Multi-Culti Info Goddess

Yo, Hip Hapa Homeez! Wazzup?!

Welcome back to Watermelon Sushi World. As we know, life is all about change; so, after tonight Your Hip Hapa will no longer publish this blog on a weekly basis. Change is on the horizon for our projects--including the Watermelon Sushi film and a book ready for publication--so we’ll only be here every other week from now on. Won’t you join our Facebook Fan page to keep updated about the Watermelon Sushi film? And, while you’re on Facebook, please navigate to the Hip Hapa Homeez group page and sign up to stay in the know with news by and about multiethnic and mixed-race folks, transracial adoptees, and anyone involved in cross-cultural activities. You can also follow Watermelon Sushi on Twitter. And, if you’d like to throw your support behind the film, please purchase a Hapa*Teez t-shirt. Not only will you help move the film production forward, but you’ll also get a rear crawl credit when it’s done and in theaters!

Early Warning: The amazing African American Japanese enka singer, Jero, will be performing on the West Coast next month! Stay tuned for more info.

Speaking of info, Your Hip Hapa can think of few people who are more informative than Frances Kai-Hwa Wang. We originally met many moons ago as Contributing Editors at IMDiversity.com, Asian American Village. These days, Frances is still with the site as an Asian American Village Editor, but she also writes for numerous other publications. Check out the links below that appear in her standard email signature. Above is Frances smiling despite dozens of deadlines piling up on her.

IMDiversity.com Asian American Village Editor

http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/asian

Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan Outreach Coordinator

www.aaccom.org

American Citizens for Justice Advisory Board

www.americancitizensforjustice.blogspot.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living column at

www.annarbor.com

www.ethnoblog.newamericamedia.org

Japanese American Citizens League

www.pacificcitizen.org

www.voicesofadoption.rainbowkids.com

www.annarborchronicle.com

www.incultureparent.com

www.IMDiversity.com, and more!

www.multiculturaltoolbox.com

or www.franceskaihwawang.com

and www.franceskaihwawang.blogspot.com

and www.facebook.com/franceskaihwawang

and twitter.com/fkwang

and so on...

Q: In your standard email signature, you list no less than 15 links to your work, with the addendum “and so on…”

How can you possibly stay on top of everything?

A:I don't sleep. Seriously. My alarm is set for 4:30 every morning, but often I wake up before the alarm, around 3, and try to get some work done before the kids wake up.

Q: How long have you been writing?

A: I've been writing since seventh grade, really, funny little essays, writing contests, newspaper press releases for 4H, literary parodies for a college humor magazine. But officially, I have been writing for 17 years, since I lived in Kathmandu, Nepal, and worked in international development and for local English-language publications. Right before I left graduate school, a professor asked me, "Why are you in academics? You can write! The only reason other people are in academics is because they can't write." When I was recently reconsidering academics, another professor said the same thing again, "You are a writer! Why don't you write instead of going back to school?"

Q: Today, you not only write, but you’re also a popular public speaker. Did you always know what you wanted to do career-wise?

A: I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up!

I do love public speaking, though. I used to compete in public speaking in high school and college, and it is the single best skill that I have. If anyone needs a keynote speaker...

And I love to write, to research, to think about all these issues, and to create a little art with my words. It takes such ego, however, to say the words, "I am a writer." For years, I said, "I write essays." Then, "I am a writer and an editor" (which mitigates it somewhat). But to be "a writer" is really cool. I still can't believe it.

Q: Who are your parents, and how did they meet?

A: My parents were born in China, grew up in Taiwan, met in college, and came to the United States for graduate school, after which they married and stayed. Pretty standard pre-1965 immigration pattern. My dad is a retired electrical engineer (also pretty stereotypical), and my mom is a retired second grade teacher (even stricter than stereotypical Asian moms).

Q: Did growing up in Cali provide you with a culturally rich upbringing or was it because of your parents?

A: I do not think my parents had an intentional plan to give me a culturally rich upbringing, they just were who they were. We spoke Chinese and ate Chinese food. They had Chinese friends. When it came time to lecture me, the reference points were Confucian rather than American. But a lot of things were not explained to me, so I had to figure it out. I often felt like I was not Chinese enough for the Chinese, not American enough for the Americans, but I could never tell what I was doing wrong.

