and seek to understand them as a whole, I think its just fitting that I tend to align myself with organizations and individuals who do the same.
Q: How do you see multi-ethnic communities evolving--are we all on the same page?
A: Well, I really think that depends on the context, mainly the specific society as well as the cultural climate of that particular society. Here in the U.S., I think there is a growing awareness of just how “mixed” America really is as well as an increasing appreciation for that mixture. I also think that the acceptance of mixed “racial” and multicultural self-identification is on the rise, but I still think we have a long way to go until it is fully accepted.
Q: What do you feel is the biggest obstacle between multi-ethnic people and the so-called mono-racial community?
A: In the U.S., I think the biggest problem is that these communities don’t really understand each other. The Racial Integrity Act of 1924 did A LOT of widespread damage to our social fabric, as it not only helped ensure that “mixed” marriages were illegal, but it also rendered mixed “racial”/ethnic heritages virtually invisible to many people in the United States. I think it is largely because of this that the idea of being of mixed ancestry and claiming an identity that refuses to choose or favor one of those ancestries in particular is virtually inconceivable to many individuals—sadly, this includes many people who are themselves of mixed ancestry.
Q: Do you think that humans will move beyond racial, or even cultural, identification some day?
A: I really cannot say for certain. I think historically, in virtually any and every society, people have always found ways to divide and separate themselves from one another. But I also think that awareness and acceptance of multiple lineages is becoming much more prevalent today in many societies around the world. Also, as time progresses, we seem to be becoming global citizens (as opposed to simply national citizens), so anything is possible really.
Mucho gracias, Senior Lopez, for your informative insight.
If our readers haven’t already done so, please join us at our Facebook group Hip Hapa Homeez where you can engage in meaningful dialogue about anything dealing with multi-ethnicity, transracial adoptions and crossing cultures. You can also “like” our Watermelon Sushi Fan page, which supports our Watermelon Sushi film. And, we have a Hapa*Teez t-shirt Fan page, too! The t-shirts, themselves, are available at Café Press.
And, we’re still running our Cousin Oprah Campaign via Twitter. Here’s the link to the HUB page and the "twitition".
Mad love and props to the folks at the African American Playwrights Exchange for bestowing the Trailblazers Award on Your Hip Hapa. Please support this great organization!
Here’s hoping you’re enjoying a shimmering summer filled with vacation vibrancy!
Perhaps like me, you’ve noticed that multiethnic communities are getting a lot of press recently. If you have articles you’d like to share, please post them at our Hip Hapa Homeez Group page on Facebook. If you’re not a member yet, please join and remember to add your friends.
Here’s a shout-out to Arana and The Topaz Club membership! Arana has made Your Hip Hapa July’s “Member of the Month” and posted my interview of growing up mixed on the Topaz Sisterhood Group page on Facebook. If you’re a woman of multiple heritages, please contact Arana to join her group.
This month, Watermelon Sushi World’s featured Hip Hapa Homee is musician Ilja Alexander. This intelligent and charming young man is making headlines with his record sales and international concerts. And, as a speaker of several languages, he’s a true world citizen. Please read all the way through this post as Ilja has a special surprise waiting for you.
Meanwhile, check out the dapper gentleman in this photo.
Incredibly International Ilja
Q: Ilja, how did your parents meet?
A: My father was born in Semarang Indonesia in 1942. His ethnic background is Chinese/Indonesian. His great-grandfather, Oei Tjie Sien, was a high-ranking military official during the Taiping Rebellion, a resurrection against the Manchu emperor (1850-1864) caused by drought and hunger. It started as a farmer’s resurrection. What’s interesting is that for the first time in the history of mankind, women were allowed to join the armed forces. Initially, the resurrection was quite successful, but then the Manchu government asked the British colonial rulers to help them, defeating the opposition near Shanghai.
