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Eartha Kitt – Never Finds Her White Father

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The beautiful Eartha Kitt!

Did you know: She didn’t know her actual birthday until she was 71? She never knew who her father was?

Once she finally discovered her birth certificate she was allowed 15 minutes with it and her father’s name was blacked out.

Kitt died in 2008.  Her daughter said:  “She carried the scar of her rejection with her all her life. She was rejected for the colour of her skin ironically by both black and white.” Her daughter goes on to say: “To some extent, I think my arrival completed her because it gave her a family that she never had.”

Our mixed roots stories might have rejection, secrecy, and pain…telling and sharing our stories can provide healing.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/19/eartha-kitt-suffered-over-identity

New Play Examines ‘Biracial’ Identity in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Annie Bosh is Missing is a new play by Janine Nabers that takes place in Houston when Katrina refugees are placed there to rebuild their lives. Their arrival upsets the ‘racial’ status quo in Houston – most especially for the play’s protagonists who have before then not strongly identified with ‘blackness.’ You can read a longer synopsis HERE.

We’ll update this post as more appearance dates are added – and let us know if you have the chance to see the show!

Mixed Roots Stories Partners with CMRS

MIXED ROOTS STORIES and CMRS Conference Partner

Mixed Roots Stories is partnering with Critical Mixed Race Studies in bringing arts and cultural programming to the 2014 conference. We are seeking submissions from performing artists and filmmakers whose work explores stories of racial and cultural mixing as a central theme. The overall theme for the 2014 conference is “Global Mixed Race,” and submissions that reflect this will be given special consideration.

 

We will be screening short films on Thursday evening, November 13, 2014, and holding a live performance showcase on Friday evening, November 14, 2014.

 

Films: 
We are looking for short films under 15 minutes. Your submission should include an online link to your film (private link is fine), a press kit, and a short statement (50 words or less) on how the film addresses the mixed experience and fits the theme “Global Mixed Race” (trailers for feature films will be accepted).

 

Live performance showcase: 

 

We are looking for stand-up comedy, spoken word, dance, short scenes, monologues, vocalists, musicians – or other forms of live performance. Your piece for the showcase should not be longer than 8 minutes. Your submission should include an online link with no less than a 2 minute preview of exactly what you will present, and a short statement (50 words or less) on how the piece addresses the mixed experience and fits the theme “Global Mixed Race.”

 

 

Mixed Roots Stories submission deadline: January 15th, 2014
Please e-mail Mixed Roots Stories submission materials to: cmrs@depaul.edu

 

Visit the CMRS website and Facebook page for updates:

http://criticalmixedracestudies.org

https://www.facebook.com/criticalmixedracestudies

 

We look forward to seeing you in November 2014!!

 

 

 

 

Actor breaks silence about being Mixed!

How much are multiracial stories influenced by family/extended family?

Obviously family has influence…but to the point of silence? This story left me with so many questions! I would love to read the script…and better yet sit down and have coffee with Tom Sizemore. Sizemore chose to “modern day pass” as White after his grandfather, who did not like “white folk” told him to “never reveal his mixed-race heritage to anyone in Hollywood if he wanted to become a bona fide movie star.”  Well, now he has chosen to break his silence by telling his grandfather’s story, and in turn part of his own through the storytelling vehicle of theater. How have your family/extended family shaped your mixed race story?

 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/02/tom-sizemore-one-man-show-geffen.html