Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Sing Street: Young, Gifted and Black in Dublin


I love Ireland, everything Irish and being a child of the '80s. So it was with great excitement that I recently went to see a movie that satisfied these interests. Sing Street is set in 1985 Dublin and focuses on a teenager discovering his place in the world and finding first love in the process. In these pursuits, he forms a band with his schoolmates, one of whom is a kid named Ngig, who is black. Although aspects of Ngig's journey would likely diverge in one of the most geographically and culturally isolated places on Earth, where running into a person of color is rare, in other regards, there isn't much difference, as he goes about playing his keyboards in his friends' burgeoning band and traveling down the same emotional road, as has many a teenager throughout the history of modern humanity. Along with the nostalgic music, it made the heart and spirit of this biracial girl leap with joy to know that at least in this darling film,  there is goodness and harmony in this complicated world.

Monday, May 9, 2016

Old Navy, We Salute You!


Well, dear readers, Old Navy, best know for its well-priced fairly cool clothes, has done society proud and put an interracial family in one of their recent ads. Despite protestations from people with archaic mindsets who are apparently against being stylish, saving money, and love and happiness, there's been mostly a positive response, including interracial families rallying on Twitter with their own portraits under the hashtag #LoveWins. Indeed it has and I extend a hearty kudos and an enthusiastic round of applause to Old Navy for joining the burgeoning list of companies showing representation to families such as mine who are an integral part of this beautifully diverse nation.