Can the Henry Louis Gates arrest be used to lead a productive dialogue around race? Why did Obama have to apologize for his reaction to the arrest? Is Chris Brown’s apology video too little, too late? And why didn’t Marie Claire include any women of color in its article about non-custodial mothers? Carmen Van Kerckhove, Tami Winfrey Harris, Thea Lim, and L’Heureux Dumi Lewis discuss.

Addicted to Race is broadcast live every Sunday afternoon at 12 pm Eastern. You can listen live on our BlogTalkRadio page and call in by dialing 347-996-3958.

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by Carmen Van Kerckhove

So much for writing one blog post a day! I’ll be back soon though.

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Where you can get arrested for entering your own home, even if you’re one of the most famous professors in town and friends with Oprah:

Police arrived at Gates’s Ware Street home near Harvard Square at 12:44 p.m. to question him. Gates, director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard, had trouble unlocking his door after it became jammed.

He was booked for disorderly conduct after “exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior,” according to a police report. Gates accused the investigating officer of being a racist and told him he had “no idea who he was messing with,” the report said.

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Addicted to Race is New Demographic’s podcast about America’s obsession with race. Here’s a rundown of what you’ll find in this episode:

What does the recent Twitter exchange between actress Kirstie Alley and media assassin Harry Allen tell us about this country’s discourse on race? Is the brouhaha surrounding Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination indicative of anxiety on the part of white males that they are an endangered species? Can dorming with a student of another race turn you less or more racist? And why is DJ Spooky’s “(Re)Birth of a Nation” experiment an epic fail? Carmen Van Kerckhove, Tami Winfrey Harris, and Andrea Plaid discuss.

Addicted to Race is broadcast live every Sunday afternoon at 12 pm Eastern. You can listen live on our BlogTalkRadio page and call in by dialing 347-996-3958.

Click here to never miss an episode by subscribing to us in iTunes
or
click here to play it immediately

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

I was really struck by one part of Anderson Cooper’s interview with President Obama, while touring the slave outpost Cape Coast Castle during his trip to Ghana. When Cooper asked how he explained this place to his daughters, Obama said (emphasis mine):

“You try to explain that people were willing to degrade others because they appeared differently. And you try to get them to engage in the imaginative act of what if they were snatched away from mom and dad, sent to someplace they’ve never seen before.

“But part of what you also do with kids is to get them to imagine themselves on the other side, as being the slave merchant. And that slave merchant might have loved their children and gone to that place of worship right above the dungeon and make sure they’re constantly asking themselves questions about whether they’re treating people fairly and whether they’re examining their own behavior and how it affects others.”

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Before I got pregnant, I always thought that when I had a kid, I’d make them learn Chinese. I’d force them to go to those awful Saturday morning Chinese classes, all that jazz. But now that Sean is here, I don’t feel as strongly about having her know Chinese.

It feels kind of unnatural to speak Cantonese to her – especially since I rarely speak it myself nowadays. My sisters and I converse mainly in English. And most of my Chinese friends are actually Taiwanese, so when we talk it’s mostly them speaking English mixed with Mandarin, and me speaking English back to them, with the occasional Chinese phrase thrown in there (bai qi! sam ba!)

But although I may be abandoning one aspect of Hardass Asian Parenting (a phrase coined by the lovely ladies at DISAGRASIAN – they define it as “Our mothers and fathers, whom we, despite our achievements and senses of familial duty, are usually disappointing”), I do plan on implementing some others.

Like… you can be damn sure Sean will be learning piano. Though unlike my parents, I’ll also encourage her to explore genres of music other than classical. If she wants to learn other instruments, play jazz, rock, whatever, I’m down with that.

And since her dad is a martial arts school owner/instructor, she will obviously have her black belt by like, age 4. Okay, maybe age 5.

I’m also obsessed with Your Baby Can Read. Have you seen those infomercials? A-ma-zing. You’ve got these kids who are just over a year old reading flash cards and crazy stuff like that. Maybe it’s a total scam but hey, they have totally sucked me in and I plan to buy the whole program for Sean in a few more months. » Continue reading “Will I be a hardass Asian parent?”

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

I haven’t done nearly enough writing in the past couple years, so I’m going to try and jumpstart my creative juices by blogging a little bit every day here.

Don’t get too excited yet… Most of it will probably be inane ramblings about poopy diapers and reality TV, but hopefully this will get me back into the habit of writing more regularly. Oh and beware… my potty mouth will be running wild here. Apologies in advance for any unlady-like language.

So a lot of people have been asking me if I feel different now that I’m a parent, and I usually say no. In my head I’m still a sulky teenager, not a grown-up. It’s weird to think I’m someone’s mom. But I’m starting to realize that there are a lot of little changes. For example…

Summer is here, and in NYC, that means hollering season (”yo shaw-TAY!”) is in full effect. I’m usually barely aware of the catcalling, since I always blast music on my earphones to drown out all stuff like that, but the other day I was iPod-less and caught a “Konichiwa!” as I walked by this dude.

Now in pre-Sean days, my first thought would have been, “Ugh I’m not Japanese, you stupid ignorant motherfucker.”

But now that Sean’s here, my first thought was “Ew! I’m someone’s mom. You can’t holler at me! That’s so gross.”

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Addicted to Race is New Demographic’s podcast about America’s obsession with race. Here’s a rundown of what you’ll find in this episode:

This episode is NSFW. Are beauty standards for black women really laxer than for white women, just because big booties are appreciated? What role does race and ethnicity play in burlesque? Why must interracial porn always be so racist? What is it about race play that gets people off? Carmen Van Kerckhove, Tami Winfrey Harris, and Andrea Plaid discuss.

Addicted to Race is broadcast live every Sunday afternoon at 12 pm Eastern. You can listen live on our BlogTalkRadio page and call in by dialing 347-996-3958.

Click here to never miss an episode by subscribing to us in iTunes
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click here to play it immediately

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Hey I just wanted to remind you that today is the last day you can apply to the brand-new program I’m launching called The Racialicious Experience.

The deadline is 5 pm Eastern today. You can request your application here.

Here’s a little bit more information about the program, if you haven’t read about it yet.

I’ve been really inspired by the quarter million people who visit our blog Racialicious each month.

Our readers have told me that the blog is a refuge for them, a place where they can come to feel sane, and that it provides them with something that’s missing in their offline lives: a safe space in which they can have relaxed, authentic, and productive conversations about race. » Continue reading “The clock is ticking!”

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Addicted to Race is New Demographic’s podcast about America’s obsession with race. Here’s a rundown of what you’ll find in this episode:

What do you do when your white supervisor’s child asks you why your skin is brown? Is the New Haven Firefighters Supreme Court case evidence of “reverse racism” against whites? Carmen Van Kerckhove, Latoya Peterson, and Tami Winfrey Harris discuss.

Click here to never miss an episode by subscribing to us in iTunes
or
click here to play it immediately