Weblog » Archives » May 2004

  • The Wayans brothers in white face!? JC White Chicks is scheduled to hit movie theaters on June 23rd. Looks like it will be quite disturbing and chock full of stereotypes. Here is the synopsis from the movie’s site: …

  • BBC Africa Live! discusses the challenges of IR dating JC Join in on the debate on Wednesday, June 2nd at 1630 & 1830 GMT or send in your comments through their site.

  • Mario Van Peebles' new film "Baadasssss"CVKMario Van Peebles (director of New Jack City and Panther, played Malcolm X in Ali) has been getting a lot of great press for his new flick, "Baadasssss," a self-financed film ab…

  • When biracial girls are "gateway" girlsCVKAn excellent column on Africana.com by Bethany M. Allen explores how men view biracial women as "gateway" girls, the same way marijuana is a "gateway drug." A few excerpts: But …

  • Loving Day Campaign aims to raise awareness about former anti-miscegenation laws JCD 37 years ago, anti-miscegenation laws (making some interracial marriages illegal and punishable by law) were still in effect in 16…

  • A new novel inspired by Apartheid’s Immorality Act JC A review on Africana.com explains that Zakes Mda’s new novel, The Madonna of Excelsior, was based on true events during the early 1970s in South Africa. Ahhh, how…

  • "Colorism" in AmericaCVKThe Denver Post uses an article about a play called "Yellowman" to explore the phenomenon of "colorism" in America. "Colorism" is a new term to describe the ranking of Black individuals according …

  • Biracial "Young and Restless" star advocates for foster careCVKBermuda's Royal Gazette profiles Victoria Rowell, who plays Drucilla Winters on the soap opera "The Young and The Restless." Rowell is an advocate for foster…

  • "Mixed Match" wasn't that bad!CVKDespite the cheesy 80's feel of the logo, "Mixed Match" on Chicago's NBC5 wasn't as bad as I expected. You can read the transcript of the segment here.

  • Should White writers portray the Black experience?CVKFlorida's News-Press has an interesting article about Bev Marshall, a White writer, who for some reason always shifts into a "Black" voice when writing: “And about mi…

  • Book review of "!Caramba!" by Nina Marie MartinezCVKThe Houston Chronicle profiles Nina Marie Martinez, who has just published her debut novel, "!Caramba!" Though the author resists the "magic realism" label, it sounds l…

  • Biracial 17-year-old wins National Student Television Award for Excellence CVKConnecticut's Greenwich Time profiles Erica Jorgensen, 17, who won a National Student Television Award for Excellence from the National Televi…

  • Interracial couples: problems exist despite improved attitudesCVKAlbany's Times Union has a pretty decent article about how attitudes towards interracial relationships have become much more progressive. It does delve int…

  • Local Chicago news segment on IR datingCVKThis sounds like it could be quite awful. NBC5, Chicago's NBC affiliate, is doing a segment called "Mixed Match" tonight at 10 PM. If anyone catches this, please email us to let …

  • CBS segment examines "passing"CVKA segment on CBS News Sunday Morning takes a look at people who have chosen to "pass." It examines not only the typical Black/White paradigm, but also gay people "passing" as straight," J…

  • Shemar Moore in "Reversible Errors"CVKThe New York Post slams Shemar Moore's performance in "Reversible Errors," a miniseries based on Scott Turow's best-selling novel that premieres on CBS this Sunday: "For no reason …

  • A play features the relationship between grandmother and grandson JC Peggy Shaw: To My Chagrin, plays June 30-July 24 in Cape Cod. Shaw “investigates the effects of gender and race as they are Commun…

  • NPR reviews Danzy Senna's "Symptomatic"CVKAlan Cheuse reviews Danzy Senna's sophomore novel, "Symptomatic," on NPR. You can listen to his audio review.

  • Are things really better since Brown v. Board? Yes and no.JCA Kansas City Star reporter interviews Mike and Stephanie Howell, a black and white interracial couple who married when such unions were still illegal in many s…

  • Documentary by mixed Arab American filmmaker opens in theaters nationwide JCDControl Room, a new documentary by mixed Arab American filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, has its theatrical premiere at Film Forum in New York on May …

  • Alice Randall reading tonight in NYCCVKAlice Randall will be reading from her new novel, "Pushkin and the Queen of Spades" tonight at the Barnes & Nobles store on 82nd and Broadway at 7 pm.

