Baby, Remember My Name...

I was eight years old when the movie Fame came out. It was rated R so my parents, of course, forbade me to see it. But I convinced my childless uncle Dennis, who didn't know any better, to take me to go see it after stopping by McDonald's for a quick Happy Meal.

And even though I had nightmares about Coco and her bare breast for months afterwards, I still loved that movie and watched it several more times over the years. And of course, I faithfully tuned in to the TV version which could never compare, but still it was one of the only TV shows with colored people in ready supply during the 80s.

You could say I had big dreams, that I wanted fame, that I was willing to pay, in sweat...but sadly I lacked the talent to go to a performing arts high school. So Fame was my surrogate. And now, they're making a remake! Due out this fall, 2009. I don't think I can stand it. And Debbie Allen, Ms. Fame herself, is going to be in it. As the principal of the school, not the dance teacher. And all of the kids will be new faces, no High School Musical superstars (sorry Corbin Blu).

Is anybody else as excited as I am? I realize the new Fame is being produced for the HSM fans, but I don't care. Just like I was supposedly too young to be able to enjoy the first Fame, I refuse to believe I'm too old for the second one. I'm keeping my mind open and will sing the body electric till I'm gray. Anybody with me? And by the way, does anybody know what ever really happened to LeRoy from Fame? There were so many urban legends about him being dead and then alive. Anybody know the real deal? Feel free to share. Any Fame memories are welcome.

Peace!

P.S. The winner of the Double-Daring Book for Girls is Allegra! Allegra, send us your mailing address to myamericanmeltingpot@gmail.com and we'll drop the book in the mail. And thanks to all of you for commenting. I am truly impressed by the daring deeds of my Meltingpot readers!

The Meltingpot Interview -- And a Giveaway Too!

Dear readers, you all know (I hope) that I love my sons. More than life itself. But I have to admit that I weep a few tears when it comes to selecting books for them. I want to pass along all of my favorites, like The Little House on the Prairie collection and my favorite series, Anne of Green Gables. But instead, I'm buying the latest installment of Captain Underpants and anything with Spiderman prominently featured in the title. (sigh).

And now to throw salt in my literary wounds, the women behind the great Daring Book for Girls phenomenon have gone and written a new, even more exciting follow up, aptly titled, The Double-Daring Book for Girls. The pink sparkly script on the cover set against the dramatic black background had me at "hello." Of course, I cannot in good conscience buy this book for my macho sons, but I can share a great interview I conducted with Daring co-author, Miriam Peskowitz, who made me feel like it was okay for big girls like me to fall in love with this book.


The MeltingPot: What makes this book Double Daring? Is it for older girls or for girls with more guts, perhaps?

Miriam Peskowitz: In many ways Double-Daring is more of what people love about the original Daring Book for Girls--a bubbling combination of stories, activities, and things to do outdoors. But we've thought more about what it means to be daring, to take up the journey of our lives, to get in the game, to follow our dreams. I think this colors the book in a new way. There's a wonderful chapter of quotes about courage, because in most of our lives we need more of the boisterous mix of courage, confidence and daring. The book is still for the same age group, meaning, 7-14 year olds, and the 7-14 year old in all of us, no matter our actual age.


The Metltingpot: I lover the color scheme on the cover, did you pick that out?

MP: Isn't it great? I'd love to claim it, but sadly, I can't! I've got very little color sense. We're lucky to have a great team that helps us with art and design.

The Meltingpot: A lot of Meltingpot readers want to find books that take into consideration their ethnic and cultural background. Do you think they'll find their meltingpot mojo satisfied by this book? Can they feel confident in buying it for the colorful children in their lives?

