On our blogs, we’ve often discussed the way Thanksgiving romanticizes the early history of this country and glosses over the less savory parts (genocide, anyone?).

But then again, there’s also a lot to love about Thanksgiving. It’s a time when families reunite and nourish their bodies with good food. And for many, it’s a time to reflect on the things we are grateful for.

Is there a way to keep the positive aspects of this holiday while steering clear of the feel-good propaganda about Pilgrims and Indians that often comes with it?

One of my friends has managed to do this by skipping Thanksgiving and instead, celebrating a new holiday she calls Maize Day on the Friday after:

Maize Day commemorates the First Nations of the Americas and the central role of corn in these cultures and cuisines. It is observed on the fourth Friday of November, a day on which many citizens in the United States are released from work and thus can be close to friends and family with whom they can celebrate.

How does your family navigate Thanksgiving? Let me know by leaving a comment.

I spent the last four days in Los Angeles attending a workshop about online marketing. As you can probably tell by now, I’m a bit of a geek, and I love learning about new methods to help get my message out to more people.

Unexpectedly, I came away from the workshop thinking a lot about the power of authenticity.

The woman who ran the workshop is someone I don’t really relate to at all. She’s a girly-girl, all pink, sparkles, big blonde hair, and way too much Ricky Martin music. (As a friend of mine quipped, “she’s a total Barbie.”)

But here’s the thing: I had the best time at the workshop! Why? Because I could tell she was totally comfortable in her skin. This was really who she was, and she was unabashed about it. And because of that, it didn’t in any way detract from the information she shared with us. If anything, it actually enhanced her message.

The ability to just be yourself is a lot harder to come by than we might think. And one of the biggest obstacles can be racism. Specifically, racial stereotypes.

I’m not particularly meek, yet at almost every job I’ve held, people have thought of me as a shy and quiet Asian girl. Because of that, I’ve always had to project an exaggerated version of my personality, just to be perceived as normal.

I know so many people who have had to battle racial stereotypes by suppressing their authentic selves: the black man who acts extra-ingratiating so he won’t be seen as threatening, the Latina woman who dresses in baggy clothes so she won’t be pegged as the sexy caliente mami, the black woman who speaks in soft tones so she won’t be labeled as angry.

Not only is it exhausting to do this, it means you’re denying an essential part of who you are. And that’s just one of the many ways in which racism dehumanizes us all.

The American Prospect has a good roundtable with three of its writers discussing the future of race and gender under an Obama presidency.

Adam Serwer makes some really interesting points about affirmative action, including this:

Serwer: Actually, I think Obama’s ascendancy is an argument for affirmative action. Obama was clearly a beneficiary of affirmative action, and all it proves is that the system is effective at elevating people who are good enough to do the job but might not otherwise be considered. I mean you look at Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith in the NFL. Their hirings were the result of an AA program that forced teams to consider black coaches as candidates. The framing of the affirmative action discussion is all wrong: It’s not about “getting back” for slavery; it’s about providing opportunity for perfectly qualified people who might otherwise be overlooked because of race…

The section on the future of the relationship between GOP and Latinos is also good:

Serwer: I think the studies showing changing demographics obscure the fact that most Latinos identify as white. So one of two things will happen: The GOP will continue to marginalize itself with hostility to Latinos, or it will redefine whiteness to include many of them. I’m betting on the latter.

I really enjoyed yesterday’s discussion panel, organized by Diversity Woman magazine. The panelists were spirited and passionate. We talked about everything from the role that women played in this election to the state of diversity in corporate America.

At one point, moderator Chiqui Cartagena asked me if I thought there was enough diversity in front of the cameras when it came to political pundits during this election season. I said that though there was a bit more diversity than in the past, ultimately, most of the faces we saw analyzing the news were still old white dudes.

But then my fellow panelist Paula Madison brought up an excellent point. She said that she was more concerned about diversity among the actual decision-makers who shape the news and hire the anchors, than with the diversity among those in front of the camera. She shared some of the abysmal statistics that demonstrated just how few people of color were in management positions in newsrooms and TV stations all around the country.

It reminded me of a friend of mine, who was one of many producers who worked on CNN’s recent series “Black in America.” She shared with me some of the difficulties she faced in trying to tell the authentic stories she wanted to tell, and how she was met with resistance every step of the way.

It also reminded me of my interview with Don Lemon on CNN about Jesse Jackson’s use of the n-word. Lemon asked me if I thought Jackson “got a pass” for using the word because he was black, and just kept pounding away at the rather remedial question. “Did he get a pass?? Did he get a pass??” It was pretty clear to me that this wasn’t a question that Lemon himself was interested in, but he probably felt pressured to ask it because that’s the way his managers were shaping the story.

Remember: Diversity means nothing without power. It’s all well and good to have people of color in the most publicly visible positions of your organization (news anchors, company spokespeople, etc.) but ultimately those people won’t be able to do the kind of work they want to do unless they are supported by management. And the less diverse the management is, the less in touch they’ll be with issues that concern people of color.

I bought a copy of The New York Times this morning (a big deal for someone with an aversion to physical newspapers) because I want to be able to share this piece of history with my future children. It’s all still feeling slightly surreal to me, like a dream.

I spent most of yesterday feeling frustrated and helpless. After a year of being so emotionally invested in this campaign, using my platform the best way I knew how to make a case for why Obama is the best choice for those of us who are dedicated to fighting racism, blogging and speaking and doing media commentary… After all that, when it came down to the final hours, I couldn’t even vote because I’m not a U.S. citizen.

At the risk of completely screwing up a sports metaphor, it felt as if I’d been training hardcore for a solid year, and then had to sit on the bench for the entirety of the big game.

Andrea and I went to an election night party at Public House and rubbed elbows with a weird mix of nobodies (us), media bigwigs (Jim Nelson from GQ, Harvey Weinstein from Miramax), artsy/literary types (Salman Rushdie, James Lipton), and actors (Josh Lucas, Michael Imperioli, and um… Little J from Gossip Girl?).

I still felt kind of detached from the whole thing. When we left at 10:30, it was pretty clear that it was gonna be a wrap. Obama had won most of the battleground states — even Florida! — but I still couldn’t really wrap my head around it.

As our cab pulled up to Andrea’s place (we live just a few blocks from each other), Serge called me and told me Obama had won, and that people in our largely Caribbean/West Indian neighborhood were going nuts. At first I didn’t understand what he was saying — I didn’t realize he meant that it had been officially called. But then we heard it on the cabbie’s radio, and Andrea and I just sat there in disbelief and amazement.

The minute Andrea left the cab, tears started streaming down my face. As I walked to my building from the cab, I heard loud whoops and hollers all around. One guy in my building leaned out the window and shouted to me, “Obama won!” I looked up, smiled, and shouted back, “I know!” I opened my apartment door and fell into Serge’s arms, sobbing.

We spent the rest of the night watching McCain’s concession speech, and then Obama’s acceptance speech. Just when I composed myself, I lost it again when I saw Jesse Jackson crying. And again when the Obamas were introduced as our new First Family. Michelle’s red and black ombre dress? Gorgeous.

I was struck by how somber Obama was. I guess he knows that he can’t afford to celebrate, and he knows the enormous burden that is now on his shoulders.

I’m glad that he reminded us these problems won’t be quick or easy to solve:

“The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.”

Change really does happen. Amazing.