Census 2010 shed light on the gaps in our understanding of race — especially what happens when our cut-and-dry textbook definitions of race collide. Multiracial individuals and transnational adoptees are among those who may have paused at an uncomfortable length when asked to indicate their race(s). A simple check-mark won’t do. “The mixed experience”, which refers to interracial and intercultural relationships, transracial and transcultural adoptions, and anyone who identifies as having biracial, multiracial, hapa or mixed identity, prompts more than Census form complications; explorations of the mixed experience unearths twists and turns in ancestry, geography, language, self-identification, social constructs and American nationality — all of which make for good stories and food for thought.
A portrait by Kip Fulbeck.
Maya Soetoro-Ng.
To that end, the Third Annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival, an arts festival held at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, seeks to share and nurture storytelling of the mixed experience with its exciting roster of readings, short and feature films, activities, speakers, panels and a marketplace. In particular, multicultural and global educator Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng (that’s right, President Barack Obama’s sister) will lead a discussion on identity, family and what it means to be multiracial in America, with slam poet, filmmaker and author Kip Fulbeck (Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids by Kip Fulbeck), moderated by actor Amy Hill, in a special ticketed presentation on Saturday, June 12.
– Audrey Sunu
DETAILS
A portrait by Kip Fulbeck.
The Third Annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival, June 12-13, 2010
Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, CA
Most events are free and open to the public.
Artist, author, filmmaker Kip Fulbeck.
For tickets to “Conversations & Loving Prize* Presentation with Kip Fulbeck & Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng,” go to MXroots.org and Janm.org, or call (213) 625-0414.
And don’t miss Kip Fulbeck’s newest collection of works, called “Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids by Kip Fulbeck,” in a family-friendly exhibition that offers a playful yet powerful perspective on contemporary American identity. On display now through September 26, 2010.