MP: I hope so. I really hope so, and it's something we care deeply about. We want all girls to find a bit of themselves here, and we hope all girls can see each other, too. The pictures of girls in the book are multicultural and multi-ethnic, and that's important to us, and to our illustrator, who drew them, and we worked hard at that. The book isn't preachy, or politically correct, and our vision is utopian, which means we try to be colorful in subtle ways. This comes up in the chapters we write about daring women. There are stories of some of the amazing women who escaped slavery on the Underground Railroad--and then helped others escape, girls and women like Harriet Tubman and Harriet Jacobs and Anna Maria Weems. There's a chapter on Cowgirls of the Nineteenth Century, because these ladies were extraordinarily interesting. Most people might think that all cowgirls were white, but one of our stories is about a cowgirl named Johanna July who was Black Seminole.
I could go on and on, but I'll end by calling out our gorgeous multi-racial girl who--hold the presses--is taking the oath of President at the end of our chapter on How to Become President of the United States of America!

The Meltingpot: I love it that you've included random information like the word for trail mix in New Zealand is scroggin and that Harriet Tubman's real name was Araminta Ross. First, how long did it take you to do the research for this book and second, do you always win when playing Trivial Pursuit?

MP: I never used to win at Trivial Pursuit, but perhaps I should try again! I can say that after finishing the Double-Daring Book for Girls, I now know more of the hand signals for the game of Charades than I knew before, and some good tips on how to win at Tic Tac Toe, both the American version, and some global tic-tac-toe games from Ghana, China and France, too. My co-author Andi and I both love the facts about everyday acts; it provides much richness and story to them. But you asked a specific question, and here's the answer: The book took six months, and a lifetime, to write. The six months were the hardest, because I had to sit still and put it all into sentences.

The Meltingpot: I think I want a copy of this book for myself, it's so chock full of fun, useful information. Do you think grown-up girls like myself should feel daring enough to go buy it knowing full well we have no little girls in our lives?

MP: Well, one never really knows when a little girl might enter our life, right?

Lots of grown women like the book, and lots of elderly women too. I think that the Daring books offer a different take on being female, and we all need that. In the books, being female is intriguing, and interesting, and fun, and that's not the usual message that girls and women receive. Several girls have told me that the book makes them feel grown up in a good way, because we don't "write down" to them, even though it's ostensibly a kid's book. The prose is adult-level. We're very respectful of girlhood, and of preserving a special time where girls can be girls and don't have to become little women before their time. But we don't water down the tidbits of info, and the stories, just because our main readers are girls. I think they appreciate that.

The Meltingpot: Last question. Should we expect a Double-Double daring book for girls in the future? What's next in the Daring franchise?

MP: Maybe a Triple-Dog-Daring would come next? Stay tuned!


FYI, Peskowitz, was a college professor before becoming the Queen Bee of daring girls. She is also the author of the book, The Truth Behind the Mommy Wars. She's a very smart lady and a generous one too. She gave me a signed copy of The Double-Daring Book for Girls to giveaway here on the Meltingpot. The book just came out on Tuesday, so this is a hot commodity. If you want to be in the drawing, leave a comment with the most daring thing you've ever done by Sunday midnight. And you don't have to be a girl to enter.

Peace!

Is That Your Child? -- A New Book About Raising Biracial Children

For all of us monoracial mommies raising biracial or Mixed kids, the question may be familiar. "Is that your child?" I get the question when I'm out with my younger son because he is so much lighter than me and his hair is curly not kinky.

Well, there is a new book out that delves way beyond physical features and addresses the myriad issues faced by monoracial -- both Black and White -- women raising biracial kids in this country from the 1960s to today. The book is called, Is That Your Child?: Mothers Talk About Rearing Biracial Children (Lexington Books). The authors, one White and one Black, are both, you guessed it, mothers of biracial children. Here's what the authors, social scientists Florence Ladd and Marion Kilson say about the book:

"Our new book, Is That Your Child?: Mothers Talk About Rearing Biracial Children, is based on interviews with black and white mothers of biracial children. The book opens with our interview with each other, charts the challenges and rewards of rearing biracial children, and profiles black and white mothers with distinctive biracial parenting experiences. It concludes with suggestions for positive parenting strategies, which are relevant to all varieties of biracial combinations."

As a Black woman raising biracial children, I admit it has taken me a moment to realize that my parenting strategy, as it relates to identity issues, has to be altered a bit because my kids aren't just Black like me. So I will definitely be picking up a copy of this book.