  • Andre 3000 to star in interracial love story picCVKMTV News reports that Andre 3000, one-half of rap group Outkast, will star in an as-yet-untitled film: Currently dubbed the "Untitled Andre Benjamin Project," the flick…

  • Deportation case surrounding Amerasian manCVKThe Roanoke Times has an article about Den Hoang Pham, a biracial man accused of stabbing a fellow immigrant to death. Pham was "born in Vietnam as a mixed-race child" and "fa…

  • Lenny Kravitz discusses his identityCVKLenny Kravitz tells the New York Daily News about important lessons he learned from his mother, the African-American actress Roxie Roker: "My mom taught me when I was 5 years old t…

  • Hari Kunzru's new novel "Transmission"CVKThe New York Times reviews Hari Kunzru's new novel, "Transmission," calling it "a comedy of manners" with "a flair for culture clash and metamorphosis."

  • Mixed kids likely to have special healthcare needs?CVKSo much for "hybrid vigor". Medscape reports on the results of a national phone survey on children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN), which includes children who …

  • CA same-sex couples raising tens of thousands of children of colorCVKGay News Now reports that The Williams Project, a UCLA think tank, released a study this week based on 2000 Census info revealing that same-sex couples…

  • Alicia Keys to play 1940s piano prodigy in acting debutCVKNewsday reports that Alicia Keys will play Philippa Schuyler, a piano prodigy in the 40s and 50s, in her debut film. Interestingly, fellow biracial celeb Halle Be…

  • April felt misrepresented on "America's Next Top Model"CVKI happened to catch "The Runway Ahead," an episode of UPN's "America's Next Top Model" that gave an update on what all last season's contestants have been up to.A…

  • Pamela Means sings about her “Two Halves” JC Means performs tonight at Club Passim in Harvard Square, MA. She makes songs with messages: Means is arguably the only Boston-based, Out folkie whose punchy political…

  • They just happen to be an interracial couple JC “The Last Place on Earth” makes its debut in the Kansas City area. The film explores an interracial romance using a matter-of-fact approach. Writer-producer-director Ja…

  • TONIGHT: Danzy Senna reading in NYCCVKDanzy Senna will be reading her new novel, "Symptomatic" at Barnes & Nobles tonight. It's their location on 82nd St and Broadway. The event starts at 7:30.

  • Another comic that portrays multi-ethnicity! JC Editor and Publisher reports that a comic called “Clear Blue Water,” by Karen Montague-Reyes (of mixed descent), has been picked up Universal Press Syndicate. Che…

  • Danzy writes again JC After the wide acclaim she received for her first novel, Caucasia, Danzy Senna uses her second novel, Symptomatic to continue to explore issues of race. The Boston Phoenix interviews Danzy about…

  • Iowa’s multiracial students are forced to choose one JC Although the Davenport School District offers six racial designations, including “biracial”, the state and federal use only five, excluding the multiracial option…

  • Essie Mae Washington-Williams is all over the place!JC ABCNews4: Looks like Strom's newly discovered biracial daughter will now appear on a commemorative coin.Florence businessman Gene Brown owns the old Confederate Min…

  • Three separate proms: Black, White, HispanicJC A high school in South Georgia held three different proms to accomodate the three cultural groups of the students who attend the school. Apparently, schools in the area hav…

  • Milwaukee play shows that drama imitates life JCA Journal Sentinal theater critic reviews "The Gingham Dog," a play that takes a look at the final days of an interracial marriage. He feels that the actress, Tina Machele…

  • Can love between a black man and a latina woman survive? JCThe off off Broadway show, "Platanos and Collard Greens" asks this question. PLOT DESCRIPTION: This tale of romance between college students fuses the poetry of…

  • "Chick lit" gets diverseCVKNewsday has an article on the still-burgeoning genre of "chick lit," books aimed at young, single women. The genre has not been very diverse so far, but that's beginning to change as more women…

  • "Without a Trace" features biracial character (spoiler alert)CVKLast Thursday’s episode of CBS’s “Without a Trace” was about a college football coach who goes missing after being fired for his role in the team’s dismal p…

