Miss Navajo Nation Is A Symbol Of America

A colorful blending.

This is a wonderful interview with a Mixed Native American and African-American woman, who won the tile of “Miss Navajo Nation” recently. In it she talks about the shared history between the two cultures, which is surprising to many people.

Since the first arrival of enslaved Africans in North America, the relationships between African Americans and Native Americans have encompassed alliances and adversaries, as well as the indivisible blending of customs and culture.

“It’s not received a lot of attention because it’s not the dominant culture’s story, although it’s very important to the dominant culture’s bigger view of the past,” says James Nottage, curator of the exhibit, which includes narratives of enslaved blacks who traveled the Trail of Tears with their Native owners; slaves who intermarried into Native tribes as an escape from bondage; and the largely African-featured members of the Shinnecock tribe of New York, as well as shared traditions in food, dress and music.

Radmilla Cody, 35, a Native American Music Award-winning singer and anti-domestic violence activist, is also featured in the exhibit. The daughter of a Navajo mother and an African-American father, Cody was raised by her grandmother in the Arizona Navajo community, initially speaking only the Navajo language. In 1997 she was crowned Miss Navajo Nation, sparking controversy from some members who refused to accept her.

Good for her in that she fully embraces both her cultures. And good for all of us that her very public presence is educating many on a relationship that is not all that uncommon.

Here is the full article.

A Hispanic Batman?

Acceptable I guess.

This is a very interesting post that captures an issue I have noticed as well. It delves into the problem that when all (or most of) the superheroes are white, it makes it seem strange for a person of color to put on that costume for Halloween or at comic conventions. I see this played out with my own kids, who will say things like, you can be like a black Batman, or Master Chief, or something like that. A person of color can’t just be Batman or Master Chief, they are the black version. And while this may not seem like a big deal, when it comes to the sense of self-worth for young people, I think it does matter that they get the message that the cool heroes are generally white. They get the message.

From the article:

Cosplaying in and of itself can be stressful enough; I’ve definitely had convention days when I did not feel confident enough for tight spandex. But for non-white fans, the additional pressure felt when not playing a character of the same ethnicity can add an unspoken anxiety to the experience. It often feels like a white cosplayer can not only dress as their favorite characters of color but also do so in the most offensive way  without comment. But when a non-white cosplayer colors outside the lines in the same way, there’s a risk of getting an awkward look because–instead of seeing the costume–no matter how perfect it might be, others see the color of your skin and you can see the confusion in their eyes: Why is a black girl dressed as Zatanna?

Worse are the ones who aren’t confused, but then think they’re being inoffensively clever. You know there probably weren’t many Black USO Girls in the 1940s, right?” Or, my personal favorite, “Wonder Woman? I thought you would’ve done Nubia.

I know it is not an intended ethnic slight by the creators of these comics, since most were created years ago and they are created by people who largely have the same skin tone as the characters. Not surprising. The hard part is that even when the few minorities in the field create minority heroes, few are going to make it to the popularity level of a Spiderman or Superman, because we also can see most whites also gravitate towards heroes that look like them, that they can fantasize and role play about being. So I’m not casting blame here. Just noting that it is a problem that really does exist unfortunately and I do hope that in time there will be more Hispanic or black, or Asian-American heroes created and that become mainstream. And in the meantime, I hope people can feel free to role play as any hero they choose to be. After all, it is all fantasy anyway.

The writer of the article made an interesting point though:

Of course, the half the beauty of white privilege in fandom is never seeing or thinking of yourself rendered as unrealistic in a space that’s supposed to be unrealistic and fantastical to begin with. So what’s to change, right?

Here is the full article.

Mixed People Monday – Maggie Q

She can kick some butt.

The star of the television series, Nikita, Maggie Denise Quigley, who goes by Maggie Q, was born to a Polish-Irish American father and a Vietnamese mother.

Latinas Come In Various Shades

Zoe Yadira Saldaña Nazario, known as Zoe Saldana, is Dominican and Puerto Rican.

The Hollywood Reporter did a piece on the hottest young Latinos in Hollywood and it was very good to see that they, like Latina magazine, are very good at, recognizing that Latino and Hispanic also includes Black Hispanic people. On their list were of course two of my favorite’s Rosario Dawson and Zoe Saldana.

Kudos Hollywood Reporter.

Here is the article.

Mixed People Monday – Enrique Iglesias

Followed his father’s footsteps.

The popular singer has a Filipina mother and is the son of Spanish singer Julio Iglesias.

Mixed People Are Indeed Going To Become The Norm

An ever growing wave.

I read a very interesting article this morning, that I do believe is correct on where we are going if all the intermingling of ethnicities continues at the rate it is going. Which I do believe it will, if not speed up. And I know this is still what scares so many who still believe in “racial purity” which doesn’t really exist anyway. Here is what University of Delaware evolutionary biologist John McDonald said in the article when talking about what to expect over time as more and more people mix:

Most of the traits that we think of as distinguishing different groups (hair color, skin color, hair curliness, facial features, eye shape) are controlled by multiple genes, so they don’t follow a simple dominant/recessive pattern,” McDonald explained. “In those cases, blending will make people look more similar over time.”

It’s not straightforward to predict how blending of genes affects physical appearances, but McDonald said the tendency is for such traits to average out. The average American skin and hair color will probably darken slightly, and there will be fewer people with very dark or very pale skin and hair.

The genetic mixing under way in the United States is also happening to a greater or lesser degree in other parts of the world, the researchers said. In some places, unique physical traits tailored to the habitat still confer an evolutionary advantage and thus might not bow out so easily; in other places, immigration happens much more slowly than it does elsewhere. According to Stearns, perfect homogenization of the human race will probably never occur, but in general, Earth is becoming more and more of a melting pot.

A population forged from the long-term mixing of Africans, Native Americans and Europeans serves as an archetype for the future of humanity, Stearns said: A few centuries from now, we’re all going to look like Brazilians.

How very interesting.

Here is a link to the whole article.

Mixed People Monday ~ Cheryl Burke

A favorite on “Dancing With The Stars.”

The professional dancer on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars has a father who is of Russian/Irish descent and a Filipina mother.

AT&T Commercial Joins List of Companies Unafraid To Cast Mixed Couples

Well, TV seems to be on a roll with its use of mixed couples in ordinary ways, which as I have said before, is great, in that they are cast as a normal couple without regard to skin color or ethnicity, which is how it should be and is reflective of what is going on increasingly in our society.

Kudos to AT&T for this one.

Mixed People Monday – Kristen Kreuk

A multicultural actress.

Canadian actress Kristen Kreuk is half Chinese and half Dutch.

Kudos To JC Penny For Showing Mixed Couple In Commercial

Some of you know I give kudos to movie and TV shows and commercials that are brave enough to show Mixed couples in an ordinary light, treating them as just another couple. Well the latest is JC Penny (or as their new branding calls them, JCP). Their latest spot, which is getting a lot of play, is a fun and colorful spot about back to school shopping. Smack dab in the middle of the video is some mixed couple flirting in a laundromat Check out the video below:

Kudos JCP.