The Expressions of Multiraciality was a night of poetry, art and music that celebrated the idea growing up multiracial in America. The performers, artists and the audience were, themselves, from a large array of different ethnicities, proving just how common multiracialty is today. However even with the commonality there is still a stigma attached and there is still judgments made of those who are multiracial. The performers definitely wanted to express that fact and they were able to voice their opinions using many different outlets.
The show opened with a skit that featured UMass Boston student Deanne Ziadie-Nemitz and three other multiracial performers. The skit consisted of a puppet improv show that was meant to help describe the daily ordeals they all go through living as a multiracial person. They talked about having to answer the question “What is your race?” several times on a daily basis and having people look at them and wonder what they are.
There was then a performance by Zadie-Nemitz where she discussed growing up as half-Jamaican and half-Korean. She performed a number of songs, showcasing her fluency in French, English and Patwa. Another performer was half Kenyan and half Caucasian and he performed lyrics to his rap songs as he chanted “No Justice, No Peace, US out of the Middle East.” His performance was extremely motivating as he promised that his music would be very opinionated.
Pete Shungu performed double duty as the host of the event and as a performer who did three of his own spoken word pieces. His poems centered around multiraciality however he spoke about other political issues as well.
Other performers included the wonderful Sofia Snow, which was my personal favorite. She is well known in Boston as a lyrical genius, her poems are jam packed with metaphors and powerful phrases. In one of her poems “Love Note” she uses the phrase “I want to wrestle the Sun so that I have a chance to see you first.” Her words sent chills through everyone’s bones, leaving a lasting impression on anyone in attendance.
Other musicians Adam Payne, Bruce Reese and Ben Moynihan performed their original music in the genres of folk, soul, hip-hop and soft rock. This event had something for everyone.
There was also artwork there from Shawn Chin, Diem Dangers, UMass Boston student Kim Hazeltine, Benjamin Sloat and Kristin Washington-Carroll. The artwork had a variety of colors that expressed multirciality in the form of art.
The event had a huge turnout considering the small area that it was held in. There were seats added to accommodate more people. They expected a small number of people and got a large number, clearly people were excited and interested in attending.
This event, and many other on and off campus events this semester, has proved that with event listings and advertising on websites such as Facebook and MySpace that the numbers of attendees increase. The show was created by Sue Lambe and was a Swirl Arts event. For more information on upcoming Swirl Arts and Swirl Boston and how you get involved you can visit www.swirlboston.org.