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Mixed Experience History Month 2017: James Welch, award-winning writer

May 15, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

mixed race, multiracial, biracial, mixed race historical figures, mixed race history, biracial historical figures, the mixed experienceJames Welch (1940-2003) was a mixed-race writer of Native American descent.

Welch was the son of two mixed-race Native Americans of Blackfeet and A’aninin tribes.  They were both raised with their Native American cultures as was Welch.

Welch published his first poetry book, Riding the Earthboy Forty, in 1971.  He published several novels including Winter in the Blood, Fool’s Crow, and The Indian Lawyer provided him interntational critical acclaim.  He wrote about Native American life and experience.  He received the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in France.

He died in 2003 from a heart attack.


Mixed Experience History Month is the annual blog post series created by The New York Times best-selling author Heidi Durrow celebrating the history of the Mixed experience. Established in 2007, Mixed Experience History Month is an effort to highlight the long history of folks and events involved in the Mixed experience.  Please look for archived profiles of people, places and events of the Mixed experience every weekday of May!  Thanks for reading.  And check out some of the previous year’s profiles: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012,  2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.

Filed Under: Mixed Experience History Month Tagged With: biracial, biracial historical figures, biracial identity, growing up biracial, heidi durrow, mixed experience, mixed race, mixed race historical figures, mixed race history

Mixed Experience History Month 2017: Chocolat, famous circus performer

May 9, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

mixed race historical figures, biracial historical figuresChocolat (born between 1865 and 1869-died 1917 ) whose birth name was Rafael had no known surname.

Rafael was born in Cuba to an enslaved woman of African descent.

As a child he was taken to Spain to work as a servant.  He escaped his servitude at age 14 and earned a living doing various menial jobs and performing on the streets for a change doing strength and dance routines.

After the popular performer Tony Grice saw Rafael perform, Grice offered him an apprenticeship with the circus.  He was given the stage name Chocolat because of his dark skin.

In 1886, Chocolat debuted at the Nouveau Cirque.  Soon after, Foottit, a famous English clown, would hire him away from Grice.  Chocolat became part of several popular acts thereafter.  In 1890, Chocolat became Foottit’s regular partner.  Their act is described as a “routine between an authoritarian white clown, and a stupid poor Negro” who at the end of each sketch was slapped.  In 1905, Foottit & Chocolat as they were known lost their contract with Nouveau Cirque.  Their act ended in 1910.

Chocolat was a central cultural figure during his time.  He was the subject of several paintings and sketches by Toulouse-Lautrec; the model for popular soap advertisements; and the character inspiration for writers Colette and possibly Samuel Beckett.

Chocolat (nor Foottit) achieved the level of success in his continued performing career.  He died penniless at 49. – Heidi Durrow


Mixed Experience History Month is the annual blog post series created by The New York Times best-selling author Heidi Durrow celebrating the history of the Mixed experience. Established in 2007, Mixed Experience History Month is an effort to highlight the long history of folks and events involved in the Mixed experience.  Please look for archived profiles of people, places and events of the Mixed experience every weekday of May!  Thanks for reading.  And check out some of the previous year’s profiles: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012,  2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.

Filed Under: Mixed Experience History Month Tagged With: biracial, biracial historical figures, biracial history, mixed experience history month, mixed race, mixed race historical figures, mixed race history, multiracial

Mixed Experience History Month: Lydia Hamilton Smith, abolitionist and mixed-race businesswoman

May 3, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

mixed race history, mixed race, biracial history, biracial, growing up biracialLydia Hamilton Smith (1813-1884) was the daughter of a mixed-race free woman and an Irish man.
In 1847, Smith started working as the housekeeper to abolitionist and long-time US Congressman Thaddeus Stevens. Smith, however, comported herself as an equal to Stevens–essentially as a common law wife. Stevens was an Underground Railroad activist and Smith was also helping to distribute food and provisions.
When Stevens died, Smith received a portion of his inheritance which allowed her to buy his house and adjoining property. She also bought a boarding house in Washington D.C. that she ran successfully.  She died in 1884 on Valentine’s Day.-Heidi Durrow

Mixed Experience History Month is the annual blog post series created by The New York Times best-selling author Heidi Durrow celebrating the history of the Mixed experience. Established in 2007, Mixed Experience History Month is an effort to highlight the long history of folks and events involved in the Mixed experience.  Please look for archived profiles of people, places and events of the Mixed experience every weekday of May!  Thanks for reading.  And check out some of the previous year’s profiles: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012,  2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.


Filed Under: Mixed Experience History Month Tagged With: biracial, biracial historical figures, growing up biracial, mixed race, mixed race history, multiracial

Mixed Experience History Month 2017: Anne Brown, World-Class Soprano & Broadway Star

May 2, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

Anne Brown, (1912-2009), was a world-class soprano and the inspiration for George Gershwin’s Bess in his folk opera “Porgy & Bess.”

Brown was the daughter of an African-American surgeon and mixed-race musician.  She attended Juillard where she received the Margaret McGill Prize as the school’s best singer. She started working with Gershwin after writing to him and requesting an interview.  She nailed it.  As Gershwin composed the opera, Ms. Brown sang the music.  “Porgy and Bess” opened in October 1935 with Brown playing Bess.  Ms. Brown was the only person Gershwin ever saw perform the role of Bess. Brown also appeared in “Mamba’s Daughter” in 1939, and a revival of “Porgy and Bess” in 1942.

 

I’ve lived a strange kind of life–half black, half white, half isolated, half in the spotlight. #mixedrace #multiracial

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Brown then performed throughout Europe and the Americas as a concert artist. In 1948, she moved to Oslo and married a Norwegian man.  In a 1998 New York Times article she said: “We tough girls tough it out.  I’ve lived a strange kind of life–half black, half white, half isolated, half in the spotlight.  Many things that I wanted as a young person for my career were denied to me because of my color.”

Brown was not able to continue her singing career because of difficulties with asthma.  She became a voice teacher of many famous performers including Liv Ullman.

In 1998, Brown received the George Peabody Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Music in America.

Brown had two daughters–one from her second marriage and one from her third.  Her marriages ended in divorce.  Brown died in 2009.-Heidi Durrow

Gershwin & Bess: A Dialogue with Anne Brown {excerpt} from Nicole Franklin on Vimeo.

 


Mixed Experience History Month is the annual blog post series created by The New York Times best-selling author Heidi Durrow celebrating the history of the Mixed experience. Established in 2007, Mixed Experience History Month is an effort to highlight the long history of folks and events involved in the Mixed experience.  Please look for archived profiles of people, places and events of the Mixed experience every weekday of May!  Thanks for reading.  And check out some of the previous year’s profiles: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012,  2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.

Filed Under: Mixed Experience History Month Tagged With: biracial, biracial history, heidi durrow, interracial, mixed race, mixed race historical figures, mixed race history, multiracial

Mixed Experience History Month 2017: Kick Off!

May 1, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

Mixed Experience History Month begins!

Now in its 11th year, this series that I founded in 2007 continues to highlight really wonderful histories of mixed-race and multiracial people and experience.

I established Mixed Experience History Month originally on my personal blog Light-skinned-ed Girl as a way of claiming a history and a voice that I felt had been denied me.

Part of the difficulty of claiming one’s identity in the Mixed experience is that we have no history.  Our stories have been written out of the texts to conform to what society has allowed us to say about our racial identities.  And usually that has either silenced our experiences and/or simplified them.

Part of the difficulty of claiming one’s identity in the Mixed experience is that we have no history. #multiracial #mixedrace

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It’s easy to celebrate Mixed Experience History Month!  Just follow along with the posts I’ll make each weekday in May profiling historical figures and events that relate to the Mixed experience.  This year I will be posting the blog profiles on my website The Mixed Experience in their entirety and in part on my personal blog with a click through link.

If you have ideas of people I should profile please email me at heidi(at)heidiwdurrow.com.  And remember this is history so I’m only looking for people to profile who have passed away!  P.S. Anybody know who this year’s badge features (I made it easy this year)?–Heidi Durrow

Mixed Experience History Month is the annual blog post series created by The New York Times best-selling author Heidi Durrow celebrating the history of the Mixed experience. Established in 2007, Mixed Experience History Month is an effort to highlight the long history of folks and events involved in the Mixed experience.  Please look for archived profiles of people, places and events of the Mixed experience every weekday of May!  Thanks for reading.  And check out some of the previous year’s profiles: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012,  2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.

Filed Under: Mixed Experience History Month Tagged With: biracial, biracial historical figures, growing up biracial, mixed race, mixed race history, multiracial

Season 4, Episode 16: Linguist and Scholar John McWhorter, “Talking Back, Talking Black”

March 8, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

heidi durrow, mixed race, multiracial, mixed experience

LIVE 3/13/17 5pm Eastern: I am very excited to speak with linguist, writer and scholar John McWhorter about his new book Talking Back, Talking Black: Truths About America’s Lingua Franca. You can listen to the conversation live or download the episode from itunes.-Heidi Durrow

I interview @johnhmcwhorter about his new book Talking Back, Talking Black. #multiracial

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It has now been almost fifty years since linguistic experts began studying Black English as a legitimate speech variety, arguing to the public that it is different from Standard English, not a degradation of it. Yet false assumptions and controversies still swirl around what it means to speak and sound “black.” In his first book devoted solely to the form, structure, and development of Black English, John McWhorter clearly explains its fundamentals and rich history, while carefully examining the cultural, educational, and political issues that have undermined recognition of this transformative, empowering dialect. Talking Back, Talking Black takes us on a fascinating tour of a nuanced and complex language that has moved beyond America’s borders to become a dynamic force for today’s youth culture around the world.

Filed Under: Books, Episodes Tagged With: biracial, mixed, mixed race, multiracial, multiracial artists, multiracial identity

Season 4, Episode 15: Award-winning Writer, Adrian Miller, Soul Food Scholar

March 8, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

heidi durrow, mixed experience, mixed race

RECORDED 3/10/17: I loved talking with my friend and award-winning author Adrian Miller about his second book: The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: African-Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, From the Washingtons to the Obamas.  You can listen to the interview here or download the episode from itunes. -Heidi Durrow

I talk with @soulfoodscholar about his newest book! Listen in! #mixedrace #multiracial

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adrian miller, heidi durrow, the mixed experience, mixed race, biracial, multiracial

adrian miller, heidi durrow, the mixed experience, mixed race, biracial

James Beard award–winning author Adrian Miller vividly tells the stories of the African Americans who worked in the presidential food service as chefs, personal cooks, butlers, stewards, and servers for every First Family since George and Martha Washington. Miller brings together the names and words of more than 150 black men and women who played remarkable roles in unforgettable events in the nation’s history. Daisy McAfee Bonner, for example, FDR’s cook at his Warm Springs retreat, described the president’s final day on earth in 1945; he was struck down just as his lunchtime cheese souffle emerged from the oven. Sorrowfully, but with a cook’s pride, she recalled, “He never ate that souffle, but it never fell until the minute he died.”

A treasury of information about cooking techniques and equipment, the book includes twenty recipes for which black chefs were celebrated. From Samuel Fraunces’s “onions done in the Brazilian way” for George Washington to Zephyr Wright’s popovers, beloved by LBJ’s family, Miller highlights African Americans’ contributions to our shared American foodways. Surveying the labor of enslaved people during the antebellum period and the gradual opening of employment after Emancipation, Miller highlights how food-related work slowly became professionalized and the important part African Americans played in that process. His chronicle of the daily table in the White House proclaims a fascinating new American story.