I also went to Catholic Schools, so I grew up with Italians, Irish, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Mexicans, etc. Most of my friends were bilingual and bicultural, although we never talked about it.

As an adult, I have intentionally tried to fill in the gaps and learn more about my culture and other cultures, and I have taught my children the details so they know what they are supposed to do, how to read people/situations, and how to codeswitch cultures and create something new.

Q: Did you ever think you’d end up in an interracial marriage?

A: I did not intentionally seek out an interracial marriage, because I was brainwashed all my life that I should marry a Nice Chinese Boy. Only problem was that I was also brainwashed all my life that no Nice Chinese Boy would ever want me. I was too tall, too outspoken, too smart, spilled tea all over the table. Add on the effects of the mainstream media brainwashing me that the handsome prince is a tall white guy (with a geeky Asian manservant) and the demographic reality that there were not a lot of Asian American guys my age from which to choose, and so I ended up dating who I dated, marrying who I married. In the end, it is just the two of you, not your politics or your parents.

Sometimes I think it would be different if I did it again, that I would definitely marry Asian.(No, I don't have Tiger Woods Identity Issues. Really, I don't. I don't, I don't.) However, I think that the reality is that instead of simply overcoming the brainwashing against Asian male stereotypes, my eyes have opened to the beauty of men of all races and ethnicities--African American, Hispanic American, Native American, Arab American, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Northeast Asian, Pacific Islander, Southern and Eastern European--and most beautiful of all--hapa men.

Excuse me while I faint. There are a lot of beautiful men in this world.

My phone number is...

Q: Your Adventures in Multicultural Living column featured a very touching story about your children teaching your Chinese father about African American history. How do you envision the future for them especially since they’re multiethnic?

A: My kids are so cool, so much cooler than I ever will be. They’re Chinese, Greek, German, Scottish and English.

Because of the work that I do, they are well versed in multicultural issues and Asian American scholarship, and they read multicultural literature and media. When I drag them to seminars and documentaries at the university with me (for the food), they often get involved and answer the speakers' questions better than the graduate students. They understand what it means to be hapa, they have hapa friends, and they have hapa role models both local and famous. They are proud to be hapa.

We joke that they have self-esteem issues, too much self-esteem. They are going to conquer the world.

*********

Wow. Is that just crazy-cool, or what? Thanks for sharing, Frances!

Parting is such sweet sorrow Hip Hapa Homeez, and Your Hip Hapa will miss connecting with you next week. But, just think, we’ll be pimping this blog with more bling for you. Please revisit us the week after next when we turn you on to The Bots, two musical blasian brothers on a mission. Until then, I am…

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

A Free And Open Sky

Have you ever felt like the people who cycle into your life come predestined? I feel that way often, and I love it. I'm always amazed when someone casually checks out my blog, drops a comment, and then ends up becoming my friend.

This week’s Hip Hapa Homee is such a person. Sky Obercam is a prolific Bay Area writer who’s written for The Source, Bossip, Format Mag and Clutch. She first sent me a link to a blog she wrote about “bumblebees”—a term she uses to describe black women and Asian men relationships. Curious, I contacted her and discovered that she had a wealth of information to share about her own interracial marriage. Besides, we’re both working on erotic fiction featuring multiracial characters. And, Sky happens to be the name of one of my characters. Predestined, I say.

That’s Sky in the pix above, right, and below, left.

Q: What’s a nice African American girl like you doing in an interracial marriage with a Caucasian guy?

A: Well, simply put, I met my Mr. Right at the tender age of 22. We actually met at this excellent bar/lounge in Philly (which is no longer in existence) called Wilhelmina’s via two mutual friends. I was immediately smitten. There was just something about his energy. The fact that he was a bona fide hottie didn’t hurt either! Long story shortened (which is no easy feat for me--ha!), I downed my drink, and probably everyone else’s sitting at the table (memory is naturally a little fuzzy), and cornered him as he ordered another drink at the bar. I was always such an aggressive chica--but when it was time to ask him to pony up the digits, I realized I had nothing to write with, so I had to remember his number. The fact that I was able to do so despite having damaged so many brain cells was a pretty good sign that it was meant to be.

