Get Mixed-Up--Twice!

Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez! Maybe it’s because the Sun is in the sign Gemini this month, but we have two profiles for you. Gemini’s symbols are the Twins, and coincidentally we’re featuring two Hip Hapa Homeez. Both are Ph.D. candidates and both are looking for mixed folks like you to get mixed up in their dissertations. Be sure to click the links below each interview to get in the mix!

Zankhana with her fiancee

First up, Zankhana Sheth, a fourth-year doctoral student in clinical psychology at Wright Institute in Berkeley.

Q: Zankhana, what’s your ethnicity?

A: I was born in India and am Indian American.

Q: How were you brought up?

A: I was not raised in a mixed environment. 

Q: What made you interested in Black/Asian relationships?

A: I’m part of a Black-Indian couple and we’re getting married. I'm in psychology so I did some checking to see if there were any particular experiences shared by many people in similar relationships; and, there were no research studies about the experiences of people of color who interracially marry each other. I hope to learn more through my dissertation and help others to be aware of our experiences as well.

Q: What's the purpose of your study?  

Zankhana engaged

A: I hope through my study that awareness and understanding about interracial couples of color will be increased in general, but I also believe that when couples like ours look for support, couples therapy should be a viable option. However, many therapists know little about our experiences and can find it challenging to work with interracial couples. So, if some people are willing to share some of their experiences, it could really help therapists work with couples better.

Q: How can we help?

A: If you're interested in participating in my study, and live in California, please contact me for further information. To be eligible for this study, you and your spouse must both identify as Asian/Asian American, Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Multiracial, and/or Native American and have been married at least a year. The study consists of a 1-2 hour in-person interview as well as some background paperwork. All interviewed participants will receive a $20 gift card to Amazon.com for their time and contributions. Contact me at zankhanas.psych@gmail.com for more information and to see if you qualify.  

All right! Next up, is Lisa Giamo, a Ph.D. student in Social Psychology at Simon Fraser University.

Lisa with parents

Q: Lisa, what’s your ethnicity?

A: My mother is Korean, and my father is Sicilian-American.

Nana, Lisa and Mom

Q: How were you brought up?

A:  I was raised in a mixed environment, being exposed to American, Sicilian and Korean cultural values. My Nana (on my father's side) helped raise me, so I was exposed to some traditions from that side. However, since my mother is from Korea, I am more in tune with the language, food and other cultural practices of that side of my family. 

Q: What made you interested in White/Asian relationships?

Lisa and brother

A:  I thought it was completely normal to have one Asian and one White parent, until I started kindergarten and realized that people treated me differently because of the way I looked. Growing up, my younger brother and I were pretty much the only two people of our background in school. As I got older and started meeting other multiracial people, I became interested in how our experiences shape who we are and how we see the world, particularly for those that have multiple racial backgrounds.

Q: What's the purpose of your study?

A: My current research is focused on understanding the experiences of multiracial people and how it influences their identification choices. As scholars, we know very little about the psychological processes of multiracial people and are just starting to build theories and empirical work in that area, since there are some inherent complexities with interracial relationships on the rise and multiracials the fastest growing minority group in North America. Projections indicate that by the year 2050, 1 out of every 5 people in America will claim a multiracial background. Thus, it becomes increasingly important to gain a better understanding of the ways in which we conceptualize race and ethnicity, and how multiracials 'fit' into the current conversations, as well as future implications. 

Lisa with Greenlining Institute colleagues

Q: How can we help?

A:  I’m currently collecting data for my dissertation study examining multiracial identity. If you’re interested in being a part of this research, please use the following link to our survey: 

https://cgi.sfu.ca/~sisclab/cgi-bin/v5/rws5.cgi?FORM=MultiracialExperience2

It would also be appreciated if you could forward this information on to anyone you know that has one White parent and one Asian parent who might be interested in participating. Thanks for your time and consideration.

All right, Hip Hapa Homeez, get your mixed selves mixed up in these awesome causes. 

And, don’t forget to join us at Hip Hapa Homeez on Facebook where we enjoy ongoing discussions about being mixed-race, interracially involved, transracially adopted or crossing cultures. Please also like our Watermelon Sushi and Hapa Teez t-shirt fan pages, too.

BlacKorean Rob Lee in Hapa*Teez

Check out Rob Lee in his BlacKorean tee above, and remember buying a Hapa-Teez helps fund our Watermelon Sushi film.

Wishing you double summer fun, I am

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

A Globally-Minded Man Of Many Gifts

Welcome back to Watermelon Sushi World, all you Hip Hapa Homeez. It seems that from time to time, I’m asked to explain why the word hapa is not exclusive to people who are half Asian. Hapa is how Native Hawai’ians (Kanaka Maoli) pronounced the English word 'half' to describe their children that were born with one European parent. Technically, anyone half is hapa.

One of my favorite hapas is Robert Lee Taylor, a record producer who is also producing the Watermelon Sushi film and co-producing a YouTube radio show with Yours Truly. Look for Sexy Voices of Hollywood coming to you soon! Robert has a very international following and below he explains how he developed his cross-cultural agenda. Check out Robert and the musical talent he manages in the photos following. 

Q: What's a nice hapa black and white guy like you doing speaking Korean?

