| Volume 2, Issue 1 | March, 1999 |
Table of Contents |
| Welcome Address | Poetry Corner |
| Meetings | Quarterly Highlights |
| Birthday Celebrations | New Books |
| Special Thanks ! | Future Events |
| Camping Trip |
| Welcome Address | |
Dear Friends,
We hope everyone had a happy and healthy Holiday Season. In keeping with this festive time, 4C: Cross Cultural Couples & Children and IRL: InterRacial Life sponsored a wonderful Holiday Party in December, and a family ice skating outing at Mercer County Park in February, both of which were well attended and enjoyed by all. We have more exciting things planned for the next few months, so stay tuned, and we hope to see you at our next meeting.
Sincerely,
Lisa, Kelly, Dave and Willete
| Meetings | |
Guest Speaker: Tanya
Caesar
Date: Saturday,
March 27, 1999
Place: Plainsboro Public Library
Time: 12:30pm to 3:00pm
Several years ago, a student approached Tanya Caesar, a guidance counselor at the Thomas Jefferson Middle School and her father, who had recently died, was black. The girl had inherited thick, black from her father, and her white mother simply did not know how to care for it….
That incident, Ms. Caesar would learn, was typical of the countless societal, social, emotional, and personal issues faced by biracial and multiracial kids, their families and friends. It prompted Ms. Caesar to initiate a workshop for multiracial students and their parents at her school a few years ago. Although she hadn’t conducted the workshop in several years, Ms. Caesar began to see more of the same issues surface in her counseling sessions with students. Thus, she has since revived the program, which she will present to 4C members on Saturday, March 27, 1999 from 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Plainsboro Public Library.
"Teenagers are uncomfortable in their own skin anyway. Sometimes they start wondering, what color is my skin? It's compounded by a society that doesn't know what to do with these kids," Ms. Caesar says. "At that age, they want to belong. They want to be part of something. I've even had kids who are angry at their parents for getting together and producing them, for making a mixed-race kid. Why did (they) have me?" the kids wonder. Their biggest issue is identity. "Sometimes it's not even the child who makes the decision, but the decision is made for them. It used to be that the school secretary looked at the child and decided what the child would be-white or black," Ms. Caesar says. "Other children will want them to choose one race or another - what are you?"
Ms. Caesar can empathize with her students. Her father, born and raised in Harlem, was of mixed race, while her mother was black. Although Ms. Caesar and her family considered themselves African-American, she always was aware that part of her ethnicity was Caucasian, and it influenced not only her features, but also her attitude. "That's kind of why I understand these children's problems," she says. We hope that you can make it out to hear Ms. Caesar speak further on the issue. If possible, Ms. Caesar would like attendees to bring a copy of the book "The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother," by James McBride. For those without a copy, we will provide photocopied excerpts for you to follow along.
Please bring a dish to share (not mandatory).
Childcare is Available!!!!
| Birthday Celebrations (January - March) |
|
James Sackey - January 4th
Helen Mitchem - January 14th
Rosemary Varela - January 27th (Happy Birthday Mom! Love, Lisa)
Nicole Seibel - February 2nd
Janet Brenner - February 23th
If your birthday is in April, May or June, tell us so we can include you in our birthday celebration corner.
| Special Thanks ! |
|
We would like to thank the following individuals/families for their dues payment and contributions. Your prompt response, help and support is greatly appreciated!!!!
Donald and Elsa Blue
Marsha Duhart
Alan and Lela Lawson
Wayne and Ursula Miguel
Albert and Diane Sackey
Nancy Turner
| Camping Trip |
|
Just a reminder if you are interested in a camping trip to High Point State Park, NJ this year (June or July) please contact Dave Seibel at [email protected]
| Poetry Corner |
|
Bill of Rights for Racially
Mixed People
By Marie P. Root
Author of "Racially Mixed People in America"
I HAVE THE RIGHT…….
