ITYC was so thrilled to talk to award-winning journalist and mom of three, Francie Latour on today's podcast. Francie and ITYC had a wonderfully frank discussion about the challenges of being a mixed family in a racially homogeneous community and the tricky business of navigating the racial politics of the U.S. as the child of Haitian immigrants. Francie also discussed her journalistic work covering the stories of missing African-American children for which she won Time Inc.’s Henry Luce Award for Public Service in 2008. Currently, Francie is working on a new blog for Boston.com that spotlights the lives of multiethnic/mixed race people and blogs on both Caramels on Maple Street and Francie Writes. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter! We look forward to having her back on the podcast very soon.
Read Francie's award-winning work:
Without A Trace
A young, photogenic, star teenager goes missing, and the media falls silent
Ebony, May 2011
With her megawatt smile and all-American girl-next-door story, Phylicia Barnes closely mirrors the profile of Natalee Holloway, the Alabama teenager whose 2005 case captured international attention when she disappeared in Aruba. But while Natalee’s story ignited a media firestorm, Phylicia’s disappearance barely registered a blip on network news. Initially, several media outlets declined to tell her story or show her face during prime time.
Ebony, May 2011
With her megawatt smile and all-American girl-next-door story, Phylicia Barnes closely mirrors the profile of Natalee Holloway, the Alabama teenager whose 2005 case captured international attention when she disappeared in Aruba. But while Natalee’s story ignited a media firestorm, Phylicia’s disappearance barely registered a blip on network news. Initially, several media outlets declined to tell her story or show her face during prime time.
On baseball, Boston, and being a black Red Sox fan
Boston Globe, June 12
If my interracial marriage of nine years were a screenplay, it would open on a scene like the one that recently unfolded on our living-room couch, as my husband and I vegged out watching the Red Sox in hi-def. “Look!” I said in the 3rd inning, jumping in my seat. “There’s a black person in the seats at Fenway!” Then Brian, absolutely deadpan and without missing a beat: “That’s computer-generated. Like the ads behind home plate.” And so began another night of banter across America’s race divide.
The Roofer's Song
Tales of blue-collar misadventure in a white-collar world
Boston Globe, Feb. 9
The knee surgery was scheduled for January—that time of year when roofers across New England enter their season of hibernation.In the wild, hibernating brings a slowing of metabolism and breath. In roofing, where pitched heights and exposure to the elements are givens, winter is when my husband Brian’s nail-gun rhythms fall dormant. Time to order new boots and fix busted knees. Time to worry about his best guys jumping to other companies. Time for Brian’s hand-wringing—will there be enough work come spring?—to replace the daily purpose his hands find laying down shingle over shingle.
More information about missing African Americans:
Black and Missing Foundation: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
Tales of blue-collar misadventure in a white-collar world
Boston Globe, Feb. 9
The knee surgery was scheduled for January—that time of year when roofers across New England enter their season of hibernation.In the wild, hibernating brings a slowing of metabolism and breath. In roofing, where pitched heights and exposure to the elements are givens, winter is when my husband Brian’s nail-gun rhythms fall dormant. Time to order new boots and fix busted knees. Time to worry about his best guys jumping to other companies. Time for Brian’s hand-wringing—will there be enough work come spring?—to replace the daily purpose his hands find laying down shingle over shingle.
More information about missing African Americans:
Black and Missing Foundation: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