A: Prior to working in the film industry, I worked for the U.S. government in Washington D.C., a couple of blocks from the White House. While in college, I studied Korean as a Second Language (KSL) and later worked as a cultural attaché for several companies. I have lived and worked in the Asian international community for over ten years. As a youth and as far back as I can recall, I was always drawn to Asian culture. My parents also worked for the U.S. government in different parts of Asia, and my father lived and worked in Korea for three years. Learning to read, write and speak Korean as a Second Language as well as learning Korean culture resulted in many different job offers for me.

In addition to the preceding careers, I taught English, math and science at a Korean private school for many years. Later, I was hired to work as an international project manager, worked for a Korean real estate company, was the official spokesperson and campaign manager for a Korean American political candidate in the State of Virginia and a 50/50 business partner of what later became an energy and aerospace LLC (Limited Liability Company). I worked on Embassy Row in the U.S. capital and have met with and visited representatives of the Russian and Korean Embassies in addition to foreign dignitaries.

Q: How did you grow up?

A: My mother is Caucasian and originally from the Pacific Northwest and my father is African American and originally from the South. My parents were both career Armed Forces service members. My mother worked at U.S. Embassies in different countries in the Cryptologic field of Naval Intelligence. She had been in the Army for four years before transferring to the Navy to complete her more than twenty years of government service, during which time she lived in Northern Virginia. It was when she was in the Army that she met my father. My father was a teacher of Sociology and taught race relations for the military back in the 1960s during times of heightened racial tensions throughout America.

My mother, a white woman from the mountainous region of Washington State, happened to be in one of my father’s classes. Originally, having been in a science-related program and studying microbiology, my mother earned her college degree in business administration. Later she studied codes, ciphers and military communications at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey.

In addition to living in Korea for three years, my father lived in Germany, Panama and some other places before he retired to the ‘windy city’ of Chicago. As with many military families, I moved around quite a bit during my youth. I have traveled to over twenty-five states, have lived in the Bay Area at the Naval Air Station in Alameda (literally a few blocks from downtown Oakland), have lived in Hayward California, Washington State, Chicago, Northern Virginia, Brandenburg Germany and many other places.

Q: How did you get into the music industry?

A: During high school, I followed through with my childhood plan to become an entrepreneur in the world of business, arts and entertainment, and other industries. When I was of the legal age, I drafted my first official business plan and applied for a business license with the city, state and federal governments. Earlier, I had been an athlete, played track and field and was a regional track star. I also played football, basketball, baseball, soccer, and was in gymnastics and studied martial arts. I had a goal to try out for the U.S. Olympics after ten years of gymnastics training. When I was in high school, I realized that despite having played sports for most of my life, I also had a proclivity for music and fine art. I decided to abandon my goal of becoming a famous sports star to become a professional artist and producer. Back in the very early 1990s and while still in high school, I enrolled in a business and computer training program so that I could figure out how to multitask as both an artist and a business manager who would be capable of handling his own bookkeeping and business affairs without having to depend on someone else.

Q: Who are some of the talent you manage?

A: Currently, I am managing a boy band/rap group called T.G.W.N. (Team Great White North) and an Asian American rapper named Koreon who was recently invited to work with the group. TGWN is slated to represent the next greatest boy band from North America. The single "Ain't Telling Me Nothing" by Doug Crawford of TGWN from Edmonton Alberta is now available across the Web and via dozens of companies such as iTunes and Interscope Digital Distribution. TGWN boy band members consist of Caucasian, Canadian, urban music artists, with the addition of an African American U.S. artist, who all have a long history of having worked with artists from Los Angeles and other parts of the West Coast. During the time that the boy band was signed to the independent label AONN Records of which I am the founder, they sold thousands of CDs and opened live, in concert and on tour, for over a dozen major (platinum) recording artists.

Q: How has being mixed impacted you as an artist?

A: Being biracial has provided me with a perspective of West Coast business, music and politics conducive to urban music marketing. For example, it has been said that Caucasians between the ages of 12 and 29 years of age tend to be the largest consumers of urban music, of which the latter has historically been made mostly by African Americans. As a mixed African American-Caucasian, I have seen both worlds, first hand, in a way that helps me produce advanced marketing strategies that seem to appeal to many African Americans and Caucasians alike. I know both markets.

Q: What are your plans as the producer for the Watermelon Sushi film?

A: My plan is to obtain multimillion dollar funding with which to properly produce Watermelon Sushi. I seek to transform the movie into a successful and well-respected, multinational enterprise. One of my goals is to create a full-fledged entertainment company comprised of, but not limited to, filmmaking, entertainment publishing, a radio and television show, merchandising, and so forth.

Q: What is Sexy Voices of Hollywood, and what is its future?

A: Sexy Voices of Hollywood is a biweekly Internet radio show featuring you (Yayoi) and me interviewing the sexiest voices of Hollywood. From its top stars to the people who keep the stars on top, we will feature them all.

I see Sexy Voices of Hollywood fast becoming one of the most popular shows for arts and entertainment on the World Wide Web supported by major, reputable sponsors.

Thank you and, by the way, Robert. You really do have a sexy voice!

Hey, Hip Hapa Homeez, don’t forget our Hapa*Teez shirts on Café Press. Your purchase helps support our Watermelon Sushi film. Check out effervescent Eva above in her Hapa Nation tee. Also, please “like” our Watermelon Sushi Fan page on Facebook. While you’re there, join our Hip Hapa Homeez Group page to stay updated on the latest news about blendies, mixies and transracial adoptees. 

Here's the link to Team Great White North on YouTube: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rkvsf7Fjws

Oh, and one of Robert's first CD's is available below.

Until we meet again, I will always be…

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi