SUBSCRIBE to the TruJuLo Media Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXdSnytufeukz26ijfVfTig
Brand Your Company Like a Pro!
Reply
Category Archives: One Drop of Love
Tribute to Prince
One Drop of Love pays tribute to the one and only Prince with: June Snow (& Billy), G. Reginald Daniel, Paul Spickard, Nancy Fathi, Michael Prewitt, Alex Regalado, Chandra Crudup and Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni
TRANSCRIPT:
Billy? How do you feel about Prince?
It’s always sad when such a talented person passes away at such a young age. I feel like when we lose an artist of my time, part of my youth is also gone with him and it just makes me sad.
Prince knew how to live. Prince understood his God given talents and he used those to better the world.
His whole life has been about challenging categories and I think he’s really undecipherable in a lot of ways because he’s a lot of different things
He’s an everything bender. He bends race, gender, expectations of putting this opinion with that opinion.
His music is a blend of all these antithetical music styles: pop, rock, funk, black funk and white rock – who would do that?
He understood his own intersectionalities. Which – I don’t think we understand – We understand that people have intersectionalities, but it’s harder for us to understand our own intersectionalities.
I want to be your brother and your sister too. I think I realized early on that he was messing around with this gender ‘thing.’ I did not conform to what I was told I should’ve conformed to, gender-wise, like – I played football. I just remember feeling, “Yeah, f** that. Look at him! And we all respect him. Why can’t we just…” it’s along the race lines too.
I will define what race means for me. I will define what being an artist means for me. And he wasn’t afraid of that and he allowed himself to be Prince.
The world has lost a lot but I think right now he’s bending life and death. Everybody is talking about him in the present tense, even though he died.
My father, he grew up listening to Prince a lot, so therefore I had a little relationship too. It’s just shocking to see that he died.
He was so known over such a long period of time and by so many people, that that’s going to be a loss that’s going to be really hard to come to terms with. And it was so unexpected on top of it.
Yeah, I heard on the radio about Prince and my heart just sank. And I had this emotion and I was kind of in shock, like “What?” I don’t even know any Prince songs. But I know who he is and I know how important he is to people. And it just really made me really feel it.
Purple Rain came out, and I was like, “What? This little guy” (laughs and gestures). We always did the dance “I knew a girl named Nikki I guess you can say she was a sex fiend…” (laughter)
I connect Prince with first love. That’s what it is and it’s like, “Oh my God.”
Prince was a big influence on music and in general. He had his own style. He changed up the game and brought a lot of people to do what he does.
“I would die for you.” It’s been a while.
“I would die for you.” Ah! I did it (laughter)
“I would die for you.” (laughter)
It’s weird, I was thinking I would say, “Do you have any idea how much you influenced people?” And the best thing about him is, YES HE DOES KNOW THAT! I think he was fully aware of his influence on people and had this amazing confidence that was why he could say and do everything he said and did.
Thank you for the talent. For sharing your soul.
Thanks for the music. Thanks for the memories. You’ve given so much to the industry. To Black Artists. To women. Gosh, I’d hug him. (laughter) And wouldn’t let him go.
One Drop of Love Q&A: Presidential “Mixedness”
TRANSCRIPT:
TANYA: I have a question in terms of the understanding of what being “biracial” is. And now that it is “presidential” (laughs) and people in this country see a person in power who is of mixed race, what have you seen in terms of the different concept of what being biracial is now compared to when you were growing up, and people not really knowing what “mixed” meant?
FANSHEN: I have to say I’ve kind of come full circle. So you saw some of my identity search and conclusions growing up, and then for a while I was very involved in the mixed community, and proud of being mixed, and I started to see that there was this issue of privilege in that community too, that wasn’t being recognized, and it’s problematic.
One of the things we would do a lot is complain about being asked “What are you?” well, the truth is, that’s a privilege. Because when someone asks you that, they want to be relieved by finding out that you’ve got some white in you, right? And they want to determine where they’re going to put you on a hierarchy. And so I’m more careful about what being mixed means.