Oei Tjie Sien fled to Semarang Indonesia, at that time a prosperous harbor. He then became a merchant in Semarang. One of his sons, my great-grandfather Oei Tiong Ham, then turned the business into what was to become the first holding corporation in Asia and the biggest corporation of Asia at that time, the Kian Gwan Concern. Nicknamed the Asian Sugar King, he married 7 wives and had 26 official children. One of those 26 official children was my grandfather. My grandfather was good friends with the managing director of the corporation and this director introduced him to my grandmother, who lived on the other side of Java in Sukabumi. At that time, around 1924, it was quite uncommon for people living in Indonesia to marry someone from another distant hometown.
What makes the story even more interesting is that the second daughter of Oei Tiong Ham, my great-aunt Madame Wellington Koo (born as Oei Hui Lan), married the first Chinese ambassador to the United States. She also socialized with the Chinese nationalist General Chang Kai Shek and the wife of Mussolini.
When the first president of Indonesia, president Sukarno, came to power, my uncle Oei Tjong Tjay, then the president of the Kian Gwan Concern, refused to work with the Sukarno government, because he was against communism. As a consequence, the local business divisions got nationalized and my entire family fled from Indonesia. My grandmother moved to the Netherlands in 1948. My father was 4-years old.
My mother’s ethnic background is Chinese/Indonesian/Malay/Japanese. Actually, the Japanese part has never been confirmed, but is believed to be the case by a historian. My mother’s great-grandmother was something like a countess, linked to the royal family of Malaysia. She then married a Chinese businessman (with part Japanese origins if believed by this historian) from Indonesia and was forbidden to return to Malaysia ever since. My grandparents from my mother’s side moved to the Netherlands around the 1960’s, and my father and mother met there in the 1970’s.
Q: When did you become a musician?
A: Unconsciously I was always interested in music, starting piano classes at the age of 5 and songwriting from the age of 12. However, not until a student exchange course to Osaka Japan in 2004 did I realize I could become a singer/songwriter. As someone with Asian roots, it was (and still is) very difficult launching a major artist’s career in the West. But in Japan, I seemed to attract many college students interested in my music, playing and writing my songs at the Kansai Gaidai University campus.
Q: When you went to Osaka as a student, did you speak Japanese? As a "hafu", how were you treated by Japanese—or by people in the Netherlands?
A: No, I did not speak Japanese nor did I know anything about Japan. In fact, I chose to follow an exchange course program in South Africa, but was told that there were only places available for Japan. I thought Japan would be similar to Bali. Upon arrival at Osaka Airport, I knew I was wrong, not seeing any palm trees or beaches. My entire worldview changed during my exchange course to Japan and, ever since, I feel Japan could one day become my home country.
I did not experience any discrimination in Japan. Many Japanese thought I was Japanese, too, and all around the world being a musician really facilitates me making friends. In the Netherlands, society has become more and more individualistic over the past 10 years. There is so much violence here, caused by a minor group of youngsters from Morocco. It resulted in political parties, including the party of the politician Geert Wilders, favoring to close the borders and focusing on people’s fears rather than on constructive solutions about how to prevent cultural and regional conflicts. But this is no different in other Western nations. I believe this is not a good policy and will certainly not lead to any solution, but to even more cultural and regional conflicts. As a consequence, the Dutch are much more open-minded and, I certainly feel, more and more extremist right calls are present here than 10 years before.
Q: What's it like for you speaking so many different languages? Is it confusing? Which language do you think and/or dream in the most?
A: I always get confused. I speak Dutch, English, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and am now studying Korean. Some people think in their mother tongue language then translate to another language when they want to communicate. In my case, I start thinking in the foreign language and culture. As a consequence, for example, when I’m in Indonesia I can speak Indonesian quite fluently, thinking in Indonesian culture and thinking buying something for 1 euro (12,500 rupiah) is already expensive. Calling to the Netherlands, I would forget my Dutch vocabulary. In fact, if I’m in one country where I am able to communicate in the local language, I tend to forget all other languages, pushing those other languages to the background processes of my brain.
