A Conversation About Race and Adoption with Kevin Hofmann

Last night I had the pleasure of interviewing Kevin Hofmann about his experiences growing up in a multicultural household. We talked about race, identity, and cultural expectations. It was a great discussion and we really hope you enjoy it as well.

Don’t see the video?

I’m working hard to makes great interviews with interesting people involved with our story. Please let me know what you thought of the interview in the comments, or by emailing dewittn@anasmiracle.com.

By the way, this our 100th post! I don’t know how significant that is, if at all, but either way it’s a milestone. 🙂

Live Tonight: Race and Adoption with Kevin Hofmann

I just wanted to remind everyone that tonight at 7pm EST I will be interviewing Kevin Hofmann about his book and experiences growing up in a mixed race household.

Kevin Hofmann is the biracial son of a white mother and black father. Kevin was immediately placed in a foster home and adopted by a white Lutheran minister, his white wife and their three white children. Rising from these struggles is an inspiring story of a transracial family who grew up and survived in one of the most racially volatile cities in America. Now married with two sons of his own, he hopes to help encourage transracial families by sharing his experiences through humor and naked honesty. You can read more from Kevin at My Mind on Paper, his blog.
We hope you can join us tonight on our Facebook Fan Page. http://bit.ly/AnasMiracleLive

On the Cutting Edge: The Equipment We Are Using, Part 1

With this project, John and I are trying out a number of innovative ideas. Besides open sourcing our thought process, we are looking at filming the documentary with some cutting edge technology. Traditionally, films are made with camcorders specifically designed for video. We are looking at cameras that where designed for still photography.
Photo by v8media

In the past, digital cameras have not been as good as film cameras because of the sensors they use. The sensors in digital cameras are usually smaller than 35mm film and are not as sensitive to light. As the technology has improved, so has the image quality. Now sensors are very close to reproducing film quality and one day could be better.

One feature that journalists and professionals had been asking for was the ability to record video. To satify their best customers, camera manufacturers added the ability to record high definition video. This had an unexpected effect.

Since the cameras had high quality lenses and sensors it was possible to produce professional looking video for a drastically lower price. The combination of lower cost and impressive looking video caught the eye of Hollywood. These cameras are just starting to be used in feature length films.

There are still some drawbacks to using these cameras because the technology is so new. However, there is also a lot of potential. John and I are excited about the possibilities. Stay tuned for part 2 where I’ll be talking about which cameras we are looking at and why.

Start of Something New: Making a Documentary

Sharing Our Story

In 2007 I started this blog with my sister as a way to record our thoughts and help my mother with her book. Over the past three years we’ve posted almost 100 times and talked about everything from adoption to identity. As well as being therapeutic, it’s been a lot of fun.

One of the best parts about sharing our story has been meeting and reconnecting with people who were touched by our words. I’ve heard from people I’ve never met, thanking us for writing about our experiences. I’ve also been reconnected with people from my past.

Reconnecting

One of those people who reached out to reconnect was John Younger. John was my counselor at summer camp in 1990. He still remembers when my little brother Derek came to visit. He says it was striking to see how close Derek and I were despite being so different on the outside. That image has stayed with him for all these years.

John was so moved from reading the blog that he offered to help us tell the story. I have been working with him to improve my writing. He also helped with the lighting and testing the setup for the interview I did with my parents. Over the past few weeks we have been talking seriously about creating a documentary related to some aspect of the story.

Making a Documentary

While I’ve done photography for years, I’ve never made a documentary. John has been explaining the ins and outs of the business. We have been talking about everything from a story line, to equipment, to how we are going to finance it. It has been very interesting and I am learning a lot.

There is still a lot of work to do. We need to figure out what exactly it is going to be about, how we are going to shoot it, and how to finance it. As we work out all the details we will be bring you along for the ride.

Doing Something Different

One of the things we really want to do with this project is include all of you. As this project develops I will be updating this blog about its progress. I’ll be sharing just about all of our ideas and decisions as we make them. This will create a type of production journal that people will be able to follow. Maybe one day it will even become a blueprint that other people can use.

Part of the documentary is going to be a series of interviews with different family members. Just like the interview with my parents, we will be broadcasting over the web so all of you can participate. The idea is not only to share everything, but to allow others to be a part of it. If you have any ideas or suggestions for the project we would love to hear them. This is a new journey and we are very excited to see where it takes us!

How An American Learned to Love the World Cup

Watching the World Cup brings back so many memories of visiting my family and being exposed to new cultures. I was in Central America for the ’98 and ’02 tournaments. Growing up as an American we knew about the World Cup, but experiencing it was something completely different.

In 1998, I was in Panama and every business that you walked into had a game on. The broadcasters were so energetic and would scream GOAL until they ran out of breath, and then do it again. I remember watching the days replays and being blown away with the incredible goals that were scored.

I returned home before the end of the tournament and was shocked to find that the American stations were not showing the games. Thankfully the finals were broadcast, but even then the atmosphere was completely different. I was at Lacrosse camp and watched with all the other American teenagers attending. I felt like we were watching it just because it was the World Cup, not because we loved the game. It would take another four years before I learned how to really watch a soccer game .

In 2002, I was in Costa Rica and they had made it into the World Cup. It seemed like the entire country had World Cup fever. On every conner, street vendors had carts stuffed full of Costa Rican flags, shirts, hats, wrist bands, whistles, horns, and anything else they could print the flag on. That year the Costa Ricans were facing the extremely dangerous Brazil. My sister invited a couple of friends over to watch the game.

The “Ticos” where not favored to win, but you couldn’t tell that from the way they cheered. Every time the ball was on the Brazilian side they screamed at the TV, trying to will the ball into the goal. Brazil went up 3-0 and things didn’t look good. Then out of no where Costa Rica scored two. The country went crazy. You could hear everyone cheering, cars honking in the street and fireworks in the distance. They ended up being eliminated, but seeing how they got so into the game left a lasting impression on me.

Today I have a new appreciation and love for the game. I admire the skill and artistry the world’s best players bring to this tournament. I love the way each country gets so into it. I wish that Americans could experience the game the same way I did. We would be great fans. If we brought the same passion and intensity that we have for American Football to Soccer, we would go far.

Save the Date, June 29th 7pm EST: Discussion on Race and Adoption

A quick update today about our next event.

On Tuesday June 29th, Ana’s Miracle will be hosting a discussion on our Facebook Fan Page about interracial adoption and cultural expectations. We will be talking about growing up in a household of mixed cultures and tackling issues of identity. Joining us will be special guest Kevin Hofmann, author of Growing Up Black in White.

For more details and to RSVP go the our Facebook event or, in case you’re not on Facebook, our Eventbrite event.