Some people that I work with, we have a non-profit called Mixed Roots Stories, and we want to encourage the personal narratives, but within a critical framework. So: understanding history, understanding privilege, understanding that this is all part of an evolutionary process and that if we’re not about doing some good, dismantling of some racism, then that’s not cool. And President Obama publicly stated that on the Census he chose African American. That’s how the world treats him. That’s how he’s seen, and he’s proud of it. So – the biracial folks, and mixed folks, I’m like, ‘yeah, yeah, cool, but just don’t let that determine that you have decided now that you are exclusive of, or better than.
One Drop of Love is a multimedia one-woman show exploring the intersections of race, class, gender, justice and LOVE.
Please SUBSCRIBE to support our work and to get updates on our channel
Sign up for the One Drop of Love newsletter and see our upcoming appearances: http://bit.ly/1OQHy86
Follow us on twitter: @fanshen @onedropoflove
We’d LOVE your ‘likes’ on facebook too: http://on.fb.me/1NelJz8
Tumblr: http://fanshen.tumblr.com
Bring the show to your school/college/conference/event: http://bit.ly/1GqPG7b
Direction by Carol Banker
Q&A Host Patti Lewis
Camera by Katie Walker http://bit.ly/1FSOtea
Music by Carol Doom
Editing and logo graphics by Alex Regalado http://bit.ly/1Lh73wE in association with SarafinaProductions http://bit.ly/1OkzzQD
The One Drop of Love logo was designed by Zerflin http://zerflin.com/
One Drop of Love Testimonial: Ashley – one story DOES make a difference
TRANSCRIPT:
CHANDRA: One of the best parts about the post-show conversations is when people feel compelled to share their own stories. In this clip, Ashley shares what it’s like for her as a Black female traveling through the Dominican Republic.
ASHLEY: One of the things that really resonated with me was the dynamic with race in other cultures. As a Black individual I’ve had the experience to go live in the Dominican Republic and there’s this racial dynamic between Haitians and Dominicans and oftentimes I was cussed out in four languages, by Haitians – they were telling me I’m denying my Haitian roots. The Dominican family I lived with, they had problems with my braids because those were identified as Haitian. Especially as a Black American you go on these journeys to really figure out who you are because you DO have so many people trying to tell you who you are – or what it means to be Black, or what it means to be this and, you think – well I had the perception that if I go overseas, I’ll be able to connect more, and I’ll be able to just be me, and it won’t have to be about race or how dark I am or how I sound and, just hearing that my experience wasn’t the only experience like that. That it really didn’t matter, like I didn’t find that oneness, that wholeness that I was expecting to find. I found more divisions. And hearing that in the story, it was sad.
Because I’m actually a Youth Pastor at an all-White church (laughs). At an all-White church. I never share that story. I always kind of tread on light water because I always have this feeling that…I know that my being here is a great thing, but it ruffles some feathers as well. And it’s like you never know when you’re put in these environments how you’re supposed to be. What’s uncomfortable? What’s not comfortable enough? What’s too, what’s saying too much? How bold can I be? Our congregation is older, white individuals, it’s a highly conservative church and things that are just uncomfortable? We don’t really do.
PATTI: And that’s the show. Like, if it’s uncomfortable…
ASHLEY: You just gotta deal with it yourself. You’re uncomfortable within yourself because you can’t find any comfort talking about it. But, with this show I appreciate it because you realize how many people have similar stories. Even if it’s just a little part of her story resonates with someone else, you realize that, OK. I’m not uncomfortable by myself. People ARE talking about this. And…one story DOES make a difference. The stories are never the same but the themes are always recurring. It’s human nature.
How I Learned about the One-Drop Rule: Laura
TRANSCRIPT:
FANSHEN: Recently I asked my friends – when was the first time that they heard about the one-drop rule. And their answers were really incredible, so we’re sharing them here and we’d like to hear yours – so send us an email, tweet us, anything and let us know, “When was the first time YOU learned about the one-drop rule?”
LAURA: My name is Laura Black, and the first time I heard about the one-drop rule was in the 7th grade. An English teacher had introduced me to Langston Hughes. I read Simple Takes a Wife written in 1953. And the quote was,
“It’s powerful,” he said. “What?” “That one drop of Negro blood. Because
just one drop of black blood, makes a man colored. One drop? You are a Negro.”