Q: Your music has a very gentle, spiritual quality. Do you attribute that to your cultural upbringing? Can you say that your music is more one culture than the other, or is it totally cross-cultural?
A: I think this has to do with different aspects. First of all, I can never get angry. In fact, even if I encounter problems, like some fraud cases in Indonesia, I would not feel any anger against those causing all the trouble. Second, I lived in Thailand in 2006 and 2007. I then became very much interested in Buddhism, started meditating and learning to always think positively and enjoy the day. Third, I graduated as an economist, specializing in development economics, and studying third world countries. Lastly, I had to make some concessions producing my last CD. I co-operated with some arrangers and conductors in Asian countries and, while I preferred a more edgy and rock sound, sweet and romantic is more common to the Asian music industries.
I don’t know if my music is cross-cultural. However, I do know my own personality is cross-cultural and maybe, therefore, my music becomes cross-cultural, too.
Q: Tell us about your latest release.
A: My latest album is called Hold On To Her. This is track 1. The subtitle is called Aria’s Song. Aria is my first niece, now 2-years old. When she was just born, I sat beside her and she was crying. Then I wrote her this song called Hold On To Her; that there is no reason to cry on this beautiful day and that she would always have the unconditional love of her mother. So, I sang to her Hold On To Her (your mother) for always.
The entire album is something like an autobiography. All the songs are personal experiences and the lyrics really tell exactly what I did back then. I mentioned the songwriting date above the lyrics in the booklet, so it’s like reading a diary.
Recording, engineering and releasing this CD took me 2.5 years and some songs have now been recorded in English, Japanese and Indonesian. Korean and Chinese songs are expected to be recorded later this year.
I offer the Watermelon Sushi World blog readers a discount when ordering my CD, since I hope many more people will get to know my music. Anyone can send an email to info@ilja-alexander.com and my management will send you an invoice of 10 euro, excluding shipment costs, using PayPal to process the order.
Q: What do you see in your future and for multiethnic people in general?
A: My objective is to start launching my career in the U.S., slightly adapting my sound to make it more edgy and rock, making my songs more accessible to a wider audience. I also have an ambition to be the first major international artist with Asian roots breaking through the entertainment industries of the West and, therefore, breaking through the entertainment industries on a global level.
I believe with the geo-political power shifting to some developing nations, more and more issues of sustainable environment and mass migrations in the next decade, the world as we know it today will soon come to an end. In fact, without major changes in the way we live (in the West) we will not survive. I do believe calls for change are more and more common, among other things leading to more equality in the world, less poverty and less discrimination. I also believe the word “multi-ethnicity” should become a word of the past, since mankind should discover that we are all one race.
Q: Tell us something about The Ilja Alexander Foundation.
A: I’m about to launch my own foundation to provide free education and accommodation to those children around the world without access to education and to their parents. Starting a foundation is a lengthy process, but I hope it will operate somewhere this year.
I designed a new educational system addressing current socio-cultural, economical, political and environmental issues. The educational system is based on three pillars. First of all, children will be taught traditional courses, like mathematics, history, geography, science, etc. Second, children will be taught country-specific courses related to environmental sustainability, (renewable) agriculture, poverty, water management, etc. Third, the educational system is focused on training the left side of our brains, i.e., personal development courses, like meditation and arts (martial arts, music, etc.), whereas nowadays in the West educational processes are mainly focused on developing the right side of our brains.
Both children and their parents need to work on the land, cultivating renewable agricultural products, renewable energy, etc. All products will then be traded on the international trading markets, the profits flowing back into the educational system, making this educational system self-supporting and self-sustainable.
When the children get older, they should get the opportunity to go on exchange courses to other schools around the world, learning about other cultures, religions and other country-specific courses. By doing this, the foundation will then realize its mission to prevent cultural and regional conflicts in next generations and to make the world we live in more sustainable.
To finance the foundation I’m transferring a percentage of my annual revenues to the foundation, and also working with donor companies.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me by using the contact info listed below.