David and I were an item for seven years before we actually married. We faced many obstacles along the way, too. Some were characteristic of young adulthood. Some were typical of the usual challenges interracial couples face. We grew up, basically, and learned how to cope with the racial limitations of those around us. The best part is that our families have finally grown close, moving beyond the tension of the past and forward with love and respect. I feel blessed that our son is surrounded by such a loving family.

Q: What do you hope for your biracial son as he grows up?

A: I’ve spent a brief amount of time living abroad, and one of the things I noticed was that biracialism (of the black and white kind) is not viewed as a guaranteed life of torment or some sh*t. Nothing good comes from estranged cultural identities. I get why it’s so prevalent here, and other places that have apartheid-like roots, but we’ve got to evolve. That does not mean putting one on a pedestal above the other, but openly accepting one’s entire self, free of guilt. You can’t embrace one hand and deny the existence of other, you know? David is German and Italian, and I’m what some refer to as an MGM (multi-generation multi-racial) African American, so our son is truly a citizen of the Earth. What I hope for Raffi is that he grows up feeling secure, resisting imposed fragmentation and embracing his total self.

Q: You have an interesting family. Please discuss.

A: My parents had me later in life, which wasn’t common back in the 70’s, particularly since I was their only child. My mom was born in 1940, my dad in ’36, and I often felt they instilled a lot of values reflective of an earlier time. My aunt and grandfather were an integral part of my early childhood as well.

In terms of my background, I think of it as a patchwork of oppositional forces in some ways. I was raised in West Philly, not far from 52^nd Street; so, in other words, the ‘hood. I never knew if it was my family’s influence over me, or my stubborn free spirit, that always put me at odds with my surroundings.

My mother’s family is pretty homogenous, but my father’s is reflective of that portion of West Virginia African Americans who have significant Native American and Scots Irish lineage. My husband thinks my dad looks like Lou Diamond Phillips--hee hee. Anyway, despite his appearance, he’s the most conscious black person I know. He was affiliated with the Black Panthers at some point in his life. He spoke jive and lived the life--so to speak. Conversely, his parents came from an era where brown skin was looked down on.

I’ve always been a bit eccentric--never really feeling at home in any of my surroundings. I got a lot of heat for “talking white”, “listening to white music", not concerning myself too much with urban fashion trends of the day, and being light-skinned. You know, kids find every excuse in the book to vilify each other. Anyway, after getting raked over the coals in public schools, my folks decided to put me into a private Quaker school. So, I went from being the white girl, to THE black girl--the brunt of thinly veiled hostility from the teachers and getting ignored by all the boys.

So, I guess you could say I was this sushi eating, Tears for Fears loving girl from the ‘hood who viewed the world from a quasi Black Nationalist perspective. There was a loneliness to the disparities, but there was beauty, too. I sometimes see my childhood as fertilizer for the garden that is now my life (cheesey but true!).

Q: You’re such an accomplished writer. Tell us about your work.

A: I’ve been writing creatively since I was a kid really. I never thought I could make a living out of it—o.k., I was really always just afraid to try. That all changed when I got pregnant with my son Raffi. My husband and I agreed that I’d stay home with the baby until he was old enough for preschool. It was then that I decided that I would dedicate myself to the craft, and make a living out of it no matter what. So, I just started writing, and sending out pitches to various mags and stuff. When Raffi was about five months old, I got a gig writing with a high profile gossip blog. It was then that I realized I loved comedy writing.

Eventually, I moved on to focus on freelance writing. I really wanted to challenge myself. I was able to write some travel pieces for The Source, as well as features and news for Format Magazine. Most notably, I joined the team at Clutch Magazine, which has been a dream come true for me. There’s really nothing out there quite like Clutch, and I love the opportunity to help create a space where folks who are totally underrepresented have a chance to connect, share, and grow.

I also co-founded Visual Culture with my husband David, but he is the true inspiration behind it. He’s a graphic designer, but more than that. He’s a true artist with a passionately progressive outlook. It started out just being an artful design blog that explored various aspects of graphic design. Since its launch though, it’s become a resource that encompasses not only design, but strives to raise awareness of social and environmental issues and, as we say, cultivate discussion, inspire, and inform.