CHANDRA CRUDUP: Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel to keep up with the latest One Drop news and other videos. Do you have ideas for more video content? Tell us what YOU’D like to see. See you next time to share more drops of love. Be sure to tell us by commenting here and on Twitter and Facebook how YOU are spreading drops of love.
Meet Team One Drop: Ben Affleck
TRANSCRIPT:
WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
BEN AFFLECK: My name is Ben Affleck.
WHAT IS YOUR ONE DROP ROLE?
B.A.: I’ve known Fanshen since I was too young to admit, and I’ve been a supporter and a fosterer of her storytelling for a while – particularly around One Drop.
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ONE DROP CHARACTER?
B.A.: The father – because I find it really interesting the complicated relationships we have with our fathers – and fathers with daughters. I have two daughters and it’s been new ground for me. I find that really fascinating because it’s a fraught story and it’s not easy.
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM ONE DROP OF LOVE?
B.A.: The urgency and the need to have difficult conversations – and that most of us, even those of us who consider ourselves to be, like, “Hey, I’m a good person. I think of everyone as the same. I’m liberal and enlightened and so on – we all need to force ourselves into uncomfortable places to have uncomfortable conversations.”
WHAT IS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE CAREER MOMENT?
B.A.: When I got a part in an independent movie called “Dark Side of the Street” [Dark End of the Street] when I was 7 years old.
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
B.A.: The project that I’m currently working on, you see behind you, is a movie called “Live by Night,” and it’s starring me and Zoe Saldana and Sienna Miller and all kinds of awesome actors.
WHO INSPIRES YOU?
B.A.: Fanshen inspires me.
One Drop of Love is a multimedia one-woman show exploring the intersections of race, class and gender – and in search of justice and LOVE. www.onedropoflove.com
Please SUBSCRIBE to support our work and to get updates on our channel
Sign up for the One Drop of Love newsletter and see our upcoming appearances: http://bit.ly/1OQHy86
Follow us on twitter: @fanshen @onedropoflove
We appreciate your ‘likes’ on Facebook too: http://on.fb.me/1NelJz8
Tumblr: http://fanshen.tumblr.com
Get a One Drop t-shirt and support the show: http://bit.ly/1LraNhg
Bring the show to your school/college/conference/event: http://bit.ly/1GqPG7b
One Drop of Love Q&A: Impact on Youth
At what age should you speak to young people about race, class, gender and justice? Diego has the perfect answer.
TRANSCRIPT:
00:00:21,400 –> 00:00:31,779
DIEGO: I think the main thing that comes with
racism is basically a child isn’t
00:00:31,779 –> 00:00:38,550
born a racist or homophobic. It’s
how their community raises them
00:00:38,550 –> 00:00:41,830
that way, and they learned that and
they know nothing but that. So do you try
00:00:41,830 –> 00:00:45,980
to show your shows in these
environments, in these communities to
00:00:45,980 –> 00:00:52,440
try to inform young people or anyone?
FANSHEN: Yeah. Thank you.That’s such a great
00:00:52,440 –> 00:01:02,059
question. What school do you go to? (laughs) DIEGO: LACHSA. FANSHEN: Hey I know LACHSA. That’s at CalState LA!
00:01:02,059 –> 00:01:08,750
We’ll come! Yeah, absolutely. I’m
curious what you all think because people ask me
00:01:08,750 –> 00:01:13,460
what age range, and you see how I
grew up with my Mama Trudy – I could’ve watched
00:01:13,460 –> 00:01:16,900
the show when I was three, you know?
But I know that some of the
00:01:16,900 –> 00:01:20,950
themes are difficult. So what age do you
think would be appropriate for the show?
00:01:20,950 –> 00:01:25,540
DIEGO: I think there’s not really a starting age
to be informed, and I think anyone needs
00:01:25,540 –> 00:01:26,320
to know this stuff.
One Drop of Love is a multimedia one-woman show exploring the intersections of race, class, gender, justice and LOVE.