Arigatou gozaimasu, mahalo nui loa, hsieh hsieh, merci beaucoups, muchas gracias, danke schoen and more, Ilja! Hey, Hip Hapa Homeez, don’t forget we have Hapa*Teez t-shirts for you (like the one I'm wearing here), and you can also like our newly created Hapa*Teez Fan page. If you haven’t had the chance yet, check out our updated Watermelon Sushi film website and like our Watermelon Sushi Fan page. My Sexy Voices of Hollywood co-host, Robert Taylor, and I are about to relaunch our internet show, so please stay tuned.
Welcome back to Watermelon Sushi World! This week, Your Hip Hapa profiles Arana, founder of The Topaz Club, along with member Deborah Braxton. That's Arana, below, seated at the center of the table surrounded by Chicago Branch members at the celebration of TTC's 6th year anniversary last January.
Q: Arana, what is The Topaz Club and what does its name mean?
A: The Topaz Club is an online-based sisterhood for biracial/multiracial women who are of partial African/African American descent and are mixed with other heritages. The name “Topaz” is taken from the yellow/golden topaz that has varying shades of yellow, orange and brown. These colors represent the beauty and range of our skin hues.
Q: What inspired you to start and lead this organization?
A: When I founded TTC in January 2004, at Yahoo! Groups, I wasn’t inspired at first to form the sisterhood that it has grown to become. However, in seeing the immediate and sudden growth of membership--and in seeing the need for the members to bond and connect to each other, it was at that point that I became deeply motivated to build a strong family and community of and for Afro-biracial/multiracial women.
Q: How did you grow up?
A: My mother is a multigenerationally-mixed woman of African American and English/Irish/German/Dutch descent. My father, who is also multigenerationally-mixed, is of African American and English/French/Italian/Creole/Choctaw and Comanche descent.
I grew up in a home where my family didn’t really care about [multi]racial or [multi]ethnic identifications. My family tended to go with the trend of identifying with how society viewed them to be as only African American. I believe that this had to do with the Jim Crow laws and One-Drop Rule of the day. They knew about our multiracial/multiethnic family backgrounds, but did not often speak about them. Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, I knew for myself that an African American racial/ethnic identification did not accurately describe who I am and what I racially/ethnically am. And it doesn’t. I’m proud to belong to all of my racial/ethnic groups.
Q: How does the new community at Ning differ from the original Yahoo! community where The Topaz Club was founded?
A: Our new online community at Ning is an entire cyber network where our former online community at Yahoo! operated as an email-based listserv. At Ning, the Topaz sisters are able to see each other through their profile pictures as they communicate with each other, participate in special-interest groups, share blogs and videos with the community, and connect to each other at our bi-weekly chats at the site.
Q: Aside from its online community presence, what other activities and events does The Topaz Club offer?
A: The Topaz Club is slowly growing and evolving beyond its cyber community. TTC has several branches that host occasional social gatherings and outings in Chicago, New York City, and the San Francisco Bay area. Right now, we’re working on establishing a foundation of TTC branches in Dallas, Houston, Washington D.C., and Minneapolis/St.Paul. We had our first National Get Together in Chicago in August 2006. We’ll have our second National Get Together on a cruise to the Bahamas in December 2011.
Q: What are some of The Topaz Club’s goals?
A: Right now, the three main goals that The Topaz Club seeks to accomplish are: to increase membership at our online community and in the branch cities mentioned above; to establish a stronger foundation of our already-existing branches; and, hopefully, to establish our national home base in one U.S. city with active chapters eventually in other U.S. cities.
Q: What will women joining The Topaz Club gain from becoming a part of this sisterhood?
A: Women who join The Topaz Club will become a part of a growing network of professional, educated, and sophisticated ladies who come from different walks of life and share the same bond of being biracial/multiracial and of African/African American descent. They will have the opportunity to connect with other members both online and in person, and to make a positive impact on the growth and success of the sisterhood through their involvement in various areas of leadership within it.
