It's been a while huh?

Honestly I thought I was finished here. Yet I never deleted the blog. Somehow I guess I knew, there's still so much more to be shared.

Lemme just clean up around here a bit. Then we can get back to business!

Have you heard about the 3rd Annual "Capture the Spirit of Ramadan" International Photography Competition (IRPC)? The competition aims to bring people together from around the world in an effort to counter the negative images of Islam often seen in the media. The competition is open to all photographers, regardless of religion, to capture the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan.

The competition strives to open people's minds and hearts to the good in the Islamic faith. Islamophobia is still rampant in America with the media showing images of terrorism and hatred. By showing images of everyday Americans enjoying Ramadan, viewers will get to see inside of the faith that teaches true devotion through restraint and patience. This serves as a unique form of education through images rather than words.

IRPC is eager to (1) recruit professional photographers in America, regardless of religion, to submit entries, and (2) widen the viewership of Americans through their 55,000+ strong social media platforms.

IRPC is a unique international photography competition

• Publishes all online photo entries (that pass the submission criteria for quality and technical expertise, not just selected finalists and winners) daily throughout Ramadan

• Strives to give as much exposure to photographs throughout the year--an incentive for novice photographers

• Hosts an international touring exhibition of the IRPC photography collection (US exhibitions are currently in negotiations with the Arab American National Museum and the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown University).

• Is a non-profit, year-round 100% volunteer initiative

About IRPC

IRPC was founded by Basel Almisshal, a professional photographer, in Ramadan 2011. IRPC has seen massive growth in its first two years, and will have an exhibition at The Museum of Islamic Arts in Malaysia during Ramadan 2014.

IRPC is a unique 30-day visual celebration of Ramadan, which began July 10, 2013. Artists from over 60 countries have shared images to over 3 million viewers in previous years.

To learn more, visit - www.spiritoframadan.org

One Drop of Love is a solo show and documentary film that journey from the U.S. to East & West Africa and from 1790 to the present as a culturally Mixed woman explores the influence of the One Drop Rule on her family and society.

One Drop of Love is back in LA for the Hollywood Fringe Festival, Fridays June 21st and 28th and Sunday June 30th.

The June 30th show is a fundraiser for MASC and a Loving Day celebration.

Tickets are on sale now, here: http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/1349

More info on the show and documentary: www.onedropoflove.org

One Big Hapa Family explores why a Japanese family married interracially and how this reflects the 95% intermarriage rate for Japanese Canadians in Canada.

About the Film

After a family reunion, Japanese-Canadian filmmaker Jeff Chiba Stearns embarks on a journey of self-discovery to find out why everyone in his Japanese-Canadian family married interracially after his grandparents’ generation.

Using a mix of live action and animation, “One Big Hapa Family” explores why 95 percent of Japanese-Canadians--more than any other ethnic group--marry interracially and how their mixed children perceive their unique multiracial identities.

The stories of our generations of a Japanese-Canadian family to come to life through animation by some of Canada’s brightest independent animators, including Louise Johnson, Ben Meinhardt, Todd Ramsay, Kunal Sen, Jonathan Ng, and the filmmaker himself.

“One Big Hapa Family” makes us question: Is interracial mixing the end of multiculturalism as we know it?

To learn more, visit - www.onebighapafamily.com

Choul Chhnam Thmei marks the traditional end of the harvest season when Cambodians gather with friends and family to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Season of Cambodia lights up New York City’s cultural landscape in April and May 2013, with more than 125 artists from Cambodia for a major celebration of Cambodian arts, culture, and humanities.

Distinctive works from master and emerging artists and scholars — in ritual, music, visual arts, performance, dance, shadow puppetry, film, and academic forums — will be presented by 30 of New York’s most renowned arts and educational institutions, marking an unprecedented city-wide partnership initiative to celebrate one of the world’s most vibrant and evocative cultures. Season of Cambodia is an initiative of Cambodian Living Arts.

What: Cambodia Family Day
When: April 21, 2013
Time: 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Where: 725 Park Avenue (at East 70th Street), New York, NY

Learn about Cambodian culture and traditions with music and dance performances, arts and crafts, and New Year games. Part of Season of Cambodia, a festival produced by Cambodian Living Arts.

Part of CelebrASIA NYC (www.celebrasia.org), a collaboration among leading cultural institutions to introduce children to Asian festivals and themes.