Please SUBSCRIBE to support our work and to get updates on our channel
Sign up for the One Drop of Love newsletter and see our upcoming appearances: http://bit.ly/1OQHy86
Follow us on twitter: @fanshen @onedropoflove
We’d LOVE your ‘likes’ on facebook too: http://on.fb.me/1NelJz8
Tumblr: http://fanshen.tumblr.com
Get a One Drop t-shirt and support the show: http://bit.ly/1LraNhg
Bring the show to your school/college/conference/event: http://bit.ly/1GqPG7b
For Jan 2015 footage:
Direction by Carol Banker
Q&A Host Patti Lewis
Camera by Katie Walker http://bit.ly/1FSOtea
Music by Carol Doom
Editing and logo graphics by Alex Regalado http://bit.ly/1Lh73wE in association with SarafinaProductions http://bit.ly/1OkzzQD
The One Drop of Love logo was designed by Zerflin http://zerflin.com/
One Drop of Love Testimonial: Ron – Black, Cuban, Mexican #BabyBoyWong
TRANSCRIPT
1
00:00:11,880 –> 00:00:15,940
FANSHEN: So my really good friend Ron Lyles
stuck around after one of the shows to share
2
00:00:15,940 –> 00:00:21,300
this experience he had when he was a baby,
and they misnamed him at the hospital. And
3
00:00:21,300 –> 00:00:28,360
he also shares the time that a distant relative
contacted him with a really, really big surprise.
4
00:00:28,360 –> 00:00:31,779
Check it out and let us know what you think.
5
00:00:31,779 –> 00:00:41,520
MARK: The first couple of hours of my life,
I was born and assumed to be a Chinese baby.
6
00:00:41,520 –> 00:00:49,840
They labeled me ‘Baby Boy Wong.’ As some people
know, African American children are sometimes
7
00:00:49,840 –> 00:00:56,150
born very light and we get our color later
on. But I was switched at birth, and somebody
8
00:00:56,150 –> 00:01:03,000
thought I was Chinese – due to my eye shape
– and they actually gave me to a woman who
9
00:01:03,000 –> 00:01:10,570
was in the room with my mother who was Chinese.
So as a sort of irony, I was born a Chinese
10
00:01:10,570 –> 00:01:17,270
baby. #BabyBoyWong. My mother – they kind
of put it together because there was no Black
11
00:01:17,270 –> 00:01:21,539
baby to replace me with so they said, “Wait
a minute, something’s going wrong” and then
12
00:01:21,539 –> 00:01:26,740
when they tried to find her baby, and couldn’t,
she said “Ok we have to do something about
13
00:01:26,740 –> 00:01:33,340
this.” So they figured it out. But I had the
tag and everything. #BabyBoyWong – a very
14
00:01:33,340 –> 00:01:39,560
interesting irony. And part of Colorism that
followed me through my life. My great grandmother’s
15
00:01:39,560 –> 00:01:45,990
Mexican. My great grandfather’s Cuban, on
my maternal side. On my maternal side my mother
16
00:01:45,990 –> 00:01:54,170
is very brown-skinned but there was White,
Native American, and our family dynamic is
17
00:01:54,170 –> 00:01:59,840
that we just discovered and have embraced
the family of our slaveowners. The actual
18
00:01:59,840 –> 00:02:10,310
people that set my great, great, great grandfather
free with his blessing. And we just came together.
19
00:02:10,310 –> 00:02:18,790
We just found out who they were. One of the
women in the family actually went looking
20
00:02:18,790 –> 00:02:29,260
for us. The slave onwer’s descendants went
looking for us because my great great great
21
00:02:29,260 –> 00:02:34,680
grandfather Patterson was very beloved. And
when he was given his papers and given his
22
00:02:34,680 –> 00:02:41,340
freedom, I guess that respect continued and
so she’s a Historian, she found us – we had
23
00:02:41,340 –> 00:02:46,600
a family reunion this past summer and they
all came and there was a lot of forgiveness
24
00:02:46,600 –> 00:02:52,490
and education. It was beautiful. She has more
of our history than we do. Fanshen challenged
25
00:02:52,490 –> 00:02:57,640
me actually, I would have never thought of
it – to actually go through a process and
26
00:02:57,640 –> 00:03:03,050
found out – but I was a catalyst to bringing
some of the family members together from both
27
00:03:03,050 –> 00:03:09,530
sides of my family for our reunion. We have
a double cousin situation. And so to explore
28
00:03:09,530 –> 00:03:16,250
the racial roots and cultural roots of these
family members – it was a very fun event.