TTC sisterhood member Deborah Braxton is the daughter of an English, Irish, Scottish, and German blended mother and an African American, English, Irish multigenerational father. That's her in the photo below as a child and beneath that, wearing a white shirt, at the San Francisco Bay Area TTC branch luncheon in 2007.
Q: How did you grow up, Deborah?
A: I grew up my first 10 years in a racially charged part of Philadelphia. I lived in a "black" housing development. Literally, right across the railroad tracks (which were approximately 50 feet from our front door) was a white neighborhood. There were often bottle fights between our neighborhoods. Commonly used words were "nigger, cracker and honkey". My mother even called us "Honkenigs".
Shortly after my father’s death, we moved to a more integrated housing development that seemed to be more racially balanced, but it wasn't.
I grew up with a very clear understanding of racism. I am a very light-skinned woman and often "pass" for white or Latina. This has made me privy to "insider information" within the white world. Sadly, I often heard (and occasionally still hear) prejudicial statements, opinions and the like that were (are) not meant to be said around a person of color.
Q: What’s your involvement in The Topaz Club?
A: I am the Chair Representative for the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter.
Q: What are some activities that you’ve participated in through your involvement with the Topaz sisterhood?
A: I have organized and attended a few dinners here in the Bay Area, and attended the Founders Celebration in Chicago in 2007.
Q: How has The Topaz Club supported you as a multiethnic woman?
A: I am blessed to have found a group of women that truly understands my life experiences as a mixed woman of African American descent. I find that if needed, The Topaz Club can be an excellent site for venting, and education.
Thanks, Deborah and ladies of the TTC sisterhood!
And, thank you Hip Hapa Homeez for your continuing support. Check out the numbers of you liking our Watermelon Sushi Fan page on Facebook! Remember, our Hip Hapa Homeez group page is for you to post the latest news about multiethnic and cross-cultural issues. You can also continue to show love for the Watermelon Sushi film by making a Hapa*Teez t-shirt purchase, like Eva did below. And, don’t forget to follow our erratic tweets on Twitter.
Many of our Hip Hapa Homeez have products available on Amazon. Please take a minute to check them out.
Welcome back to Watermelon Sushi World! Please enter the portal to our universe of mixed-ness where cultures cross and ethnicities blend. Kick back and make yourself at home, Hip Hapa Homeez.
This week, Your Hip Hapa profiles one of several Watermelon Sushi Associate Producers located around the globe. What’s a Watermelon Sushi Associate Producer? Watermelon Sushi is our feature film, which our Associate Producers are dedicated to producing and bringing to the silver screen for you. The worldly Mr. Richard Todd Smith, better known as iPrince, explains. Above is his face, below his thoughts.
Q: What makes you a Hip Hapa Homee?
A: I'm African American and live in the inner city of Detroit Michigan. We’re internationally known as the Motor City and where the Motown musical legends came from.
But last year in 2008, I lived in Phoenix where I worked with the Latino population. As a youth and community developer, I partnered with the downtown, centrally located, YMCA. I established youth enrichment programs, summer camp programs, basketball and soccer tournaments, swim teams, Friday night jams, and parties with local radio stations. The YMCA has different partnerships, like with Arizona State University. Youth At Risk is another organization that we worked with; and, also six local high schools and four elementary schools in the district. There were over 100 participants in our program.
Not only was I able to eat great Latino meals in Phoenix, but I also learned the culture of the population, which is centered on food and family. Besides the hot weather, I was also exposed to bilingual speaking and learned some Spanish. I ate hot tamales, quesadillas and soft tacos with sun-dried tomatoes and jalapenos all day long, as well as lots of fresh fruits—apples, oranges, bananas and plantains; a Latino staple.
Q: What's your role in the Watermelon Sushi film--past and future?