To learn more, visit - www.seasonofcambodia.org

The Gathering of Nations, the world's largest gathering of Native American and indigenous people, will celebrate its 30th anniversary in Albuquerque, N.M. between April 25 and 27, 2013.

Considered the most prominent powwow in North America, it will host tens of thousands of people and more than 700 tribes from throughout the United States, Canada, and around the world honoring three decades of Native American culture and traditions.

The three-day event includes more than 3,000 traditional Native American singers and dancers, more than 800 Native American artisans, dozens of indigenous contemporary musicians and performers, and a wide variety of food vendors. A young Native American woman is also crowned Miss Indian World. Native American and indigenous women representing different tribes and traditions compete in the areas of tribal knowledge, dancing ability, and personality assessment.

The Gathering of Nations is celebrating its 30th anniversary with the release of a new book, "30 Years of Gathering: Gathering of Nations Powwow," and the launch of Gathering of Nations Internet Radio on the iHeartRadio network.

The 30th Annual Gathering of Nations begins on April 25 at 7 p.m. at the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel – Albuquerque with the Miss Indian World competition. The powwow kicks off at "The Pit" with the "Grand Entry" at 12 p.m. (noon) on Friday, April 26, and repeated Friday evening at 7 p.m. and on Saturday, at 12 p.m. (noon) and 6 p.m. The new Miss Indian World will be crowned on Saturday evening during the powwow.

Powwow tickets cost $17 per day, $34 for a two day pass, or $50 for a two day pass with VIP seating.

For more information, visit www.gatheringofnations.com

I LOVE being on various social media sites and especially twitter. There's nothing like the fast pace flow of information and sharing of thoughts. Within 140 characters you can share so much. However you can also get into trouble if you're not careful. Once you post something to the public via a tweet then it's there for anyone to see...and comment on.

Seems some people don't understand this.

This week while on my other Twitter account, I saw something and commented on it. A few short tweets later it was implied I was calling people racists. Yup.

So how did it all start?

It started when @ONCEKids received a reply tweet from @LittleLex7 that said "Thank you for showing me Asian kids know how to play the cymbals"

Or something VERY close to this. I can't screen cap the original tweet because it was deleted. But I was able to screen cap the conversation that happened after I replied to that tweet. Good thing I did because soon after accusing me of calling people racist, the tweets were deleted.

Now there's LOTS of things I can say about how this conversation developed. But this post is long as it is. But for my part, things ended on the same day it started. On March 18. Clearly I was dealing with "younger" people who didn't understand the "social" part of social media. What they tweeted was annoying but I went back to my world of tweeting and on with my life

Then I received the tweet on March 19 with the word racist....NOW things were beyond annoying and straight out becoming an issue.

Now I don't normally write rants on my other parenting blog. Or rather, I should say I don't write rants about race issues I face on that blog. No, I keep those rants for here on this blog. There I post about race issues that affect my community and myself as a black women. As a black mother. And as black mother with a half Asian child. Each part of me comes with it's own unique racial issues

But I'm starting to wonder if I should bring more of that element to The Mommy Factor blog. To that online section of my life. Why? Because I think people only see me in one dimension on that blog. They only see the color of my skin and not who I am and what I stand for. I wonder if they did then problems like this might be averted. OF course I might be wrong. But follow my thought for a minute or two.

I'm figuring if people knew that I was an advocate for race issues, especially those involving the Asian community, then they wont be so quick to disregard what I say. Especially when I point out something they said about "Asians" is a bit off color. Then my comment would be valid and taken seriously. Then maybe an open dialogue could be started.

Maybe.

After nearly 20 years of being a mixed race advocate, I know the importance of dialogue. It's important to speak up and say something. It's important to say it's NOT OK to say certain things just based on a person's race. It's important to hold people accountable for their words whether in real life or online.

Sadly this way of thinking many people aren't learning. They feel free online and just tweet out all sorts of things. But when someone holds them accountable they get angry. Why? Because they KNOW what they said was wrong but somehow thought they could get away with it. Hmm

I can't stop people from thinking or tweeting whatever they want. People have free will. Twitter and other social media sites allow free sharing. BUT if I see something in my stream that sounds "off color" then yes I'm pointing it out. That's my social and community role. People need to learn that. And I'll keep showing them.

Have you seen someone say something "off color" on twitter, facebook or any social media sites? Did you reply to them or just let it go?