What do you think the big differences are between how White vs. Women of Color parent their biracial children? Check out this article by Kilson and Ladd where they summarize some of the greatest differences they discovered in their research.

Peace!

Food for Thought--Kimchi Tacos and Other Cross-Cultural Culinary Collisions

“It’s like this Korean Mexican fusion thing of crazy deliciousness.”

These were the words used to describe the latest culinary craze to hit Los Angeles, Korean tacos. To be more specific, "spicy bites of pork, chicken or tofu soaked in red chili flake vinaigrette, short ribs doused in sesame-chili salsa roja or perhaps a blood sausage sautéed with kimchi, all of it wrapped in a soft taco shell." The brain child of two chefs, these delectable Korean tacos are sold out of truck that roams around the city, alerting hungry fans of its location through Twitter messages.

Does anything sound more delicious than a Korean barbecue taco? My mouth is just salivating over the thought. And what's more, the Meltingpot in me is loving the implications of the cultural cross-pollination occurring on the streets of LA. You can read the whole story of the Kimchi Taco craze here.

Of course there's nothing new about fusion cuisine, and in places like Los Angeles where there is a thriving food culture and a gazillion different ethnic communities, there's bound to be untold examples of cultural co-mingling taking place on the plate.

And once it occurs on the plate, how long does it take to soak into daily life?

Some of my favorite culinary culture combinations include:

Restaurants:
Bayamo: Chino/Latino (A Cuban/Chinese restaurant in Soho)
Two Boots: Cajun/Italian restaurant pizza chain in NYC. Crawfish pizza anyone?
Sushi Samba: Peruvian/Sushi It was all about raw fish, with ceviche and sushi

Food:
Bagels with cream cheese and pesto
Tortilla Espanola and Collard Greens
Corn beef and kimchi

What are your favorite fusion foods? Made up or sampled at a restaurant? Please share. And thanks to Roseanne for the tip on the tacos.

Peace!

Meltingpot Updates

1. Big News. I found Papusas! Yes, dear readers, in my own backyard. If you recall, I posted about these delicious Ecuadorian/Peruvian/El Salvadorian corn pancakes not so long ago, describing their deliciousness and then lamenting that I could not find a single purveyor of papusas in my new hometown of Philadelphia. Well, today I found them at none other than Whole Foods! In the take-away foods section, right next to the Mexican coleslaw, lay a giant platter of cheese papusas. And wouldn't you know it, my evil traitorous body, which has been subsisting on a diet of mostly corn since I've become unable to process wheat, has just developed an intolerance to corn! So everybody else in the Philadelphia area, go get YOUR papusas at the Whole Foods on the Fairway. I'll keep nibbling on my millet bread. (big sigh)

2. And speaking of former posts...remember I posted about a TV production company looking for an interracial Brady-Bunch family to be the subject of a new reality TV show? Well, they still haven't found that family, so they're expanding their search to include any interracial family with these minimal guidelines:

"The new idea is to find a large interracial family, preferably with at least one or two kids old enough to articulate their experiences (maybe 10 and up?).
Anyone wanting to be a reality TV star, who fits this description, please send an email to castingfamiliesnyc@gmail.com. And tell them you heard about this on the Meltingpot.

3. Over at my new online store, ?RU, where we sell t-shirts and accessories for people who don't fit comfortably into single identity boxes, for multiracial and Mixed-Race folks and the people who love them, we're suffering from, 'NOBODY-KNOWS-WE-EXIST-itis." So if you would like to take a look at ?RU and perhaps add a link on to your own blog, we sure would appreciate it. Our advertising strategy is to go at it Barack-style, word of mouth, through the people. Thank you in advance for that.

Now that I think about it, maybe instead of going Barack style, I should just ask Mr. President to wear one of our shirts the next time he's on Leno and that ought to up our exposure, right? Anybody know the address at the White House?

Enjoy your weekend Meltingpot readers!

Peace.