A: My thing is outreach. I enjoy reaching out to multiethnic communities and sharing with them even as I learn more about their histories. I’m interested in teaching others about cross-cultural agendas and mixed-race people, and the message and motivation of Watermelon Sushi. I plan to approach diverse cultures and expose them not only to the producers behind the film project, but the project itself. I want to inform younger generations, teenagers, and my peer group--the 30 somethings, the Gen Xers—and reach out to educate them about crossing cultures and what it means to be multiethnic. I want to speak to an international audience. This project is an international project, and I want to teach about it globally.
As a project for this summer, I’m also working on sponsoring a basketball team to buy Hapa*Teez t-shirts which advertise and finance the Watermelon Sushi film. We’ll approach, say, a local grocery store and ask them to donate a number of shirts to our team. 10% of the funds raised will be donated to the film’s production. This will give us the spin of outreach. I want to sponsor those ball players and take photos of them to be part of the film. I'm looking forward to doing my part. I plan to showcase these types of activities to potential financiers, especially in an urban setting.
I’m also researching film credits, incentives and tax breaks offered by the Michigan Film Office. Soon, I’ll be contacting some key players in that organization to see how we can work together on Watermelon Sushi. To quote Joe Biden, this is a big blankety-blank deal!
Q: What else do you do?
A: I'm a part-time student at Wayne State University where I study urban development and political science. I also work in the field of fine art and antiques; primarily 20th Century American furniture. I also read a lot to stay informed; mostly magazines like Architectural Digest, Fine Wine, Forbes, and Your Hip Hapa’s cousin’s, Oprah's, publication—O.
Q: How did you grow up?
A: I was born and raised on the east side of Detroit. My family is middle-class and, as business owners, gave me the incentive to be entrepreneurial. My folks owned re-sell shops, a gas station and a local Dairy Queen. The majority of my time was spent being involved in after-school programs, and sports for exercise and staying healthy.
Growing up, I attended a private Catholic school, St. David, where we had mixed populations with both black and white roots. Any mixed-race students were predominantly black and white although some had Asian mothers and black fathers. In Detroit, we have a Chinatown, so our family would go there to eat out. We also have a Mexicantown and Africantown--where West Africans from Ghana display their dance culture.
Q: What impact do you think Obama's presidency has made on multiethnic agendas?
A: I don't think he’s made an impact directly, but indirectly by his image because those communities benefit from his having an image of color. By us having a multiethnic president, it sends a hopeful message to multiracial people of color.
Q: Do you have a recipe for The Official Watermelon Sushi Cookbook?
A: You better believe it! It's going to be my caveat to being a part of the project. I'm not much of a cook though. I have sisters, so I eat and wash the dishes. Yes, that sounds sexist, but we role-play. I stay in my lane and they stay in theirs. I'm a willing participant of it. Even if I cook, my sisters taste the food and are like, “Well…” And, then, they may not wash the dishes, so I'll be stuck washing dishes and cooking, too.
Having said that, I may consider submitting a recipe for a fruit salad with watermelons, cherries, strawberries and apple slices. And, I’ll use hummus and olives rolled in rice and seaweed for what I’ll call “Middle Eastern Sushi.” It sounds terrible, but it is catchy.
A: Not only will it be a film, but a brand--a household name. It will be in your library as a novel, in your kitchen as a cookbook, in your den on a DVD, in your child’s room as a paper doll, and even in your home as houseware like china and linens. It will be in all kinds of homes of all different races as a constant reminder of what it takes to work together in the world. We live to learn about each other so what is it going to take for us to exist together? I see Watermelon Sushi educating the world about the ways and principals of how to relate and understand other ethnic groups and other cultures.