In terms of fiction, I’m in the process of completing a short story. I’m resistant to labels, but I guess it could fall under “Multicultural Erotica”. I think of it, however, as “Life with Details”--hee hee hee.

Q: You recently interviewed actress Sophie Okonedo who has Nigerian and white English heritage. What did you learn about her mixed-race life?

A: It was great speaking with her, but I was at a disadvantage because our conference call connection sucked and she could barely hear me. I was actually told ahead of time that she was not open to speaking of her private life, so my attempts to really explore that subject was a bit thwarted. She was really sweet and fascinating to speak with though.

Q: You used to write for The Source. Are you a hip-hop aficionado?

A: I probably have one of the most eclectic music tastes of anyone I know. I have to admit that I’m not a fan of modern mainstream hip-hop. The industry has robbed it of its soul--for real. I don’t listen to any hip-hop prior to 1997, or so.

Thank you, Sky! Your name suits someone as free and open as you.

Here are links to some of Sky’s work:

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/

http://www.oberholtzer-creative.com/visualculture/

Hey, Hip Hapa Homeez, we now number over 1,100 on our Facebook Group page! The support you’ve shown is phenomenal, but don’t forget to join our Watermelon Sushi Fan page so you can stay up-to-date on our film. Every t-shirt purchase helps move the film forward and gets you a rear crawl credit, too. What better gift to give for the holidays? Check it out here:

http://www.cafepress.com/hapateez

Until next week when the next Hip Hapa Homee cycles through my life, I bid you a fond farewell.

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

Poetic Powwows

Yo! Check out who’s in the Hip Hapa Homeez house this week. None other than Asani Winfrey Charles--who may or may not be related to Your Hip Hapa. I first met Asani when she lived in Long Beach, and I in Santa Monica. Contacting me to inquire whether we might be kin to each other (and Oprah), Asani emailed me a lengthy story about the Winfrey clan. Somewhere in our conversation, we discovered that we both knew the rapper Miwa Lyric. Eventually, the three of us met for dinner and have been in each other’s worlds ever since. That’s Asani in the photos, above and below.

A poet, a high school English teacher, a wife and a mother, Asani defines her writing style as “eclectically narrative”. Her childhood, steeped in multiculturalism, is reflected in her work which has been published in Ahani: Indigenous American Poetry, Yellow Medicine Review, and the forthcoming I Was Indian, edited by Susan DeerCloud.

Asani has also released a spoken word CD called Word Songs for Grandmas. Darrell Blackbear, Sr. of The Bear Claw Singers joins her on several pieces, which they refer to as recording "poetry over powwow".

When she’s not teaching or writing, Asani dances Southern Women's Cloth at powwows. A resident of Texas, her dream is to buy an RV and travel the powwow trail from coast to coast with her family.

View Asani’s links below, then check out what she has to say in the Q&A following:

http://www.myspace.com/asanicharles

http://www.pw.org/content/asani_charles

http://heyokamagazine.com/heyoka_magazine.31.asani_charles.htm

Q: How did a nice mixed-race girl like you end up being a poetess?

A: I was exposed to poetry at a very young age. I remember my mother reading me classic fairy tales and Nikki Giovanni (as early as 6 or 7 years-old) before I went to bed. The cover of Grimm's Fairy Tales scared me so I would ask her to read Nikki instead. Then, one day in second grade, we were asked to write a poem about spring. I did, and my mother still brags about my first piece, The Trees Are Here.

Q: What are your parents’ ethnicities, and what did each teach you about their cultures?

A: Both of my parents are “redblack” mixedbloods with a little extra for flavor. My mother is Choctaw, black and Louisiana French, and my father is Chickasaw, black and English. I guess I was raised black, but our concept of blackness was quite different than most families, I think. Both parents grew up outside of Oklahoma, so their parents infused a lot of Indian ways in their rearing without saying it was so. My maternal grandmother told me our ancestors were Indian as well as black, but nothing else was said (outside of one of our matriarchal aunts who I took for being senile). I saw my maternal great grandmother, my only full African roots, as the cornerstone of the family and that was that. My father's mother was very quiet about her people and didn't share anything with me until I was an adult.

Q: How much does your poetry reflect your multiracial heritage?

