On being multiracial, adopted by White biological relatives, and reunited with her Black, biological father, with Melissa Swain O'Neill, Ep. 47
Explicit content warning
01/10/16 • 74 min
Ep. 47: Melissa Swain O'Neill has a wonderful life. She is married to a fantastic guy, has great kids, and has a job that she loves as a personal trainer to special populations.
She also has a phenomenally interesting life story. A biracial (Black-White) woman, Melissa was born to a young, unmarried White woman in Oregon. Her biological father, a young, African-American college student was not aware of the circumstances of Melissa's birth.
Melissa was then adopted by her White, maternal, great aunt and uncle and raised on the other side of the country, in Cape May, New Jersey.
Later in life, as she neared the end of her college career, Melissa decided to seek out her biological father, who remained unaware that she was even alive until receiving her letter. They connected and developed a fantastic relationship that enabled Melissa (who remained in contact with her biological mother) to develop a relationship with the African-American side of her family.
Now, as mentioned above, Melissa is married (to a White man), they have two wonderful kids (who are multiracial like Melissa), and she is living happily as a multiracial family mom who loves her work as a fitness trainer for special populations.
Hers is truly an American story.
For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic
To subscribe to the Multiracial Family Man, please click here: MULTIRACIAL FAMILY MAN PODCAST
Intro and Outro Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons - By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Ep. 47: Melissa Swain O'Neill has a wonderful life. She is married to a fantastic guy, has great kids, and has a job that she loves as a personal trainer to special populations.
She also has a phenomenally interesting life story. A biracial (Black-White) woman, Melissa was born to a young, unmarried White woman in Oregon. Her biological father, a young, African-American college student was not aware of the circumstances of Melissa's birth.
Melissa was then adopted by her White, maternal, great aunt and uncle and raised on the other side of the country, in Cape May, New Jersey.
Later in life, as she neared the end of her college career, Melissa decided to seek out her biological father, who remained unaware that she was even alive until receiving her letter. They connected and developed a fantastic relationship that enabled Melissa (who remained in contact with her biological mother) to develop a relationship with the African-American side of her family.
Now, as mentioned above, Melissa is married (to a White man), they have two wonderful kids (who are multiracial like Melissa), and she is living happily as a multiracial family mom who loves her work as a fitness trainer for special populations.
Hers is truly an American story.
For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic
To subscribe to the Multiracial Family Man, please click here: MULTIRACIAL FAMILY MAN PODCAST
Intro and Outro Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons - By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Previous Episode
The multiracial Asian experience in America with novelist Joy Huang Stoffers, Ep. 46
Ep. 46: Joy Huang Stoffers (www.joyhuangstoffers.com) was raised by a Taiwanese mother and a Caucasian father. At the age of six, she wrote, illustrated, and promptly recycled her first short story. She holds a BA in English from Rutgers University and a MA in Creative Writing from Newcastle University. Her debut novel is Whasian, which explores the multiracial Asian in America.
Listen as Joy and Alex discuss her multiracial, Asian experience and her views on the multiracial Asian experience generally.
For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic
To subscribe to the Multiracial Family Man, please click here: MULTIRACIAL FAMILY MAN PODCAST
Intro and Outro Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons - By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Next Episode
Multiracial & working for President Obama, Black & Korean Brad Jenkins talks about working in the White House and now for Funny or Die, Ep. 48
Ep. 48: Brad Jenkins is Black and Korean. His dad is an African-American veteran who served in Viet Nam and, later, met Brad's mother, a Korean national, while stationed in Korea.
But, growing up Black and Korean in an almost all-White town is just a small part of Brad's story.
After attending college at the University of Virginia and working in a law firm and then on Wall Street, Brad found himself in Silicon Valley and then working on the Obama campaign in 2008.
Fast forward a couple of years, and Brad found himself working in the White House for President Obama as the Associate Director of the Office of Public Engagement. In that role, he ultimately played a part in bringing to fruition the now famous Between Two Ferns episode featuring Zach Galifinakis interviewing President Obama, a video which went viral and raised awareness about Obamacare. To see the video, click here: https://youtu.be/UnW3xkHxIEQ
After his tenure in the White House, Brad moved on to Funny or Die (the folks behind the Between Two Ferns video), where he serves as an Executive Producer and Managing Director of Funny or Die's Washington, D.C. office.
When not hard at work, Brad also has moved onto the stage as a public speaker, and recently gave a TEDx talk about his Afro-Asian heritage, and lessons he learned from his dad. To see that talk, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3S__-5-FHQ
All in all, he has a fascinating story, and you don't want to miss it.
For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic
To subscribe to the Multiracial Family Man, please click here: MULTIRACIAL FAMILY MAN PODCAST
Intro and Outro Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons - By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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