Wow! No wonder Watermelon Sushi is growing so successfully—thanks to Associate Producers like iPrince. btw, HAPA birthday, iPrince! (Friday, April 9)
Stay tuned, Hip Hapa Homeez, as we continue to present Watermelon Sushi Associate Producers from around the planet along with regular profiles in the coming weeks. We’ll also be developing The Official Watermelon Sushi Cookbook where your vegan recipes will be published along with your photo and story. For more info about the cookbook, email yourhiphapa@me.com
Now, here’s a shout-out to our Hapa*Teez supporters. Remember, if you make a purchase, contact us at hapateez@me.com for your rear crawl credit. This week’s featured Hip Hapa Homee in Hapa*Teez t-shirt is British beauty Sogba Bruce Jaja. Looking good, girl!
And, here’s an announcement from Andrew Grant-Thomas, Deputy Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity (Ohio State University). Andrew is soliciting a wide range of views on the subject of future race relations and besides tapping advocates, researchers and other professionals, he’s also looking for “bloggers, poets, writers of speculative fiction, futurists, young and old, immigrants, poor and working class people of color and just plain folk.” Get more info at this link:
Speaking of Obama, this week’s featured Amazon product is Watermelon Sushi Associate Producer Pearl, Jr.’s on-demand video titled Barack Obama: The Power of Change.
Let’s end with a BIG UP to all you Hip Hapa Homeez Group members and Watermelon Sushi Fans on Facebook, and to you tweeting Twitterers. Anyone can join us, so please do. And, keep your comments and emails coming. Like iPrince, above, we love it when you reach out. Soon we’ll meet again, and until then, I am
Ni Hao, Hip Hapa Homeez! In case you’re not familiar, that’s “hello” in Mandarin. This week’s greeting is in honor of our featured Hip Hapa Homee, Kimberly Campbell, who has lived in China with her family. What’s so unusual about that, you may well ask? Well, Kim, her husband and two children are African Americans--which really shouldn’t be all that remarkable. Yet, most people still consider it significant when blacks live abroad, and we don’t mean in Africa or the Caribbean either.
That’s Kim with her Chinese students in the photo above and below, a spread of her family.
Q: Why China, Kim?
A: I’m a professor in the Communication Department at Texas Southern University, and am conducting interviews and holding meetings about ways to build bridges between African American and Asian American communities. I appreciate all the bridge builders who have been working towards that end for many years. Anyone who would like to connect, share resources, and/or exchange ideas should email me at kdctheory@msn.com
Q: When did you first develop an interest in Asia?
A: As a child, I was interested in traveling and learning about various cultures. I recall being attracted to Asian philosophies, books, and films as a high school student. I do have some pretty early memories of connecting with Chinese stories and people as a very young child. I remember enjoying the Seven Chinese Brothers book, and recall enjoying the accent of a Chinese woman who worked at my pre-school. So, perhaps my attraction to Chinese culture was ignited early on.
I also recall really enjoying Bollywood musicals and dance routines. Hopefully, I will get to visit India in the near future. I am definitely open to other cultures and find that learning about them is a great way to learn about myself. I love to share my Blasian stories!
Q: Did you or your husband grow up in multicultural environments?
A: My husband and I both grew up in predominately African American environments within Detroit. Both of us, even as young people, demonstrated an openness to people and friendships with persons of diverse backgrounds. Our parents were open to diversity in professional settings, but maintained almost exclusive African American personal friendships--at least while we were children. Nonetheless, once I became a teenager, I recall that my mother’s circle of friends became more inclusive of diverse persons and has continued that way today.
Q: How long did your family stay in China?
A: From 2006 to 2008, we lived and worked in south China in a city called Shunde, about 25 miles south of Guangzhou and about an hour and a half north of Hong Kong. Our children are fluent in Chinese and are culturally Blasian, or Blackanese as some refer to them, in many ways.
Q: What did you do there?
A: My husband and I worked at a K-12 private international baccalaureate school. I worked with high school juniors and seniors teaching critical thinking and helping them prepare for admission to colleges/universities in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia. Teaching high-schoolers was new to me as my entire career before going to China had been teaching at the college level for about 13 years.
Q: And, your kids?