Walking in Someone Else's Shoes

You know when something is so obvious and yet when it knocks you upside the head you feel like you've experienced a revelation? Doesn't ever happen to you? Well, it happened to me the other day.

My husband came home to tell me yet another "funny" story of how a White woman treated him kind of strangely when she realized that his son was kind of colored. In a nutshell, my husband was inquiring about some graduate classes at one of the local colleges here in Philadelphia. At the end of his meeting with the representative from the admissions office, the woman (described as a well-dressed, older, White woman) mentioned that there would be an Open House this weekend that my husband was welcome to attend, adding that there would be refreshments and live music. She then glanced at my son who had been quietly waiting for his father to finish and she stumbled in speech as she said, "And you can bring your," she paused here, my husband said, looked at my son again, and continued, "partner or significant other, too." My husband wondered why she didn't just say 'wife?' Did having a son who is obviously Black-ish, mean he eschewed marriage? Did she assume he might be gay and this little brown child had two daddies?

I certainly wasn't offended and el esposo and I laughed about it, but that's when the big realization hit me. And I know, this is a big duh, but all this time I've been writing about ME, ME ME, I never really connected the dots of my husband's experiences and realized what a crazy life he lives when he and my older son go out in public together. I mean, I know sometimes strange things happen, but I've never stopped to think how that makes my husband feel. The White guy with the brown son. What assumptions do people make? What looks do they shoot his way? What kind of treatment is he given for crossing over to the dark side?

One time he was in the lobby of my son's dance school and he ran into a woman he'd recently met. She apparently had a child in a different class that met at the same time. They made small talk and then she asked my husband which child belonged to him. When he pointed out our son, she barely managed to mask her surprise and her clumsy comeback, was, "Oh, I didn't know he had curly hair." Excuse me? My husband has also been asked where he adopted my son from, and of course there was the proudly racist cab driver from Columbia who was ferrying my husband and son to school in Brooklyn one day and spent the whole ride explaining why he hated Black people!

It can't be easy to be in that position and yet I've never thought too terribly much about it. I mean we've talked in grand terms and theories about the extra responsibilities a White man has raising Black children, but I've never put myself in his shoes, never thought about what he feels when he walks down the street with his son whose deep-caramel colored skin and kinky-curly hair makes them look unrelated at first glance. Is it different for a man? Is it different for a man who hasn't grown up in this peculiar country of ours?

Perhaps I'll ask el esposo to post his thought here one day. But in the meantime, I'm wondering if some of you readers who are White with brown children can tell us a bit about what it feels like to walk in your shoes. I'm listening.

Peace!

A Meltingpot Movie Review -- The Visitor

Okay, I've already admitted that my local library is my Netflix. I've also admitted on previous occasions that I choose my movies and books based on whether there are people of color prominently displayed on the cover. I know, I'm not very discriminating (ha-ha pun intended!) but really, since the films and books are free, I don't really mind too much if I pick a dud.

Suffice it to say, my latest film selection, chosen because there was a cute interracial couple on the back, was completely dud free. In fact it was a beautiful little film that I highly recommend. The movie is called The Visitor. The film was written and directed by Tom McCarthy who directed The Station agent and stars some big name folks like Richard Jenkins, and some fresh-faced newcomers like Haaz Sleiman and Danai Gurira.

The storyline is simple. Walter, an older White academic who has been hiding from life since his wife passed away, befriends a young couple in rather bizarre circumstances. The couple, both Muslim immigrants living in New York City, open up a new world for Walter and teach him how to live again. Until tragedy strikes and then Walter learns how to love again.

This film is as much about immigration issues as it is about love and learning to embrace life. The cast is both international and interracial in very real ways, without seeming like an obvious plot device. And apparently it did very well on the festival circuit, and received gushing reviews. I do wonder however, if it ever enjoyed a theatrical release? Anybody know? Regardless, add The Visitor to your movie cue right away.

And I will continue to use my non-discriminating ways to find movies with diverse characters whose lives mirror my own.

Peace & Happy Monday!

