Multiracial Americans Of Southern California
PROGRAMS
Youth/Teen Program
Kids’ Playdates, Teen Talks, Teen Internship, Youth Artist Showcase, Multiracial Santa Event, Loving Day and Community Collaborations that support Youths/Teens Kids’ Playdates - Organize playdates for children in pre-k and elementary school - These playdates offer a space for multiracial children and families to connect Teen Talks - Hold safe spaces for teens to talk about, process, and affirm their multiracial and multicultural identity, the surrounding world and how to navigate it in a way that feels healthy and authentic - Present talks and hold discussions for teens on various topics such as intersectionality, racism, interpersonal relationships, family dynamics, authenticity, code switching, beauty standards, objectification and much more. - These discussions deepen understanding where questions are asked and viewpoints are shared Youth Artist Showcase - Coordinate show for 20 youths showcasing film, music, singing, visual arts, dance, and poetry. - Youths explore their identity through their art and share their story with the audience Teen Internship - Since 2020, MASC has sponsored a year-long internship for teens. - Interns learn leadership skills, learn how to engage with the community and other organizations - Interns work with mentors on creating and presenting Teen Talks, including researching complex topics, marketing events and facilitating discussions Loving Day - MASC celebrates Loving Day, June 12th, to commemorate the landmark 1967 Supreme Court decision in Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage, paving the way for multiracial families. - MASC sponsors a variety of Loving Day events such as: - Teen Talks on Growing Up Mixed - Loving Day Celebrations with speakers, artists and community dialogues. Multiracial Santa Event - MASC’s annual Multicultural Santa Event is a joyful, inclusive celebration that centers representation and cultural pride during the holiday season. - The event reimagines Santa Claus through a multicultural lens, offering families the opportunity to meet Santas of diverse racial and cultural backgrounds—including Black, Asian, Latino and multiracial Santas—creating powerful moments of visibility and validation for children who rarely see themselves reflected in traditional holiday imagery. - More than just photos, this event provides play, cultural storytelling, music, food and immersive, creative arts experiences for children. - Caregivers and parents also find support and community through resource-sharing and connection with MASC’s broader network. Community Collaborations to serve Youth OC Girls Scouts - MASC helped create the program for the Allies to All Patch - MASC held workshops for the Girl Scouts to earn the Allies to All Patch Groundswell - MASC holds workshops at the Walk in My Shoes Youth Conference - MASC presents talks to Groundswell’s teen Ambassadors and summer leadership participants. Arvida Book Co. - Open Mics for Loving Day where people share their stories, poetry, and life experiences - MASC hosts a variety of events with Arvida Book Co., including the Young Artist Showcase The OC Book Fair - MASC holds community talks and uses literature/poetry to process emotions and multiracial/multicultural identity
We have had many youths/teens tell us how much MASC has made a difference to them in affirming their multiracial identity leading to a more positive, healthy outlook of their mixed heritage. Holding space for mixed race teens and their families is about providing a space to process feelings and thoughts that are often not discussed in families or in society at large. It is healthy to be able to name feelings and express thoughts. It is helpful to be validated, feel a sense of belonging, feel understood, obtain resources and learn healthier ways of coping. There is a need in our community to process our feelings, our specific experiences and find ways to make sense of them. It can be an isolating experience to be mixed race. MASC provides important support for the community. Instead of encouraging people to choose one side, we are a community that is saying it is okay to be your full authentic, whole self. Our events are welcoming where multiracial youth/teens and families feel seen, supported and celebrated, significantly increasing and deepening long-term community connection and impact.
Testimonials:
“Through participating in this unique internship, I’ve seen the value and validation of having a mixed-race identity. Being mixed isn’t something as simple as having two different cultures, it’s something that comes from within. Societal perceptions tend to put multiracial people in a box and perceive them as what they look like rather than what they are. Aligning with MASC’s mission has not only helped me discover my own identity but allowed me to fight stigma and lack of awareness for others too. MASC has provided me with an environment where I can celebrate and express every part of myself, and I’m proud to contribute to its mission.”