Adrian Miller takes readers on a journey through the stories of African American men and women who have cooked, shopped, and prepared drinks for U.S. presidents through American history. By putting the largely forgotten stories of these men and women together, The President’s Kitchen Cabinet restores to their careers the high profile and respect they deserve.–Elizabeth S. D. Engelhardt, author of A Mess of Greens

“For food history and presidential history buffs alike, both entertaining and illuminating.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“An intriguing glimpse into the inner workings of the White House kitchen and the chefs who have made its wonderful cuisine possible.”–Library Journal

Adrian Miller details the many subtle and not-so-subtle contributions of African American culinary professionals to the food history of the White House. The people, black and white, in The President’s Kitchen Cabinet come across as real, engaged, and accurately placed in their own history, and the White House is refreshingly portrayed as a living institution that has changed dramatically over time.” –Leni Sorensen, founder-director of the Indigo House Culinary History and Rural Skills Center

“With humor and scholarship, Adrian Miller has written an essential and uplifting exposé, ensuring that another group of overlooked African American culinary professionals is remembered and celebrated for its contributions to American foodways.”
—Toni Tipton-Martin, author of The Jemima Code

“The President’s Kitchen Cabinet brings history alive by tracing the people and foods that appeared at White House events large and small, personal and formal. The research is impeccable, the stories are vivid and thrilling, and the food detailed and delicious. If you love the history of our nation’s first home as I do, you will devour this book.”
— Bill Yosses, former executive pastry chef at the White House and coauthor of The Perfect Finish

 

ADRIAN MILLER BIOGRAPHY

Adrian Miller is a graduate of Stanford University and Georgetown University Law School.  After practicing law in Denver for several years, Adrian became a special assistant to President William Jefferson Clinton and the Deputy Director of the President’s Initiative for One America.  The President’s Initiative for One America was the first free-standing White House office in history to examine and focus on closing the opportunity gaps that exist for minorities in this country. The One America office built on the foundation laid by the President’s Initiative on Race by promoting the President’s goals of educating the American public about race, and coordinating the work of the White House and federal agencies to carry out the President’s vision of One America. 

After his White House stint, Adrian returned to Colorado and served as the General Counsel and Director of Outreach at the Bell Policy Center—a progressive think tank dedicated to making Colorado a state of opportunity for all.  In 2007, Adrian became the Deputy Legislative Director for Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Jr.  By the end of Gov. Ritter’s first term, Adrian was a Senior Policy Analyst for Gov. Ritter where he handled homeland security, military and veterans’ issues.  Adrian was also Governor Ritter’s point person on the Colorado Campaign to End Childhood Hunger which significantly increased participation in the summer food and school breakfast programs.

Adrian is currently the Executive Director of the Colorado Council of Churches. He is the first African American and the first layperson to hold that position.

Adrian is also a culinary historian and a certified barbecue judge who has lectured around the country on such topics as: Black Chefs in the White House, chicken and waffles, hot sauce, kosher soul food, red drinks, soda pop, and soul food.  Adrian’s book, Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time was published by the University of North Carolina Press in August 2013. Soul Food won the 2014 James Beard Foundation Book Award for Reference and Scholarship. His next book, The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, from the Washingtons to the Obamas will be published on President’s Day, February 20, 2017.

Filed Under: Books, Episodes Tagged With: heidi durrow, mixed experience, mixed race, multiracial artists

Season 4, Episode 13: Mixed Race Award-winning Writer Amina Gautier

January 2, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

RECORDED 2/6/17: I had a great talk with award-winning writer Amina Gautier.  Her short stories are simply stunning and she now has three award-winning collections.  Listen in livehere  or download the episode on itunes.-Heidi Durrow

Listen to my great talk with @draminagautier. A great writer & voice! #multiracial #mixedrace

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Amina Gautier is the author of three award-winning short story collections: The Loss of All Lost Things, which won the Elixir Press Award in Fiction, Now We Will Be Happy, which won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize, the USA Best Book Award in African American Fiction a Florida Authors and Publishers Association Award Gold Medal in Short Fiction, and was Long-listed for The Chautauqua Prize in Fiction, and At-Risk, which won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, and received an Eric Hoffer Legacy Award and a First Horizon Award. Gautier has published a record number of short stories.

