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Central Standard

Being Biracial-Bridging Two Worlds

Nastassia Davis
/
Flickr -- Creative Commons

According to the US census, the number of people who consider themselves multiracial has grown by 32% over the past decade. Yet America’s troubled racial past and complicated attitudes about race can pose challenges for biracial families and children. Where does a biracial person fit in? What kind of identity crisis can they face? And what should parents think of when raising a biracial child? On the other hand, being from two or more cultures can be a rich and rewarding experience. Guests Sarah Starnes, founding member of the Multiracial Family Circle; Jenee Osterheldt, reporter at the Kansas City Star and Dr. Shawn Alexander, African American Studies professor at KU, help bridge these different worlds.

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Matthew Long-Middleton has been a talk-show producer, community producer, Media Training Manager and now the Community Engagement Manager at KCUR. You can reach him at Matthew@kcur.org, or on Twitter @MLMIndustries.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Susan admits that her “first love” was radio, being an avid listener since childhood. However, she spent much of her career in mental health, healthcare administration, and sports psychology (Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC.) In the meantime, Wilson satisfied her journalistic cravings by doing public speaking, providing “expert” interviews for local television, and being a guest commentator/contributor to KPRS’s morning drive time show and the teen talk show “Generation Rap.”