Building Strong Identity in Mixed-Race Kids

REPLAY! This was such a fantastic conversation with Melody Wollgren, who is biracial Korean. She speaks of growing up trying NOT to be Korean and the emotional dissonance that created.

This interview with Dr. Jenn Noble is FIRE! She is Sri Lankan and African American and she talks about parents helping their mixed-race kids know who they are so that they can claim a seat at MULTIPLE tables. Mixed kids can be secure in who they are, no matter how others perceive them. (This discussion is also hugely informative for transracial adoptive parents.)

Here I speak with Christin Harley, who grew up in a small white town and then married Charlton Harley, who grew up in Rochester's inner city. They came from wildly different worlds but fell in love anyway. Together they built a strong, happy marriage with six children.

This was SUCH a great conversation with Monique and Tom Franz. When Monique, who is African American and grew up in the inner city, and Tom, who is white and grew up in rural Maryland, first got married, they did indeed have a clash of cultures. Now, 33 years later, they enjoy a happy marriage where they appreciate what they each bring to the table. They've formed their own Monique and Tom culture that is happy, respectful and rich.

In this rich interview, Dr. Lucretia Berry talks about the age when kids begin to show racial bias, what parents can do to help their kids to be inclusive and not fearful of those who are "different," and how she has taught her own biracial daughters to be culturally competent.

In this warm conversation, I speak with Rod Green, who grew up in a mostly white suburb and is now raising his kids in the same mostly white suburb. He tells us why he decided to stay and how he and his wife work to ground their kids in their identity.

This is a deep, rich conversation with Lara Provencal Capuano, mother of white biological and Black adopted children. She shares her reasons for adopting her sons and the things that she and her husband have learned along the way to help all of their children thrive.

This was a riveting, incredibly informative conversation with Anastasia, who is biracial (Black and white) and Jay, who is ethnically Chinese and culturally French and Chinese! Hear how they navigated some of their cultural differences to build a happy, strong marriage.

SEASON FINALE: In this last episode of Season 7, I talk to Ally Henny, vice president of The Witness: a Black Christian Collective, and author of I Won't Shut Up: Finding Your Voice When the World Tries to Silence You. We talk about her upbringing in rural Missouri, and her journey finding her voice in the wake of Michael Brown's murder.

Here Jenny Thomas tells her fascinating story of being biracial and transracially adopted. She talks about the racism she experienced from her birth mom, and the racial identity instilled in her by her adoptive mom. Hers is a story strength, overcoming and faith.