The Mixed Heritage Center is LIVE! (ok so this post is a few weeks late, but I was busy at work)

The welcome reads as follows:

The Mixed Heritage Center (MHC) is a clearinghouse of information relevant to the lives of people who are multiracial, multiethnic, transracially adopted or otherwise affected by the intersection of race and culture. It is the product of collaboration between the Association of MultiEthnic Americans and the MAVIN Foundation. Funding was provided by the K and F Baxter Family Foundation.

The MHC is an “organic” resource that will grow and change with contributions from visitors, student groups, and community based organizations who care about mixed heritage issues. Please share your own knowledge and experiences either through participation in the discussion forums, by recommending the addition of a resource, or by submitting your own work to content@mixedheritagecenter.org .

- Mixed Heritage Center (MHC) Home Page

A long time ago I had contacted the people at Mavin who were in charge of the old MHC. I was told that it was being rebuilt and I even got the opportunity to help out a bit (although I didn’t end up doing too much because I got busy with other stuff). Anyway, just knowing what was coming was exciting and now its live and I get to spread the word about the site. So now is the part where I tell about the good stuff.

Resources – The Mavin Foundation and AMEA (Association of MultiEthnic Americans) are two of the best known national mixed heritage organizations. The Mixed Heritage Center has been built as a place to bring together their combined resources as well as begin to build a greater library. The idea is that not only will the site link to information already in their combined libraries, but that people who visit the site or join as users will also be able to submit resources that will then be posted. With mixed heritage being a topic of study that is still fairly new the number of documents out there are still in many far off places. The MHC with the help of the mixed community will begin to grow those resources and bring together those existing resources from their far off places. Additionally, by allowing users to submit inks to resources it is easier to keep information up to date and make sure that it is relevant to a rapidly changing population.

Scope – Whereas my site has a more constrained focus, the MHC has links to all sorts of resources. And with new content being added regularly the scope and depth of what they have is sure to increase. When those who are interested in this field are able to see what research already exists I would think that it makes it more possible to know what has been addressed and what issues still need to be addressed.
One of the things I really am excited about is that they are including the arts (movies, music, visual arts, literature) as resources. I know for a fact (because I am an artist) that for some there are things that can only be expressed through art, and to have the ability to see that from others is going to be very powerful.

Community – The new MHC has been built with creating and supporting an online community in mind. Users can register for an account which will allow them greater access to the site as well as more opportunities to communicate with each other and create community.

I am very excited about this site. It was built with intellectual growth and community in mind which in my opinion are both very important when it comes to a population that is so diverse and so new (in terms of its visibility and acceptence). I look forward to exploring the site and discovering new and important information as well as contributing to the community.

This site is great for everyone as it has resources that touch on many different topics.

Our mission is to offer a view of the mixed-race experience, highlighting icons, film, books, poetry, parenting techniques, celebrities, real lives and much more.

This site seems very interactive where users can participate in forums, and such. As a resource for Americans I think this is a great place to go to begin to learn about how other countries and cultures concieve of race and issues of mixed race/mixed ethnic heritage. Our own concepts of race and racism are so driven by our country’s history with race and power as it relates to race that it could really broaden our frame of reference to see what is going on in other countries.

The link to the site can also be found in the Web Resources section.

I was referred to this site by a friend who thought I might find it interesting. The Mixed Chicks are two women of mixed racial and ethnic heritage who are longtime friends who do a podcast where they talk about what its like to be mixed. One of them is Mixed Jamaican and White, and the other is mixed African American and Dutch.
While this is not the most polished podcast, what I really appreciate is how candidly they talk about their experiences with figuring out their identities, dating, interacting with the different sides of their families and so on. When you listen to the podcast you feel like you could just jump in at any time because they touch in a very real way on many experiences that mixed people have.
Not being a mixed black/white person myself it is also very interesting to hear about the experiences of being light skinned in the black community and living the implications of that. Some of the experiences that I have been most interested in hearing about have been those in which they talk about their experiences with campus black student groups in college. They really highlight how poorly the commonly used models of black student development or monoethnic student development are at addressing the ethnic identity issues that students of mixed heritages go through

While this may not be the most academically structured resource, I think its a really good one because it reflects the experiences of people who are “normal” mixed people.

This could be a good podcast for white parents. It is sometimes hard for them to hear about experiences of being mixed from their own children if they don’t really see them as mixed or have never experienced any of the identity issues that their children have.

The only thing that I wish were better with this podcast is the sound/recording quality. It sounds like they use a service where they record the episode in a phone conference manner. Sometimes the sound quality is not that great which is (for me at least) a bit distracting. On the upside, the service they use allows them to have people call in and comment on the episode as they are recording it, so in that respect it has the potential to be something very interactive where people can really ask their questions or add in their own two cents. I think its great that they are using that service and making it possible for people who listen to their podcast to really get involved should they want to.

Over all I like the podcast, the energy of it, the positive message that we mixed folks are just fine the way we are.

Interracial Family Circle (Link can also be found on the Web Resources Page)From the home page -

Welcome to the official web site of the Interracial Family Circle (IFC), Washington, DC Metro Area Chapter. Located in the seat of the nation’s government, IFC members enjoy many of the beautiful buildings and vistas that abound the nation’s capital. Our members get together for fun events at local parks, museums, book readings, and more! Members also gain support and advice from each other by sharing their experiences as multicultural families. I hope that you will join us for many of these activities, from hosting “Circle Chats” to leading book club discussions and writing articles for the newsletter. Leave your comments below to get involved.

“An international association organizations dedicated to advocacy, education and collaboration on behalf the multiethnic, multiracial and transracial adoption community.”

AMEA is a wonderful national organization that works to educate people about the issues that affect the mixed heritage/ethnicity population. They are well know for their activism in the areas of mixed heritage eductional issues, health issues and policy issues pertaining to the collection of useful and appropriate demographic data by the federal government.
While I have not personally had experience working with this group, I do know that they commonly work with many other national organizations such as MAVIN as well as with other organizations on a more local level.
AMEA (this link opens a new page) This link can also be found on the Web Resources Page.

The diversity of people who participate in the discussions adds so much to the discussions. What I like about the mix is that it involves not only parents of different types of families, but young adults and the grown children of these various types of families. What I have been learning as I have been doing this research is that a childes experience of a situation is often times different from the parent’s experience of the situation. So those people wanting to learn more about issues of race and ethnicity, the experience of racism today, transracial adoption issues, and transracial adoptee experiences (just to name a few subjects) could really gain alot by participating in these discussions, and opening themselves up to new ideas.
Anti-RacistParent.com (The link is also listed on the web resources Page)

The information below is from the homepage of their site (http://www.jewishmultiracialnetwork.org/)

The Jewish Multiracial Network’s Mission
The mission of the Jewish Multiracial Network is to build a community of Jews of color and multiracial Jewish families for mutual support, learning, and empowerment. Through education and advocacy, we seek to enrich Jewish communal life by incorporating our diverse racial and ethnic heritages.
The Jewish Multiracial Network brings Jewish multiracial families and individuals together to learn about and celebrate their Judaism. We are committed to diversity and inclusive community-building, and seek to help our members strengthen their identities as Jews and members of other ethnic groups. We create opportunities for learning, nurturing and support for a large and growing part of the Jewish community that often feels marginalized by mainstream Jewish organizations. We invite you to become a part of a developing national Jewish multiracial network.