more about hapa
As of late, several people have asked me about the word "hapa." Here's a few links and quotes below.

ha•pa (hä’pä) adj. 1. Slang. of mixed racial heritage with partial roots in Asian and/or Pacific Islander ancestry. n. 2. Slang. a person of such ancestry. [der./Hawaiian: hapa haole. (half white)]

MISSION STATEMENT (from the Hapa Project)


The Hapa Project seeks to promote awareness and recognition of the millions of multiracials of Asian/Pacific Islander descent in the U.S; to give voice to multiracial people and previously ignored ethnic groups; to dispel myths of exoticism, hybrid vigor and racial homogeneity; to foster positive identity formation and self-image in multiracial children; and to encourage solidarity and empowerment within the multiracial/Hapa community.


The 2000 U.S. Census marked the first time participants were allowed to check more than one category to identify their ethnicity. For generations of multiracial Americans, the previous lack of this option was ludicrous – how could a person choose one side over another? Despite social disapproval and anti-miscegenation laws still on the books until 1967, interracial unions have been part of this country’s heritage since its beginning. Yet multiraciality is a too-often undisclosed subject, particularly in the entertainment industry and mass media, where ironically, models, actors, newscasters and entertainers of multiracial descent flourish.

Popular culture's focus on racial labeling fosters a climate where being a "closet multiracial" allows entertainers to appeal to multiple demographics and increases their chances of landing various race-dependent roles. Actor Vin Diesel refuses to discuss his ethnicity; singer Mariah Carey only did so under significant media pressure. This same focus on racial labeling promotes an atmosphere where multiracial individuals are encouraged shift their own racial perception. Several Hapa newscasters in Southern California with Anglo surnames have chosen to use their mothers' names professionally, as have many contemporary writers. In both extremes, multiracialilty is ignored in popular culture. Even Tiger Woods is still referred to as a "black golfer" despite his repeated explanations of his multiracial background.

Artist Kip Fulbeck has photographed hundreds of people of all ages for The Hapa Project, the first collection of its kind giving Hapa individuals the chance to tell who they are in their own words and images. All subjects are photographed identically from the collarbone up without jewelry or glasses, suggesting the preliminary opportunity of phenotypic speculation – an everyday public occurrence for multiracial individuals. In an attempt to counter this racial scrutinization, however, is the immediate disclosure of the subject’s ethnicity, listed directly below their image. Furthermore, the individual’s hand-written response to the question “What are you?” empowers the subject to voice their opinion and challenge the common visual perception of the corresponding image. Viewed together, these individual portraits and statements evidence the extreme cultural, social, end ethnic diversity of the multiracial canon. The project will manifest in both a photographic book and traveling exhibition.

The Hapa Project

If you're interested in the multiracial/trans-racial adoption cause, you should check this link out. Plus I know Matt Kelley (President and CEO of Mavin) and he's a pretty cool guy. And there are few pictures of me in their Multiracial Child Resource book and Mavin magazines. No bias here .

Mavin Foundation

It's kinda weird. It's been a couple of years since I explored this avenue of myself. I went through about 20 identity crisis during my time at UW. I remember when I first moved to Seattle, I had clung strongly to my asian side. That's when I started going to this cult (Asian Baptist Student Koinona). Well, okay it wasn't really a cult, but they were pretty damn good at trying to brain wash you. I really got into my asian side which was great but after two and half years I had to stop attending church. They made me feel I like I was such a horrible person with stuff like drinking, having premarital sex, dating someone who was about a decade older than me, skipping church or bible study, etc.

Sometime during my sophomore year I stumbled upon MiXeD at UW which lead me to my exploration of Mavin Foundation. I was incredibly excited to hear that there's a magazine on multiracial backgrounds. I have a vague memory when I was about 10 years old and imagined what it would be like to have a country dedicated to all of us hapa kids. I discovered that Hawaii is as close as it gets. Someday I'll journey over there. Eventually I pretty much accepted that I'm just Mena and I absolutely refuse to have race define me.

Maybe that's why Jaz and I get along so well. We totally understand where each other is coming from. I actually remember her telling me last month that she feels more connected to hapas than Palauans. We both used to get pissed off at the those forms that made you choose a race. For me it was because it always said choose one. BUT I'M NOT JUST ONE RACE. I remember my geometry teacher said pick one that you're a majority of and I told him that won't work either cause I'm 50/50. Then Jaz got pissed because it didn't have Pacific Islanders in their own category. Okay that's my soapbox for the day.