– Paige, MASC Teen Intern
"[T]he Young Artist Showcase immersed me in a vibrant tapestry of voices, dreams, and shared truths. Themes of heritage, resilience, and joy echoed my [African American] story and my community’s—those performances bridged generations and cultures, showing art unites us. Funding these platforms is vital. They reclaim narratives, celebrate diverse identities, and heal through creativity. Supporting youth artists isn’t just nurturing talent—it’s affirming their value and fueling expression that empowers us all."
– Yolanda
Speakers Bureau and Education Program
MASC provides speakers on topics of multiracial diversity. - Youth and adult mixed race identity formation - Raising mixed race children - Healthy interracial marriages and relationships - Celebrating Loving Day - Supporting multiracial, multicultural families - Supporting schools, administrators and teachers MASC hosts workshops to facilitate dialogue about the multiracial experience. - Customized presentations - Facilitated discussions - Activities for youth and adults/kids and parents - Workshops for educators centered on mixed race inclusivity and affirming the identity of mixed race students MASC provides consulting and training to promote respectful multiracial perspectives. - Culturally sensitive advertising - Employee relations - Mentor training - Educational workshops that assist with curriculum and programming in schools that help to cultivate a community of belonging, allyship and supports mixed race identity development
People and organizations who have participated in programs related to MASC’s speaker bureau have reported positive feedback.
- Feeling affirmed in one’s multiracial identity
- Improved understanding in relationships
- Finding and building a community with mixed race people is empowering
- Appreciation for a safe space in which to share personal feelings and stories
- Deeper understanding and respect of multiracial perspectives
- Encouraging a stronger sense of belonging by promoting inclusivity of mixed race students in school communities
Testimonial:
“Being mixed is a unique experience in itself … growing up in an extremely monoethnic community I often felt isolated from those around me, and unable to relate to others in my experiences due to not sharing the same monoethnic background as my peers. I didn’t know that these feelings and experiences that I had been navigating throughout my life were normal and a part of the process of being a mixed person, until I was introduced to MASC. It was a shock to find out that there was such a flourishing community of those who were like me that was so close to home in Orange/LA County…[K]nowing I wasn’t alone made me even more confident in my mixed identity, and proud to be myself in both of my wonderful cultures.”
– Tamia, MASC Teen Intern
The Color Conversation
The Color Conversation began in 2015 with the development of open and meaningful conversations about subjects related to race, racial identity and filling out forms for mixed race people. The mission of the Color Conversation is to foster positive identity via discussions that aim to support and advise parents or caregivers on how to talk to their children in order to make a positive difference in relationships. MASC understands the importance for children to have good information early to promote positive lifelong experiences. Therefore, it is our vision to find ways to help children and families navigate difficult situations while discussing strategies to engage one another.
Parents and caregivers appreciate the significant community that the Color Conversation has created; these conversations provide a safe space where people can talk and learn about how to best support their mixed race children by sharing best practices in raising children, bettering intercultural communications, and raising awareness of multiracial and multicultural issues that mixed race families often face. The Color Conversation deepens understanding of the experiences that mixed race children go through and encourages healthy racial identity in children. Our goal is that these conversations help children be their full authentic, whole selves.
Testimonials
Here’s what people are saying about the Color Conversation:
“This conversation around race is timely and critical in shaping awareness and best practices in helping us move forward towards a more just society.” — Sharon
“Simply brilliant and educational.” — Aurora
“We need more conversations like this.” — Chenelle
“Everyone was very open and had passion that made it even more compelling.” — Shannon
Advocacy Program
Multiracial Americans of Southern California (MASC) has been in operation for over 30 years and continually advocates for policies that serve the interests of the multiracial community. - MASC played a key role in crafting and supporting the revisions to Federal policy that allowed marking one or more races on the Census through our co-founding of the Association of Multi-Ethnic Americans (AMEA). - As mixed individuals, our experience is unique from being identified solely as any one background. MASC advocates that mixed race people may identify with any of the races, ethnicities or cultures that are part of their heritage. - MASC collaborates with other organizations to conduct research on the mixed race community which informs policy recommendations on a host of issues - MASC advocates for the adoption of allowing people to mark one or more races on government, medical and school forms that ask for racial/ethnic information. - MASC advocated for revisions to the current Federal standards for the methods of collection of racial and ethnic data. Such revisions have been adopted and will provide a truer representation of the multiracial population and recognize mixed Latino and non-Latino identity. MASC will now work to ensure the new standards continue adoption on schedule while promoting understanding of the new data to be created.
