Lynn VanderWielen, PhD, MPH
1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed
Today I am going to take a moment and sit in my excitement to see the new HBO documentary, 1000% Me: Growing up Mixed that centers the experiences and voices of multiracial youth and adults.
1000% ME: Growing up Mixed - available on HBO starting May 2nd at 8pm.
We have no affiliation with the work, but simply a unified dedication to multiracial families. One reason that I am so excited about the documentary is that it was directed by W. Kamau Bell - I really started to dive into his work with his book co-authored with Kate Schatz - Do the Work! An Antiracist Activity Book. Somewhere in the book he mentions that his kids are multiracial, and I circled this several times feeling a sense of camaraderie and validation. (Also, if you haven’t gone through this book yet, stop what you are doing and order it now. It is thoughtful, challenging, and powerful.) While the Samahra team and my family talk about multiracial identities all of the time, it is simply not a part of the national narrative in the US around race and equity.
When I learned about his documentary, I added the release date to my calendar and started to look forward to watching it with my husband.
So today, instead of reading this blog, check out this documentary and ponder a few questions:
What resonated with you?
What perspectives have you heard from your multiracial child?
What surprised you?
What made you uncomfortable?
What brought you hope for our future?
What could you do better to support your multiracial child in their identity development?
Join the conversation in the Samahra app! Our community chat feature is free and facilitated by our expert team of parents of multiracial kids. See you there!
Lynn
Photo by Aneta Pawlik on Unsplash