Not to justify my existence in this world
Not to keep the race separate within me
Not to be responsible for people’s discomfort with my physical ambiguity
Not to justify my ethnic legitimacy
I HAVE THE RIGHT…..
To identify myself differently than strangers expect me to identify
To identify myself differently from how my parents identify me
To identify myself differently from my brothers and sisters
To identify my differently in different situations
I HAVE THE RIGHT…..
To create a vocabulary to communicate about bring multicultural
To change my identity over my lifetime--and more than once
To have loyalties and identification with more than one group of people
To freely choose whom I befriend and love
| Quarterly Highlights |
|
December 1998
The December meeting marked our second annual holiday gathering. The theme of this year’s get together was for members to bring various dishes that represented the type of food their family traditionally enjoys during the holidays. Our members didn’t disappoint a hungry crowd, who consumed just about all of what was originally considered "way too much food." The fixin’s included a 14 lb. turkey, barbecued spare ribs, chicken, ham, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, rice and beans, and more desserts than any one of us really needed. But hey, it was the holidays… Members again tackled an expanded version of the Christmas carol jumble game that proved so popular last year, as well as several "guess how many" contests. Prizes were awarded and everyone had a wonderful time.
January 1999
The topic of our group roundtable discussion was "How do you handle family members who treat you differently because of who you’re married to / involved with?" The topic was particularly timely given for the holiday season, during which time extended family gatherings can be troublesome for some couples in interracial relationships. Indeed, there were plenty of stories to share, and we ended up cutting a lively discussion short when we ran out of time. It was obvious that many members experienced similar problems, though the means in which they handled them varied significantly. But regardless of the issues encountered, it was fairly clear that talking over those problems was both easier to do and more beneficial with other interracial couples, even if just to recount the issues and realize that "it’s not just us…"
February 1999
Last year our winter social get-together was held at the bowling alley. This year, we headed out to the ice rink for some skating. We were blessed with perfect weather for the activities at Mercer County Park, and well over thirty couples, parents and children showed up for a day of skating and pizza. The kids especially enjoyed themselves, and while there were a couple less adventurous souls who chose to just watch, several adults donned skates for either the first time, or the first time in years and years. Many of the more accomplished skaters helped the beginners make their way around the ice, and even the most timid skaters had stopped "hugging the boards" before the day was over.
| New Books |
|
Don’t Erase Me Stories
By Carolyn Ferell
Don’t Erase Me features eight stories focusing on young people, mostly girls, mostly black or biracial, on the verge of being erased from society, but determined to endure. Carolyn Ferrell gives voice to urban teenagers trying to make sense of their lives. Three stories are told from the perspective of a teenaged girl, the child of a white German mother and a black American father. Her stories are poignant, harsh, unvarnished, true and her compassion for these young people redeems them.
Jubilee Journey
By Carolyn Meyer
Emily, 13, has always regarded herself as a double French
American, African American. But until accompanying her mother back home to
Texas, she has never thought hard about the African American side of her history
or the fact of her being biracial not affecting how some people will always see
her. The strengths of this story are it’s settings, family characters, and
highlighting of the oral traditions among African Americans. While I’m not
generally convinced the average biracial child would’ve been so sheltered from
racism, I’m convinced that this particular child was so carefully guarded
growing up.
It’s An Aardvart-Eat-Turtle World
By Paula Danzinger
Rosie’s African American father has remarried an African
American woman. Her white mother has moved in with her white boyfriend. From
Rosie’s point of view, that means neither of them has to continue dealing with
having been members of a mixed race family although she does.
Liliana’s Grandmother
By Leyla Jones
A look at Liliana’s loving relationship with her white American
grandmother, Mima who lives in Liliana’s home town and her grandmother Mama
Gabina who lives in a Spanish-speaking country.
| Future Events |
|
Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey Circus
(NYC) - April
Plainsboro Founder’s Day - May 2nd
Statewide Multicultural Picnic - August
|
This page was last updated on November 18, 1999 |