MASC, along with other multiracial organizations, won a key victory for the multiracial community on October 30, 1997, when the Office of Management and Budget of the U.S. Government adopted its recommendations to allow marking one or more races on government forms that ask for racial/ethnic information. From this data we discovered in 2020 that the multiracial population constituted over 10% of the US population. The 2020 Census shows the U.S. “Two or More Races” population at 33.8 million — up from 9 million in 2010, a 276% increase. Estimates prior to this date from organizations such as the Pew Research Center and from US Census Bureau testing suggested the multiracial population was much higher than the 2010 accounting of 2.9% of the US population and they were right. It is interesting to note that while some of the 276% population increase between 2010 and 2020 was due to organic growth (i.e., births and immigration), some is due to the change in methodology from the US Census Bureau. This only reinforces the significance government policy plays in accurately counting the multiracial population.
Mulitracial people are the bridge to many races, ethnicities, cultures, languages, and religions. We at MASC celebrate multiracial identity and community. MASC is proud to be one of the longest-standing organizations in the nation serving and advancing the goals of the multiracial community.
LOMA: Latinos and Latinas of Mixed Ancestry and LOMA Film Festival
WHAT IS LOMA? The LOMA community is made up of: a) Individual(s) that identify as both Latino and non-Latino b) Interracial Latino and non-Latino couples c) Transracially adoptive Latino families d) People raised in nations/cultures that are non-native to their family (third culture kids) within a Latino environment The LOMA Program was created to build community among these people, bring attention to their special needs, and advocate for policies that further their interests. The LOMA Program is a part of Multiracial Americans of Southern California (MASC) and coordinates in a wide range of activities. It has been most successful by finding partnering programs. Examples of recent activities include: · LOMA Film Festival presented by LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes · LOMA Caucus within the Critical Mixed Race Studies (CMRS) conference · Advice and comments to the Working Group on new federal standards to collect racial data · Media appearances such as LAist.com · LOMA artists panel at the Mixed Remixed book and film festival
One of the most exciting outcomes of the LOMA Program is the LOMA Film Festival. The Latinas & Latinos of Mixed Ancestry (LOMA) Film Festival shares stories of people that embody the intersection of Latinos and non-Latinos. Latino culture was built on the interaction between diverse communities from all over the world. This festival shares how this tradition continues creating a new diverse Latino community.
The LOMA Film Festival is proud to be in partnership with MASC and LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, a community hub where people gather to celebrate Latinx culture through transformative exhibitions, music, dance, culinary arts, and multigenerational artmaking and storytelling experiences.
In its 3rd year, the LOMA Film Festival expects hundreds to attend on August 9, 2025. We will be screening independent films of all genres and subjects, bestowing awards, conversing with the filmmakers, and enjoying some delicious food. Filmmakers will be treated to a VIP reception and tokens of appreciation.
In the future, the LOMA Film Festival hopes to expand into Orange County and to provide LOMA programming to its residents.
“Our hope is to inspire the Latinos of Mixed Ancestry community by showcasing our stories on screen, raising awareness of their unique presence, and emphasizing our shared experiences.”— Thomas Lopez, Founder of Latinos of Mixed Ancestry
“Knowing that LOMA represents Latinas and Latinos of “mixed ancestry” has really touched us, since Alessandro [director, Razon de Ser: Luis C. Garza] and I are both of mixed ancestry. The support and acknowledgment of diversity in our community is one to be celebrated.” -Heather Flores, Producer, Radium 88 Productions
CONTACT
Multiracial Americans Of Southern California
PO Box 34305
Los Angeles, California 90034