P.S. The winner of the One Drop book is Spring!!! Spring, email me your mailing address at myamericanmeltingpot@gmail.com and I'll drop your autographed book in the mail. Thank you everyone for posting.

And Speaking of Passing...(and a Giveaway!)

So passing has been on my mind lately. Or rather, it keeps coming up in conversation and books, and stories people tell me. Indeed, it is truly a fascinating concept to consider; shedding one's own racial or ethnic heritage to assume another. And getting away with it! Equally fascinating is why people pass in the first place. For survival? For fun? For love?

Usually in this country, when we bring up the idea of passing, people assume we are talking about the custom of light-skinded Blacks passing for White. A practice adopted since we adopted the heinous practice of enslaving other human beings. But of course Black Americans were not the first nor the last to pretend to be something they weren't. Weren't all of those Muslims and then Jews passing as Christians in order to spare their lives and livelihoods in 15th century Spain? Just one example. Of course one must ask then if religious conversion = passing of another sort?

Anywhoo, most recently I've been hearing and reading about instances of Whites passing for Black here in the United States and wondered if there has been any exhaustive study on this practice. Because it did happen in the past and continues to happen in the present. In her memoir about her father, One Drop, Bliss Broyard discovers that one of her White ancestors in Louisiana passed for Black when he fell in love with a Black woman because that was the only way they could legally marry. Interestingly, he found life as a Black person too difficult and eventually passed back to White. In Sana Butler's arresting new book Sugar of the Crop: My Journey to Find the Children of Slaves, she too makes mention of a White man who passes as Black for the love of a Black woman. And then of course there's author James McBride's White mother who passed as Black so she could raise her Mixed kids in New York City and pass them off as fully Black so they wouldn't be ostracized.

What would be the implications of admitting that more than one or two White people passed in order to be with their Black loved ones in this country? Again I wonder, has a book already been written about this practice? If anyone knows, please share. Or maybe I'll just have to write it myself.

And to thank you for reading this blog, in the spirit of passing, anybody who comments on today's post, before midnight on Sunday, March 15, will be part of a random drawing to win a signed copy of Bliss Broyard's book, One Drop: My Father's Hidden Life-A Story of Race and Family Secrets.

Peace!

Should These People Be Allowed to Adopt from Ethiopia?

I know, I know, before I even open this can of worms, someone is going to remind me that I didn't have to pass any tests or prove my worth before I became a mother. And it's true, the burden of proof imposed upon adopting parents is high, but sometimes, just sometimes you have to wonder if some people really should be allowed to raise someone else's children.

Case in point, recently Sports Illustrated magazine ran a cover story on "The Fabulous New Life" of Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels. Included in this fabulous life of fame, wealth, and a lovely wife who is a former contestant on Survivor, a one-time Playboy model and a publicity whore (and I mean that in a technical way. I used to be a PR whore when I worked as a publicist in NYC. It's not a job I enjoyed and felt dirty every day.), is a plan to adopt a child from Ethiopia. And not just any a child, but an "AIDS orphan." Why? According to Hamel's wife Heidi, it's "the right thing to do." She elaborated on their plans in the article.

"We're in the process of adopting an AIDS orphan from Ethiopia," she said. "Maybe two. I'm so pumped. I'd adopt six if I could. When I was five years old—I grew up in a very rural town in Missouri, and I had never even seen a black person—they asked us to draw a picture of ourselves in the future, and I drew myself holding hands with a line of tiny black stick figures. I've always wanted this." She and Cole are also preparing, under the auspices of the fledgling Hamels Foundation, to build a girls' school in Malawi. Heidi has made a couple of monthlong research trips there. "We're not just doing it because it's the Brad and Angelina plan, but because we're in the position to do it and it's the right thing to do," she said.