More than eighty-five of her short stories have been published and her fiction appears in African American Review, African Voices, Agni, Antioch Review, B&A: New Fiction, Cicada, Chattahoochee Review, Colorado Review, Crab Orchard Review, Crazyhorse, Glimmer Train, Iconoclast, Iowa Review, Kenyon Review, Nimrod, North American Review, Notre Dame Review, Opium.com, Pindeldyboz, Pleiades, Prairie Schooner, Quarter After Eight, Red Rock Review, River Styx, Salt Hill, Shenandoah, Southeast Review, Southern Review, Southwest Review, Storyquarterly, Studio Magazine, Sycamore Review, Timber Creek Review, Today’s Black Woman, Torch, and Yemassee among other places. Gautier’s work has been extensively reprinted, appearing in All About Skin! Women Writers of Color, Best African American Fiction 2009, Best African American Fiction 2010, Discoveries: New Writing from The Iowa Review, New Stories from the South: The Year’s Best, 2008, The Notre Dame Review: The First Ten Years, The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Contemporary Women Writers on Forerunners in Fiction, 25 Provocative Women Writers and Voices. 

Gautier has been the recipient of the Crazyhorse Prize, the Danahy Fiction Prize, the Jack Dyer Prize, the William Richey Prize, the Schlafly Microfiction Award, and the Lamar York Prize in Fiction. She has also received grants from the Illinois Arts Council and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Her fiction has been supported with fellowships and scholarships from American Antiquarian Society, The Besty Hotel, Breadloaf Writer’s Conference, Callaloo Writer’s Workshop; Hawthornden International Retreat for Writers; Hurston/Wright Foundation Writer’s Workshop, Kimbilio, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, Key West Literary Seminars; MacDowell Colony; Prairie Center of the Arts; Ragdale Foundation, Sewanee Writer’s Conference, Ucross Foundation; Vermont Studio Center and Writers in the Heartland.

Filed Under: Books, Episodes Tagged With: mixed race, multiracial, multiracial artists

Season 4, Episode 9: Shine Text Founders & Mixed Chicks Marah Lidey and Naomi Hirabayashi

September 13, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

shine-logoRECORDED 10/19/16: You don’t want to miss this conversation with two of the most dynamic young, mixed-chick entrepreneurs around.  Marah Lidey and Naomi Hirabayashi are the co-founders of Shine Text. Shine is a daily text experience to help you be your best self at work and life. Every morning, Shine sends you actionable tips and content around confidence, daily happiness, mental health, or productivity. It’s available via Facebook Messenger as well.  Learn how these millenials went from good idea to product and now an ever-growing tech business.  You can listen to the episode here or download it from itunes.-Heidi Durrow
multiracial, heidi durrow, the girl who fell from the sky, mixed race, biracial, growing up biracial, biracial identity, multiracial identity, multiculturalism, biracial family, blasian, hapa, mixed race adoption
Don’t miss my talk w/ @shinetext founders & mixed-chick-preneurs! #multiracial #mixedrace

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Marah Lidey
multiracial, mixed race, biracial, growing up biracial, biracial identity, multiracial identity, multiculturalism, biracial family, blasian, hapa, mixed race adoptionMarah Lidey is the co-founder of Shine Text, helping people live more intentionally through the power of daily messaging. Her expertise lies at the intersection of millennials and messaging; Marah previously directed mobile for brands like DoSomething.org, American Express and Viacom. Marah secured her B.A. in Journalism at the University of Georgia and currently reside in Brooklyn, NY. A World Economic Forum Global Shaper, and one of the Top 35 People to Watch in NYC Tech by Built in NYC, Marah also actively advocates for increasing racial and socioeconomic diversity in technology and entrepreneurship.
 