29
00:03:16,250 –> 00:03:24,350
I’d love to chronical it for my daughter.
She’s four. She’s going to have a lot to look
30
00:03:24,350 –> 00:03:29,050
forward to. She’s very biracial, my wife is
biracial and she has all this other stuff
31
00:03:29,050 –> 00:03:39,020
going on. I should say ‘multiracial’ – the
big question too is how do you mix dialogue
32
00:03:39,020 –> 00:03:45,790
about cultures into the conversation and that’s
what I think Fanshen did very well. She talked
33
00:03:45,790 –> 00:03:51,440
about culture. And that’s usually ignored
in the United States because we tend to look
34
00:03:51,440 –> 00:03:57,420
at things as Black and White. And we don’t
really embrace culture like some other places.
35
00:03:57,420 –> 00:04:01,860
So I think that was also another bonus for
what we experienced.
Meet Team One Drop: Dr. Chandra Crudup
TRANSCRIPT:
(Many people talking at once)
What’s your name?
Chandra
What’s your One Drop role?
I am the Production Manager.
What race or races did you choose on the 2010 Census?
Black and White.
Who’s your favorite One Drop character?
Fanshen’s dad’s my favorite character because in the end, he is willing to reconcile and kind of rebuild the relationship over something that maybe he didn’t know was the reason for the mess up; and he was willing to really work on it again –
so I really admire him for that.
What’s your biggest takeaway from One Drop?
One of my favorite takeaways is Mama Trudy’s being in the box – in the chicken box – and I have to remind myself sometimes I put myself in a box; and I need to break out of that box.
What is your most memorable career moment?
I’m still kind of in awe that I got this thing called a PhD last year. So. That’s weird to me (laughs).
What are you currently working on?
Always lots and lots of projects. I’m working on some research and some papers with Dr. Kelly Jackson…I’m working on some Mixed Roots Stories, exciting, fun things…always working on One Drop, so that’s really fun. I’ve got some book ideas in the works, so…lots of fun things!
What’s your favorite storytelling method?
I like to tell stories, in lots of different ways, but dance is
probably my favorite. I think it is underrepresented and underutilized as a storytelling method.
Who inspires you?
Oh! Lots of people. Lots of strong women…mostly…probably a few men in there, but…mostly women. Fanshen, Dr. Kelly Jackson, Jacquie Lawton…lots and lots of women.
(Fanshen) Cool!
Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel to keep up with the latest One Drop news and other videos. Do you have ideas for more video content? Tell us what you’d like to see. We’ll see you next time to share more drops of love. Be sure to tell us by commenting here and on Twitter and Facebook how YOU are spreading drops of love.
One Drop of Love Q&A: Tell Your Own Story
TRANSCRIPT:
MARLEY (audience member): This is a one woman show and it was so, I’m assuming, difficult to produce. Why a one woman show and not an entire group of people?
FANSHEN: Freaking Hollywood. Because, you know, I’ve been out here for a long time and wanted to be an actor and especially when I first got out here my agent would say, “Oh you got an audition,” and I’d have to ask, “Well is it for Black or White?” Because then I’d decide how I’d wear my hair…and I finally was like, “I need to tell my own damn story.” Because nobody else is going to do it for me, nor should they because they can’t – and so that was a big reason for it. If I’m going to tell this story, I’m going to do justice for myself. I’m going to do some self-care and get to play myself.
And I encourage everyone, particularly women, particularly folks whose stories you don’t get to see: write your own damn story. I’m tired of the system. I’m TIRED of the system. And we don’t have to work within it anymore. We have access to so many different…I mean that’s why I was so determined to have women on this shoot. We can DO this. We can do this. So tell your story, Girl! TELL it.