  • Racial DivideJCD This article in the Christian Science Monitor takes an interesting look at mixed race relationships in post-apartheid South Africa through Hazel, Phillip and their son, Karabo. Though still rare, mix…

  • "A Cry in the Silence" makes a deafening statement JCThe Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that Brigitte Bardot, former actress, gets into a bit of trouble (minimum of a fine if convicted, maximum of one year inprisonm…

  • Strom's biracial daughter may be recognized in monument JCABC News 4: A state House subcommittee approved a bill to include the name of Strom Thurmond's biracial daughter to a monument honoring the senator. Legislators…

  • London's production of "Sun is Shining" JCThe New York Times reviews a London production that centers around an interracial romance. Although I appreciated that the writer recognized that interracial relationships are no…

  • Ward Connerly takes his show to DetroitCVKThe Detroit Free Press has a lengthy profile on the infamous Ward Connerly, who is bringing his campaign to Michigan. Connerly is trying to eradicate all collection of racial dat…

  • NY1's Scholar Athlete of the Week: Haruko Castro: Social Activist, Scholar And Soon-To-Be Ivy LeaguerJCDNY1, a television station serving the NYC area, has chosen Haruko Castro for their scholarship program. She's of m…

  • Teacher develops multiethnic comic stripJCTired of the lack of representation of "heros" or characters in the funny pages, Rob Cabrera decided to create a comic strip featuring a mixed race child for today's generation o…

  • Another review of "Pushkin and the Queen of Spades"CVKOur favorite newspaper (ahem), the San Francisco Chronicle, reviews Alice Randall's new novel.

  • Hair salons don't cater to biracial womenCVKA Houston Chronicle article about the problems that Black women have finding hair salons that can handle their hair also touches on the difficulties that biracial women have: …

  • More on the SF Chronicle article (see previous post)JCDYes, this was definitely a waste of an opportunity to connect mixed race community-building to Asian Pacific American Heritage month. (Or any group's heritage month,…

  • IRONY: An article about Mixed Media Watch that completely focuses on the very stereotypes we are challenging!CVK, JC, JCDOur first shot at media attention, and this is what we get... an article in the San Francisco Chron…

  • Activists push to name park for Lucy Ella Gonzalez ParsonsJCActivists in Chicago's Northwest Side rally to turn a lot into a park to commemorate the work of mixed-race Lucy Ella Gonzalez Parsons, a civil rights a…

  • New play looks at Brown v. Board of Ed and StromJCTo commemorate the 50th anniversary of the decision to racially desegregate schools, UCSD will present The Haunting of Jim Crow. The Haunting of Jim Crow, ent…

  • Prince: don't call it a comebackCVKThe Village Voice reviews Prince's new album, "Musicology" and delves a little into his sexual, racial, and political philosophy: Sex was his great theme, but his view of it re…

  • Man pleads guilty to hate crime committed against mixed family in 1999JCRecently, I have been in conversations with many people who think that our society (in general) has reached a place of higher racial/cultural accept…

  • David Carradine has "Asian flavor"???CVKWhat's up with the love affair between film reviewers and David Carradine? First The Seattle Times praises the creators of the 1970s TV series "Kung Fu" for choosing Carradine over…

  • Interracial love affair on "The Young and the Restless"CVKThe New York Daily News explores the interracial love affair between characters Phyllis and Damon on the soap opera "The Young and the Restless." Since Keith Ham…

  • Response from MGM to "Walking Tall" letterCVKI got a great response from David Bloom, the VP of Corporate Communications at MGM. I had emailed him expressing appreciation for their casting an interracial family in The Ro…

  • Denzel Washington denies cutting interracial love scenesCVKRumor has it that Denzel Washington insisted a love scene between him and actress Radha Mitchell be cut from his new film, "Man on Fire." His publicist denies th…

  • Hugh Jackman talks about adopted mixed sonCVKAustralian actor Hugh Jackman, currently starring in the horror flick "Van Helsing," tells British paper The Independent that people need to move beyond labels by referencing …

  • Jayson Williams discusses growing up biracialCVKSports Illustrated has an interesting article about NBA player Jayson Williams's painful family history. Williams, who is currently on trial for allegedly murdering his dri…