Mixed Race Studies

Meet Shereen Marisol Meraji, A Latina Journalist Tackling Race & Idendity Through Podcasting

Latina
2016-11-23

Raquel Reichard, Politics & Culture Editor

Hugo Rojo

With Donald Trump, a candidate who ran on racism, xenophobia, sexism, Islamophobia and a disdain for journalists, heading to the White House, reports by and about the communities most impacted by the president-elect’s rhetoric and proposals are ever-important, making Shereen Marisol Meraji a periodista you need to know.

The Cali-based Puerto Rican-Iranian is a journalist reporting on race for NPR’s Code Switch podcast. Each week, Meraji and her team tackle issues of race, ethnicity and identity that are impacting our country as a whole.

The mixed-race mujer, who prides herself on being vocal, opinionated and informed, approaches these topics from her own intersections as a woman, bi-cultural Latina and daughter of a Muslim immigrant father.

Ahead, the Persian-Rican opens up about her work, why she focuses on race and identity, and the need for nuanced and uncomfortable discussions on these topics in the media and at the dinner table…

…Why are issues of race particularly important to you, Shereen the human, rather than Shereen the journalist-podcaster?

For me, the human, I think it’s because of my mixed background. I never felt like I belonged. I realized, Oh my God! Not only is my mixed identity not represented anywhere, but not even my mom’s or dad’s 100 percent identities are represented. I’m not seeing any stories of what I’m interested in, what I do or who I am, and those stories are important. Never having really belonged, being on the margins while observing everything, that’s made me a natural journalist – not quite a part of something, always observing…

Read the entire interview here.

Woman Crush(ing the Patriarchy) Wednesday: Omaris Zunilda Zamora

Latina
2016-05-18

Raquel Reichard, Politics & Culture Editor

Black and Latina/Chicana feminisms are life-affirming for countless women of color, but in both movements, AfroLatinas are left at the periphery, if acknowledged at all. This week’s #WCW Omaris Zunilda Zamora wants to change that.

The Chicago-born, New York-livin’ dominicana is a literary scholar who looks to AfroLatina knowledge producers to help bridge the gap between theory and practice. When she’s not teaching at Brooklyn College or completing her Ph.D. in Afro-Latino Cultural & Literary Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, Zamora is bringing her AfroLatina feminism to the interwebs.

Ahead, learn how this mujer arrived at her AfroLatina feminist thought and how she uses it to crush the anti-Black, xenophobic, classist patriarchy.

Can you tell our readers a little more about your work as a scholar?

As an AfroLatina and Dominican literary scholar, my work looks to bridge the gap between theory and practice by first acknowledging AfroLatina women as knowledge producers. Our knowledge is informed through our bodies and the relationships that we have with ourselves and other women in our communities. The idea is that our bodies as Black women take up space in a very particular way. Furthermore, I look at the narratives and stories by transnational Dominican women to further understand how the African diaspora can expand how we think about blackness, gender and sexuality…

Read the entire article here.

EXCLUSIVE: Meet Hip-Hop’s Next Big Thing Nitty Scott, MC

Latina
2015-02-13

Raquel Reichard

If you’re a hip-hop fan, you may already be familiar with the genre’s latest heavy hitter: Nitty Scott, MC.

This year alone the half-Puerto Rican, half-African American artist has been called the next big MC and a woman you should know. And when Nitty’s not creating new music, working on a video project for her mixtape The Art of Chill, or preparing for her NBA All-Star Weekend performance, where she’ll be opening for Drake, she’s emailing fans about mental health and bringing up issues of sexism, sexuality and sexual orientation during interviews with New York’s Hot 97.

This is a lot for any artist, but especially for a 24-year-old working without a manager or record label support. Somehow, the Michigan-born, Orlando-raised and Brooklyn resident is doing it (and killin’ it!), making her an inspirational Latina and all-around badass.

Take a read and find out for yourself:…

…What do you hope your music can accomplish?

On an individual level, I want what most artists want: to find themselves through their art, express themselves uninhibitedly and be able to make a living off of that as well. Once the music takes me where it needs to, I want to break into more philanthropic, humanitarian efforts. Music is the medium and the vessel that will carry me to the level of influence I need to make the world better, as cliché as it sounds. In the scope of my culture, I want it to bring light to the experiences of Afro-Latina women growing up in this generation, really be one of the people who help fill a void and represent us honestly and with nuance…

Read the entire interview here.