Organizers of Multiracial Heritage Week have planned events for Parents Weekend that aim to bring together families from diverse backgrounds and explore issues of identity for multiracial students.
Now in its 10th year, the heritage week, which will continue until Tuesday, features discussions, panels, potlucks and performances exploring the many different experiences of multiracial groups. The theme of the week is "Multiplied By Love: Exploring Identity in Multiracial Families and Community." The week is the first in a series of 11 cultural weeks and months sponsored by the Third World Center.
Sage Morgan-Hubbard '05, one of two TWC student programmers in charge of organizing Multiracial Heritage Week, said this year's theme focuses on "how you can build communities when you are made up of so many different parts."
"Traditionally (Multiracial Heritage Week) has coincided with Parents Weekend. ... Multiracial parents get a chance to talk to each other and meet each other," said Associate Dean of the College and Director of the TWC Karen McLaurin-Chesson '73.
Friday's events include a Hapa Forum, co-sponsored by the Hapa Club, an organization for students of half-Asian descent, and "Keep It Movin," a theater performance incorporating dance and poetry. The show is written, directed and performed by Una Osato, a Wesleyan University graduate who is half-Japanese and half-Jewish.
The performance "represents (Osato's) exploration of her own identity and explores the roles others played in forming that identity. It is an intersection between activism, identity and making art," said Julia Grob '05, who is helping to organize the event.
The weekend events are geared more toward families. An adoption panel on Saturday will "bring together the whole family to talk about interracial adoption," Morgan-Hubbard said. Also, a brunch on Sunday will allow parents and students to mingle. Next week's events will focus on specific interracial populations, with a Latino discussion on Monday and a Native American panel on Tuesday.
Organizers said the first half of the week has gone well. Grob said that the interracial dating forum, which was held on Wednesday, is usually the most heated discussion because of the controversial nature of the issues and because "this is one of the only places where people discuss (interracial dating)." Other events included potlucks, speakers and an interracial couples dinner.
According to McLaurin-Chesson, it is beneficial to students to meet other people on campus with multiracial backgrounds and to exchange perspectives on controversial issues.
"It's good for students to know that there are adults on campus with similar backgrounds," she said.
But organizers of the week stressed that the events contain interesting and relevant discussions for students not of multiracial backgrounds.
"Unfortunately, most of the events that go on that are related to the Third World community are attended only by the Third World community ... which I would say is a shame," Grob said.
Grob said the wide variety of formats was chosen to reflect the wide variety of experiences that multiracial groups encounter.
"Our experiences are multiple, and this week very much acknowledges those differences," Grob said.
By creating a safe place to discuss commonalities and differences, organizers of the week hope to get people thinking about interracial issues.
"I think the most important thing is that people leave the events thinking about the issues and continue to think about them throughout their lives," Grub said.