Naomi Hirabayashi 
Multiracial, mixed race, biracial, growing up biracial, biracial identity, multiracial identity, multiculturalism, biracial family, blasian, hapa, mixed race adoptionNaomi Hirabayashi is the co-founder of Shine: the daily messaging experience to help you be your best self. Prior to Shine, Naomi was the Chief Marketing Officer at DoSomething.org, the largest organization for young people and social action in the world. Naomi, named one of the Top 35 People to Watch in NYC Tech by Built in NYC, lives in Brooklyn with her fiancé, is passionate about diversifying entrepreneurship, women & confidence, and believes Brené Brown is a QUEEN.

Filed Under: Episodes Tagged With: biracial, biracial family, biracial identity, blasian, growing up biracial, hapa, heidi durrow, mixed race, mixed race adoption, multiculturalism, multiracial, multiracial identity, the girl who fell from the sky

Season 4, Episode : Henok Negash, Mixed-Race Magician Making it Happen!

September 12, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

RECORDED 10/10/16: I was so excited to talk with Henok Negash, a biracial magician who is really making it happen with his magic these days.  He recently appeared on Penn & Teller’s TV show and had Penn & Teller as well as the audience capativated.  Don’t miss my talk with him.  You can listen here or download it on itunes.-Heidi Durrow
Don’t miss my conversation with #mixedrace #multiracial magician Henok Negash.

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Multiracial, mixed race, biracial, growing up biracial, biracial identity, multiracial identity, multiculturalism, biracial family, blasian, hapa, mixed race adoption
Henok Negash has been a magician since the age of 12 (currently 36 years old). Henok Negash has henok negash, mixed race magicianperforming seriously for 8 years. He has a bachelor’s and masters degree in Social Work from San Diego State University. He had about a 12-year career in social services. He is a former Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Rural Thailand for 3 years. He has also published research on strategies to address type 2 diabetes care in rural settings. However, his focus now is on magic. He is focusing on performing in a way that is authentic, has meaning but also entertaining with a touch of humor. He’s doing my best to keep things modern and relevant.

Filed Under: Episodes Tagged With: biracial, biracial family, biracial identity, blasian, growing up biracial, hapa, mixed race, mixed race adoption, multiculturalism, multiracial, multiracial identity

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Host Heidi Durrow

Host Heidi Durrow

Heidi Durrow is the New York Times best-selling writer of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky and the founder of the original mixed roots film and book festival and now the founder of Mixed Remixed Festival , an annual film, book and performance festival, which will be held next on June 10-11, 2016 at … [Read More]

Recent Posts

  • Season 5, Episode 3: Award-Winning Writer Amina Gautier November 14, 2017
  • Season 5, Episode 2: New York Times Bestselling Writer Julie Lythcott-Haims October 12, 2017
  • Season 4, Episode 19: Writer/Literary Critic Janet Savage July 3, 2017
  • Mixed Experience History Month 2017: Paula Gunn Allen, writer and scholar May 17, 2017
  • Mixed Experience History Month 2017: Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, Educator & Activist May 16, 2017

The Mixed Experience Minute Vlog

the mixed experience by heidi durrow

The Mixed Experience Minute

In 2007, I instituted Mixed Experience History Month to celebrate historical stories of the Mixed … [Read More...]

Guest Host Jennifer Frappier

Guest Host Jennifer Frappier

I'm so excited that Jennifer Frappier will join The Mixed Experience as a guest host on future … [Read More...]

Podcast Episodes

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The Mixed Experience Podcast

You can find all episodes and information about guests of The Mixed Experience podcast here and also … [Read More...]

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