Beyond Black and White

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

Sorry about the spotty posting last week. I was having massive computer issues. I think they are now mostly resolved.

So, today is Monday. Just one more week before school is out and summer vacation (for my kids, not me) begins. Even though I have more writing to do, I've finally allowed myself to start focusing on the fact that in approximately 57 days, there will be a new member of the Kinky Gazpacho family. Wow, getting ready for a new baby seven years after the last one is a trip!

But I don't want to talk baby stuff...yet. What I do want to talk about is the fact that I wish I was heading to Los Angeles this week so I could participate in the Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival. What an amazing line-up of guests, films, books, and workshops this year. I urge any and all of you in the Los Angeles area to go check it out. And did I mention it's free? Yes, all of that quality entertainment and education is free! I can't think of any better way to celebrate Loving Day than to be at that festival, where the totality of the mixed-race experience is celebrated.

And speaking of the mixed-race experience, I was interviewed today by the lovely Chris Karazin of the website Beyond Black & White. My book, Substitute Me is going to be the featured title for this month's Beyond Black & White Book Club discussion. If you want to participate in the discussion, follow the instructions on the Beyond Black & White Website. Thanks, Chris. Over on her site, Chris is writing all about Black women, interracial relationships (not just romantic) family life, pop culture and other topics meltingpot readers will prolly find of interest. Please check Chris and Beyond Black & White out when you get a chance.

And finally, if any of you are fluent in Danish, remember a few posts back I mentioned I'd been interviewed by a Danish journalist about Black women and their hair? Well, the story is out. Here's the link. I just get a tickle out of seeing my name and quotes in another language. I wonder if I sound ridiculous in Danish?

Happy day.

Peace!

Raise Your Hand if You've Kissed Someone of Another Race Today: It's Loving Day!

Happy Loving Day People. I'm assuming that since you made it to the Meltingpot you already know what Loving Day is all about. But maybe you don't so here's the deal, directly from the Loving Day Project.

"On June 12th, 1967, Richard and Mildred Loving won their nine year legal battle and the Supreme Court granted them the right to be married in the state of Virginia. This victory also legalized interracial relationships nationwide,overturning hundreds of years of racist laws.

We've made progress this year. Interracial marriage was illegal in 22 states when Barack Obama's parents got married, and now he's the President of the United States. The option to identify yourself as multiracial finally appeared on the U.S. Census in 2000, and now multiracial people are the fastest growing demographic in the U.S.

However, racism is not dead. There is still racial prejudice in our daily lives. Loving Day is a great way to fight this prejudice through education, and to build multicultural community. Join thousands of others all over the world in celebrating Loving Day."

You can check out the Loving Day website to see if there are any special Loving Day celebrations happening in your city or you can take the celebration inward.

There are a lot of POCs out there, myself included, who sometimes feel like they need to apologize or explain their choice to love someone of another race. As if we've committed a crime of some sort against our own people. So my goal today is to not just be content in my Kinky Gazpacho romance, but to be proud of it and not apologetic. It's a pretty cool thing to have two cultures, two languages, four colors and four unique heads of hair under one roof. And I wouldn't trade it for the world. So I'm celebrating me today. Me and my Loving Day Family. Make sure you celebrate yours!

Peace!

Tidbits

• May is National Mixed-Race Experience Month. I don't know if that's on any official government calendar, but Heidi Durrow over at The Light Skinded Girl has declared it to be so and is dropping some knowledge about people of mixed-race heritage. She highlights a different historical "mixed-race" fact every day of the month. I'm learning so much and encourage you to take a peek. Did you all know, for instance, that singer/songwriter, Carly Simon's mom was Black and Jewish? Me neither, but when you think about it, it's like 'yeah, I could see that.'

• There is no Me Without You. Mildred Loving, the Black woman who paved the way for interracial couples to legally marry in all fifty states, died last week at age 68. Mildred and Richard Loving were actually thrown in jail when they returned to their home state of Virginia as a legally married couple, having tied the knot in Washington, DC. Their efforts to knock down the anti-miscegenation (don't you hate that word? It sounds like a venereal disease.) came not from a grandiose political agenda, but from a practical one. They wanted to live together as man and wife in their home state of Virginia and raise their children in peace. Simple acts of love and faith often make the most difference in this world. To read more about the Loving decision and the June 12th celebration of the day the Supreme Court Decision was delivered, check out Loving Day.org. And this June 12, remember Mildred and Richard.

• Just a Random Thought. I heard a woman on the radio say she was so confused as to who to support as the Democratic candidate for president. "I'm a Black woman," she moaned, "so I don't know if I should support the woman candidate or the Black candidate." I wanted to reach my hand through the stereo speakers and slap her and say, "Bitch, vote for the candidate who you think will do the best job in the White House." What difference does it make if the person has a penis or a vagina, Black skin or White? I would never pick any leader based on their genitalia or skin color. Why is this an issue now? Okay. I'm done.

Peace.

And Happy Mother's Day (a little bit early)