A: Our children attended the international school where we taught for the first year. The teachers in the lower grades spoke very little English so our children learned Mandarin quickly. After only five months, both children (7 and 9 when we arrived in China) were fluent! At the end of their first year, they were ranked 1st (daughter) and 2nd (son) in Mandarin speaking, reading, and writing out of about 200 foreign students. Our children often served as translators for my husband and me, and for other foreigners living in China.
Q: What was it like being black in Asia?
A: I was the first African American woman, or woman of African descent period, to have worked/taught at the school. There was another African American man from Texas who started teaching there when my husband and I did, so my husband was one of the first African American men to teach at the school. After two years, the school made very generous offers for us to stay. After we left, the school recruited five African Americans to teach there. We really feel we were trailblazers and cultural ambassadors for the school!
Q: Did you visit other Asian countries?
A: Over the two years, we had the opportunity to travel to Thailand, Philippines and throughout China. The exposure was quite enriching for our family. It was very rare to see other African Americans--especially ones traveling with a family. We wouldn't trade the experience for anything. We will always remain connected to Asian culture.
Q: What did you guys eat?
A: The food in southern China was definitely different from the taste and style of Chinese food served in U.S. restaurants such as Panda Express. What an adjustment! As we traveled to different parts of China, we became more knowledgeable about the diverse food and cooking traditions in those places. Lamain noodles--a long stretchy noodle from Islamic Chinese areas of Western China--were one of my family's favorite foods.
Q: What are you doing now?
A: I have returned to academia and currently serve as Interim Chair of the Speech Communication Department at Texas Southern University. My husband has started an ESL company in Houston.
I am involved in several research projects and am developing an organization designed to identify opportunities and overcome challenges in strengthening African American and Asian American relationships. Some of the projects also seek to uncover key differences in communication styles that may present cultural blocks for the two groups. By the way, I’m brainstorming ideas for a name for the organization I’m starting if anyone has any suggestions. Also, I'm writing about African American families living abroad, and at least three of the families reflect on their experiences living in Asian countries.
Q: What about your children?
A: The children attend an international baccalaureate school in Houston, and study Chinese at their school.
Xie xie, Kim! (That’s pronounced sheh sheh and means thank you.)
Now for some announcements:
Hip Hapa Homee Vanessa Chong is working on a Biracial Identity and Family Study for those who are half Asian and half Caucasian. This is a part of the University of Windsor’s multicultural research program in the Department of Psychology. You must be between 18 and 30, and live in the U.S. or Canada to participate. As a token of appreciation, participants will be entered in a drawing for $25 gift cards. The website link is
And, Hip Hapa Homee Michelle Hughes sent us info about the 2010 Census and why it’s important for those of us identifying as being more than one race to complete the form. For more info, visit http://2010.census.gov or contact 2010 Census National Partner, Association of MultiEthnic Americans (Jungmiwha Bullock or Harold Gates ), at 818-230-2285 or amea2010census@gmail.com
Remember, your purchase of a Hapa*Teez t-shirt will help support our Watermelon Sushi film while earning you a rear crawl credit. You can also join our Hip Hapa Homeez Group page on Facebook, where we post the latest news for blendies, mixies and transracial adoptees, and our Watermelon Sushi Fan page where we keep you updated about the film. In the next few weeks, we’ll be profiling Watermelon Sushi Associate Producers on this blog, so keep coming back. You can also follow watermelonsushi on Twitter where we post excerpts from the film script.
If you're looking for a good book to read, check out my friend Nashieqa Washington's cleverly titled Why Do Black People Love Fried Chicken? Obviously, Nashieqa's never eaten lamain noodles. Nevertheless, buy her book. You won't be disappointed.
Finally, here’s a shout-out to all you Hip Hapa Homeez for your continuing loyalty. It’s so heartwarming to watch our numbers growing every day especially when so many of you are not mixed-race, a transracial adoptee, or even in an interracial relationship. The fact that you still champion the cause for those of us claiming our multi-ethnic heritages speaks volumes about your spirit.