For some reason, that just creeps me out. How could anyone use the word "pumped" in relation to children who have been orphaned because of a horrible disease? What's more, is a woman who admits she never knew any Black people growing up, but liked to draw black stick figures, really ready to face the challenges of rearing a child of color in the United States? Shouldn't somebody call Ethiopia or something and warn them of this impending disaster? Or am I being too harsh? I don't think Hamels and his wife are bad people, and I think it's amazing that they are committed to trying to help those most in need, but maybe they should concentrate their efforts on building that school, instead of adopting 6 orphans. Or maybe they could spend some of their money sponsoring a child in Ethiopia, instead of bringing them to Philadelphia. Not everyone has to adopt a child to show they care. There are so many ways to make a difference.

In situations like these, you want to say their hearts are in the right place, but Lord knows, that is not nearly enough to deal with a child of another race, from a different culture, with a potentially fatal disease that comes with its own set of stigmas. It really just isn't enough. Thoughts? Would you sign off on this couple adopting an Ethiopian child with AIDS?

Peace!

p.s. If you'd like to read the entire SI article, you can read it here.

Funny Story with a Meltingpot Twist

I was home in Milwaukee this past weekend, speaking at the Spring Writer's Festival hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. It was a great time and I met this woman there who told me her story.

"I really related to your book, Kinky Gazpacho because I'm mixed," she said.

I looked at the woman who had skin the color of a cashew nut and straight brown hair with streaks of bottled red. Had I seen her on the street, I wouldn't have thought anything but White, so I had to ask.

"What is your mix?" I asked. (Isn't that an awkward question? How do you phrase that politely?)

"Well," she started, "We always grew up just thinking we were Italian. Mom was northern Italian and Dad was southern Italian. But my grandmother was really dark and she had all of these really strange customs and ate weird food. Finally, my father told us that his mother was Ethiopian!"

I laughed for a full minute when she told me that. Can you imagine? This brought to mind James McBride's wonderful memoir, The Color of Water where he tells the story of his Jewish mother passing for Black and telling anyone who asked that she was just light-skinded.

Do you have a story like that in your family? Please share.

Peace!

My New Hair Hero!...It's a Boy

Even though I know better, I still thought I'd be spared . Even though I wrote a book, dare I say THE book, about hair issues in the African-American community and know from detailed research and countless interviews that men are just as tangled up with hair issues as women, I was still caught by surprise when my seven-year old son announced at the dinner table that he wanted "spiky hair" like one of his friends. One of his silky-haired friends, who, for the record, isn't White, but Latino with straight brown hair.

I asked him to elaborate and he informed me that spiky hair is hair that is normally flat but can look spiky if you get a mohawk. And therin lies the real dream. My son wants a Mohawk, but not a Mohawk like Mr. T., but one where his hair would be straight and spiky. Lately, he's been noticing hairstyles a lot. I'm trying not to get too freaked about what it all means or take him to racial reorientation class, but damn, I wish I could find some cool guy with Mixed hair for my son to get excited about.

And then it happened. My kids conned me into renting High School Musical from the library. I've resisted this long, but they'd been sick, stuck indoors watching the same videos over and over and a good friend of mine assured me there was nothing overtly offensive in the movie.

And that's when I discovered Corbin Bleu. He plays Zac Efron's best friend and side kick (typical) in all of the High School Musical movies. He sings and dances and plays basketball (but so do all of the boys in the movie so it's not like they're playing up stereotypes or anything, right?). So we see that hair, and suddenly it's like, hey, he's cool and his hair kind of looks like mine. Right On! I went on a Corbin Bleu frenzy and was delighted to know that this little 20-year old actor seems to have come out of the womb acting. He has a gazillion acting credits to his name and is about to release his second album. I'm wondering if this kid ever sleeps. Quite frankly, I don't care, as long as he stays in the public spotlight and doesn't cut that beautiful hair.

Now if I could just find the right product to make my son's hair look like Corbin's. Hmmm...

Peace and Hair Grease!

Does Your Multi-Culti Family Want to Be on TV?

