Jessie X

It don’t matter if you’re black or white.

But it’s better if you’re both, blended, integrated and/or bi-racial. See, I was contacted by a young gal looking to interview people/families of Columbia. It’s easier if I let her use her words:

Let me explain a bit about our project. We are part of a consortium of schools looking at different groups of Americans emerging as growing populations according to the Census. According to the 2000 Census and projections for 2010, mixed-race people are the fastest-growing demographic. But what this group (and their families) share in common is difficult to define.

This is our series hub, and this is a link to last year’s projects to give you a sense. Your interviews would be a video component to a print story about Columbia and about multiracial families in America, which would be posted on our program’s Web site.

For the Columbia story, we want to speak with multiracial families (or individuals, of any age) about what drew them to Columbia and how they feel that Rouse’s vision for creating a diverse and engaged community has changed over the years. We are also asking each family a few set questions about their experiences as a multiracial family, and how they feel the experience has informed their social and political outlook on issues (if at all). The interview should take about 30 minutes. We would prefer to interview people in their homes if possible. We would be looking to speak to up to 5 families or individuals.

Again, I know this is very personal, and we are glad to answer any questions to set minds at ease. It actually is a very fun project, and we are getting many different answers to our questions!

We will be in Columbia this Monday and Tuesday, but we can accommodate any time you have free in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks so much for your help!
Shauna Miller

News21 Fellow
University of Maryland
(301) 314-2694

(301) 661-6672 (cell)