Multiracial Whiteboy

Actress Cynda Williams likes to say she was conceived in Muncie, Indiana and born in Chicago. Cynda talks to Kim about her parents illegal interracial marriage in 1964, her trailblazing black civil rights grandfather, booking Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues, and of course, One False Move, where was nominated for a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. But beyond life in Hollywood, a fascinating chat about growing up Chicago and Indiana during what she called the black power civil rights time! 

After talented and self-proclaimed multi-hyphenate, Elyse Cisek, got called out on a woman of color of L.A. Facebook Group regarding police brutality, she asked herself... What If I'm Wrong? That question has been the first of many steps on her road to finding her own sense of truthfulness. Elyse talks to Kim about her riveting article Dear White Friends that was published on Medium,  a crucial moment of having to choose her ethnicity at the DMV as a teenager, the moment she found a sense of acceptance after watching Beyonce's Lemonade, and forgiving herself and others on her own terms. A brutally honest discussion about the consequences of not accepting one's racial identity, and how it led to destructive personal behavior. https://elysecizek.medium.com/

The first week  when comedian Adrian Cronk moved to Kingston, Ontario from North Carolina, he knew his biracial identity might be an issue when a kid on the bus said to him... Why don't you go home, get in the bathtub and paint your face white.  Adrian talks to Kim about growing up in Canada and the Carolinas, being inspired by the deacons at his black church in North Carolina, finding his voice at local radio station, and boldly exploring his biracial identity on the stage. Adrian has opened for Comedy Greats like Russell Peters, Jon Dore and Tom Green. He's also been featured at the world-famous Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, Halifax Comedy Festival on CBC, and Kevin Hart's Laugh Out Loud network.  Adrian was chosen to be Yuk Yuks Ottawa's first House Emcee in thirty years. Link to Adrian's album Hybrid: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/hybrid/1329945009

Jen Macias De La Parra (she/her) is the Designer & Creative Director and Founder of Duende (a design and strategy studio in Portland, Oregon).  Jen talks to Kim about growing up in Arizona, becoming an orphan by age 14, being the ward of the state, living with multiple families while having no place to call home, dealing with sheriff Joe Arpaio, putting herself through college, and reclaiming her complicated multiracial identity as an adult.  Jen's brave story will inspire and make you believe in the kindness of strangers! 

Aaron Keller is the writer of Marginal Eyes, a memoir of a biracial American’s struggle for identity in a nation of black and white.  Kim talks to Aaron about how his life took a turn for the worst at age ten when he moved to a rural suburban in Indiana, the anger and destructive behavior that manifested itself into other areas of his life as a result, and why he decided to  write a memoir about his personal struggles with his biracial identity.  Great talk!
Link to Aaron Keller's book: https://marginaleyesbook.com/

Multiracial Whiteboy goes international with Danielle, April & Layla, the sharp and insightful podcast hosts of Growing up Brit-ish, where they celebrate their differences and share their own experiences  through the lens of more than one cultural identity.  Kim talks to the mixed  podcasters about assimilating into British culture, sustaining their unique cultural heritage in the UK, and how they share and discuss challenging topics with others when it's  not on social media. A lovely and enlightening discussion!

"I can tell people almost anything and they believe it. But the thing I actually am, they’re always shocked by.” Actress Erin Ruth Walker, who's Black & Jewish, talks to Kim  about struggling to take up space as a black woman, trying to figure out what "being black" means to her since the George Floyd tragedy, and the poem she chose to write to give her complicated upbringing and mixed identity an opportunity to be fully seen. Erin's story is poignant, perceptive and touching. She also shares the loveliest story about how her mother and father met for the first time. Spoiler alert: It involves cats. Fantastic chat!

Lisa Helmi Johanson had a mic drop moment that set her voice and herself free... But it took a little work to get there. Lisa "Hurricane" Helmi Johanson (Korean and Finnish) talks to Kim about her mother leaving it all behind and coming to America from Korea with her Fiddish father, dealing with inappropriate comments about being Asian in college, and talking to her conservative mother and father about the recent hate crimes against Asian-Americans. 

Actress & dancer, Candice Coke, has lived several different lives as a result of her immense talent as an athlete, dancer and performer. Candice, whose her mother is Polish, and father is Jamaican, talks to Kim talks about going to door to door as a Jehovah Witness with her mother, graduating HS early to attend NYU on a diving scholarship, booking her first major dance gig with Michael Jackson, and how her upbringing and mixed identity connected her to a greater diversity of people from all different backgrounds. 

Lauren Shields always struggled to share her journey as a mixed woman. Her mother is Irish and English, her father is African-American, and Native American (Cherokee and Choctow lineage). As she says, "I wasn't black and white enough, and had zero connection to my indigenous side." What Kim didn't see coming during their conversation however was when Lauren revealed that this lifelong struggle created a lot self-hatred toward herself. But with a little help from her black friends, and a retreat doing Ayahuasca , Lauren has since found power and redemption in accepting all the ethnicities she represents. Fantastic and honest discussion! Lauren Shields: https://www.merakimamacollective.com/