I think I've seen the ad on about three or four different blogs and websites. Perhaps you've seen it too? The one with the headline from Left/Right TV that reads:

Production Company Seeking Multi-Racial, Blended Family For
Reality/Documentary Television Show

Well, one of the producers sent me the same request for help, hoping that some of you, dear Meltingpot readers, might fit the bill. Of course, I was flattered that the Meltingpot registered on somebody's list of blogs with a multicultural audience, but I didn't let the flattery go to my head. Before I posted the ad here, I wanted to make sure that this wasn't going to be some tacky, race-based Wife swap knock off. So I asked some questions of producer Meri Haitkin and she happily responded.

The Meltingpot: What other shows has Left/Right TV produced or been involved in?

MH: We do a little of everything here! But it’s all very high quality documentary/reality work. Such as:

This American Life, Showtime
The Salt N Pepa Show & I Wanna Work For Diddy, VH1
True Life & Exiled, MTV
Stealing Lincoln’s Body & Einstein, The History Channel
Running in Heels, Style

The Meltingpot: What is the goal of this new multiracial Brady Bunch program?

MH: Our goal with this television documentary/reality show is to present a blended, multiracial family who is lively, outgoing, and busy. In other words, a family that is going through the same triumphs and trials as all Americans are, only maybe their struggles are enhanced by sheer quantity of members, or by virtue of being multi-racial. Or not. We, as producers, are open to stories and scenarios for both highlighting these differences and subduing them. Our main goal is to demonstrate how the family is exactly like every other family (cereal-eating, chore-doing kids and homework-hounding, divide & conquer parents) but when relevant we also hope to highlight the extra issues that may come up racially or those that may come up because it’s two families combined into one.

It will be a non-scripted series that will show the family going about their everyday lives. We hope, in this way, to put a face to multiracial blended families of America and, in turn, we hope that though their presence alone (through the highly visual medium of television) that we can will do a great deal to begin to eliminate bias and judgment across America through compelling storytelling to a national audience.

I thought that sounded pretty cool, actually. So here's what Left/Right TV is looking for:

We are looking to find a Brady Bunch style group; meaning kids from separate, previous marriages, now living together as a whole new family.

We are particularly interested in racially diverse unions (such as
African-American and Asian). Real families dealing with real issues:
step-sibling adjustments, financial stresses brought on from the current
economy, distribution of labor and any other issues that come up in a modern
American home.

We also would like to ideally find a family that has only lived this new and
blended life for a year or less.

If you and your family are interested in being a part of this timely project
­please get in touch by sending a letter describing your family as well as
a recent photo of everyone to: castingfamiliesnyc@gmail.com.

I asked Haitkin if the family had to be a Brady Brunch mix, instead of just a "traditional" mixed family with different cultures under the same roof and she said no. "The best stories are made from the best people and I’m not interested in turning away anyone with a great story right now," she said.

So there you have it. If you think this sounds like a positive opportunity, please send in your info to: castingfamiliesnyc@gmail.com.

Would you be interested in watching this reality show? I definitely would. As long as it's not overbearing with the race stuff and just allows it to unfold. But it would be nice to see an interracial family on TV that doesn't ignore the uniqueness of their union either, ala Chris and Kate Plus Eight on TLC. A white mom and an Asian dad raising eight kids and nobody ever brings up race. That annoys me. So I wish this new show the best of luck. Keep me posted if your family becomes the next reality TV stars.

Peace!

Burning Questions from the Meltingpot

1. Now that Slumdog Millionaire has officially been declared the best movie of 2008, will all things Indian become hot? Has it started already? I for one know that anytime I can work, Jai Ho into a sentence, I do. Does that count? Jai Ho!

2.Am I the last mixed-race family fan to know that Hugh Jackman is the father of two adorable mixie kids through adoption? The man has been the spokesperson for National Adoption Awareness month, speaks openly about choosing to adopt mixed-race children because they're harder to place and chatted with Barbara Walters recently about his kids, so why am I the last to know? It's not like it's a well-kept secret. Did you all know about this?

3.And finally, this one just won't leave me alone. Now that Tiger woods has two children, the question seems obvious. What will he call them? Caucasian-Cablasians? Or maybe just Caca-blasians? But that doesn't sound right does it? Thoughts? Suggestions?

Peace!