A: I believe poetry is life in print, so my poetry reflects my life and all its facets. I see multiple ideas and themes running through my work. Multiracialism or multiculturalism appears a lot, as well as politics and verses about nature.

Q: How do your three children identify racially?

A: My three children are interesting. They share the same father, my husband, but he too comes from more than one root, so all three kids are unique in coloring and appearance. They each identify as both Indian and black, but are realistic about how society perceives them.

Q: As both a mother and a teacher, how do you present multiracial issues to your classroom and at home?

A: My kids are raised to be culturally aware of their heritages and of others. They appreciate diversity and are taught to never marginalize cultures. My students are not that fortunate, so I am a huge proponent of multicultural education. For many students, I am the first Indian they've ever met, so I use the classroom to dispel myths and lies, and incorporate multicultural literature to broaden students' knowledge about people from different cultural perspectives.

Q: What do you think is the biggest misunderstanding between African Americans and Native Americans?

A: The biggest misunderstanding is also the saddest, and that is that too many African Americans have little or no knowledge of American Indians at all. One would think that with our marginalized history, African Americans would appreciate Indians' shared struggles, but the knowledge just isn't there, so the oppressed oppress others. About African Americans, many American Indians assume blacks simply have their hands out like whites or white "wannabees". Some of that assumption is based on true experiences, but it is not the norm. Indians don't realize that African Americans have had family histories erased due to slavery, so often blacks are not looking for tribal benefits but a real sense of family history.

Q: How long have you been dancing at powwows? Personally, I’ve attended them in California, Hawai’i and Washington State so I’m curious to know if you have a favorite.

A: I have been dancing about 13 years now. I now realize I was spoiled in California. Across Indian Country, powwow season runs from March to mid-September, but dances in Southern California are pretty consistent each weekend and close by. North Texas is a different story. We have a few local powwows, but the rest are a bit of a drive. As for favorites, I have to go with Cal State Long Beach and my alma mater, UCLA.

Thank you, Asani for sharing your fascinating family history and love for culture. If you’re a Hip Hapa Homee with an interesting tale, hollah at hiphapa@comcast.net

Meanwhile, here’s an article and a YouTube clip about a Chinese African American woman living in Shanghai who some Chinese claim shouldn’t be considered Chinese at all even though she was born and raised in China:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090925/wl_time/08599192558900

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTExNzMwNDk2.html

I also read a piece in Parade Magazine last weekend about Caucasian actor Pernell Roberts who rose to fame as the eldest son of Ben Cartwright on the TV series Bonanza. He was the fearless son, one of three, who always dressed in black. Well, unbeknownst to Your Hip Hapa, Roberts was also a civil rights activist who marched from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. Reportedly, he left the show because he felt NBC was racist for allowing white actors to play minority characters--like Marlo Thomas acting as a Chinese woman. Actor Victor Sen Yung played Hop Sing, the Cartwright’s loyal Chinese cook, but I didn’t read anything specific about Roberts’ feelings over Yung’s subservient role probably because it was a reality for Chinese during that time in the West. For Roberts, the highly rated Bonanza was, well, a bonanza. So, for him to walk away over the way people of color were portrayed was monumental. Here’s a shout-out to Pernell Roberts!

Finally to Hip Hapa Homeez’ Number One Fan, Ms. Paulette T., thank you for this link:

http://books.google.com/books?id=9d9FC -gcWaAC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=magnus+morner+race+chart&source=bl&ots=rLOvL-yqRE&sig=cDfRRjVuZEb3r5MG3Lik3Fan91E&hl=en&ei=8yG0SsDTApG-sgO8u6yeDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9#v=onepage&q=&f=false

As always, big ups to all of you Hip Hapa Homeez for your continued support. We especially appreciate your purchases of our Hapa*Teez t-shirts. Don’t forget to contact us when you buy one so we can add your name to our list of credits for the Watermelon Sushi film. And, remember we’re on Facebook where you can join our Watermelon Sushi Fan Page and Hip Hapa Homeez group, and on Twitter where you can follow lines of dialogue from our Watermelon Sushi script. And, that list of Ning sites I promised last week is being compiled even as we read and write.

Until next Wednesday, I am...

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi