6th Annual Ray Warren Multicultural Symposium (2009)

For more information about this year’s symposium theme and events, listen to a discussion between keynote speaker Dmae Roberts and symposium director Kimberly Brodkin on Roberts’ KBOO program “Stage and Studio.”

Art Exhibit, Stamm Dining Room, Templeton Campus Center

Showcasing work by L&C students as well as artists from the Portland community and elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, this art exhibit expressed complex issues of hybrid identities of race and ethnicity.

Curated by L&C students Emma Chandler, Anna Keene-Winsor, and Samantha Stein. 

Student Co-Chairs: Parasa Chanramy ’10, and Brenda Salas Neves ’09

Wednesday, November 11

Featured Event

3:30-5:00 pm, Templeton Campus Center, Council Chamber
“Obama and the Biracial Factor: Race, Sexuality, and the Battle for a New America” 
Andrew Jolivétte, educator, writer, and social/cultural critic
Introduced by Brenda Salas Neves, L&C student and symposium co-chair

Andrew Jolivétte is associate professor in American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University.  He is the editor of Cultural Representation in Native America and author of Louisiana Creoles: Cultural Recovery and Mixed-Race Native American Identity.  He is currently working on a book titled Mixed Race Gay Men and HIV: A Community History.  He also serves as board president of the Institute for Democratic Education and Culture/SpeakOut, as well as iPride, an organization for mixed heritage and transracially adopted youth and their families.  Jolivétte holds a PhD in sociology from University of California, Santa Cruz. 

Keynote Lecture
7:00 pm, Templeton Campus Center, Council Chamber
“Secrets of a Mixed Race Child”
Dmae Roberts, independent radio artist and writer
Introduced by Parasa Chanramy, L&C student and symposium co-chair

Dmae Roberts is an independent radio artist and writer who has written and produced more than 400 audio art pieces and documentaries for National Public Radio and Public Radio International.  She has received Peabody awards for the documentary Mei Mei, a Daughter’s Song, which is a harrowing account of her mother’s childhood in Taiwan during WWII, and Crossing East, an eight-hour Asian American history series.  Roberts is also executive producer of MediaRites, a nonprofit organization dedicated to multicultural arts production in radio and educational outreach.  A USA Rockefeller fellow, she is working on her memoir, Lady Buddha and the Temple of Ma.

Thursday, November 12

1:45-3:15 pm, Stamm
Interracial Relationships, Adoption, and Identity
When we think about our personal identities, we often look to our families.  What does it mean to come from a “mixed” family?  What is the impact of intermarriage and transnational adoption on family dynamics?  How does racial or ethnic identity affect interactions with siblings, parents, and other relatives? 

Moderator:  Reiko Hillyer, L&C Visiting Professor of History
Jiannbin Shiao, Associate Professor of Sociology and Ethnic Studies, University of Oregon; “Does Identifying as a Mixed Family Matter? The Case of Korean Adoptees.”
Astrid Dabbeni, co-founder and executive director, Adoption Mosaic
Nicole Cullen, L&C graduate student, Marriage, Couple, and Family Therapy Program, “Addressing Multiracial Identities in Families: The Case of Nicole”
Hanako Conrad, L&C student

3:30-5:00 pm, Stamm
Remix: Identities and Artistic Expression
Art has often been an outlet for communicating ideas about race and ethnicity.  How is “hybridity” expressed and represented through different artistic forms? This panel will explore the ways in which artists, writers, and performers use language, musical styles, and other techniques to express their identities. 

Moderator: Franya Berkman, L&C Assistant Professor of Music
Dmae Roberts, radio artist, writer, actor
Gerardo Calderón and Nelda Reyes:  “Legends of Mexico – Leyendas de Mexico”
Christabel Escarez, L&C student
Nico Jose, L&C student

Keynote Lecture
7:00 pm, Templeton Campus Center, Council Chamber
“The Future of Multiracial Politics”

Kim Williams, Associate Professor of Public Policy,  John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University 

Introduced by Chris Wendt, L&C Assistant Professor of Political Science

Kim Williams, Associate Professor of Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, conducts research and teaches courses focusing on racial politics and immigration policy in the United States.  Her first book, Mark One or More: Civil Rights in Multiracial America, explores the U.S. Census and the racial classification system.  She was also appointed to serve on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Advisory Committee on the African-American Population.  Currently, she is working on her second book, Transition: The Politics of Racial and Ethnic Change in Urban America.  Williams received a PhD in government from Cornell University.

Friday, November 13

1:45-3:15 pm, Stamm
Indigeneity and Cultural Exchange
Many people celebrate racial and ethnic mixing as a way to end discrimination by erasing lines that divide us.  Others view mixing as a potential threat to distinctive cultural traditions and identities.  How does mixing affect those who identify with indigenous groups, and what are the implications for the way the group defines itself? Additionally, how does cultural interaction take place during the mixing process?  How have native groups influenced the dominant culture?  At the same time, how have indigenous groups addressed the threat of appropriation and the possible deterioration of indigenous group identity?

Moderator: Elliott Young, L&C Associate Professor of History and Director of Ethnic Studies
Se-ah-dom Edmo, Coordinator, L&C Indigenous Ways of Knowing Project, “Family, Identity and Indigenous Rights”
Tana Atchley (Modoc/Paiute), Advisor, Student Activities & Leadership Programs, Portland State University, “Descendant”
Muki Hansteen Izora, Intel Research Scientist and Board Member of NGO LivingCultural Storybases, “Nurturing Indigenous Oral Heritage in a Digital World”
Lu’u Nakanelua and Allison Perry, L&C students involved with Hawai’i Club

3:30-5:00 pm, Stamm
Nation-Building and Mixed Populations
This panel looks beyond the United States to explore the idea of “mixing” in other national contexts.  How has mixing developed in different places, and how has that process affected individual identities and notions of nationalism?  To what extent does national identity encompass multiracial and multiethnic individuals?  On a larger scale, how have forces like immigration, colonialism, and globalization contributed to or impeded the formation of hybrid populations? 

Moderator:  Rich Peck, L&C Professor Emeritus of International Affairs
Oren Kosansky, L&C Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Cari Coe, L&C Assistant Professor of International Affairs
Osaebea Amoako, L&C student, Ghana/Zambia/Swaziland
Tim Moore, Director of Adult TCK Services, Interaction International

Featured Event

7:00 pm, Stamm
Race Monologues - Identity:  According to Whom?
Introduced by Parasa Chanramy, L&C student and symposium co-chair

In poetry and prose, Lewis & Clark College students explore their experiences with race, ethnicity, and personal identity.

L&C students Christabel Escarez, Adrian Guerrero, Temesghen Habte, Christina Herring, Jessica Houston, Nico Jose, Yollie Keeton, Rhea Manley, Jasin Nazim,Goldann Salazar, Jared Schy, and Madelyn Troiano.