My Roots, My Canvas: Reclaiming our Stories as a Digital Diaspora

My China Roots

STORY TIME! Come learn from the journeys of diasporic creators to express our multicultural identities with confidence, honesty, and humor.

What experiences have helped you feel connected to (or disconnected from) your roots?How can engaging in digital storytelling deepen your relationships with your family and community?

Celebrate Chinese New Year and Black History Month with a special MCR conversation featuring multicultural creators Ryan Alexander Holmes 何仁安 and Laurence Brahm 龙小龙!From viral TikTok videos to hit TV shows, Ryan and Laurence are crossing borders and disrupting dominant narratives about Chinese-ness with thoughtful, hilarious, and relatable content rooted in their experiences growing up mixed-race among Black and Chinese communities between the U.S. and China.

Diving into their personal journeys, we'll unpack the joys and challenges of:<ul><li>Drawing creative inspiration from your experiences in-between cultures</li></ul><ul><li>Telling your story with authenticity and resilience (especially on social media!)</li></ul><ul><li>Involving your family and friends in the storytelling process</li></ul>

Hosted on Zoom by MCR moderator Chrislyn Choo, the floor will be open for you to ask questions throughout the Q&A.While an event replay will be made available on our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOd6fAQ5LuwHMWVI_lx7t6Hm-5iAXMayZ" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">YouTube channel</a>, we highly encourage you to join and participate in real-time, especially if you are:<ul><li>Interested in bridging cultures and generations through your family's stories</li></ul><ul><li>Exploring your voice and strengths as a diasporic creator</li></ul><ul><li>Experimenting with digital storytelling and/or looking to document your loved ones</li></ul>

Ryan and Laurence are a bunch of characters with wisdom beyond their years to share. We hope you will join our Q&A – it's going to be a blast!

<ul><li>Questions you're facing as you navigate your cultural identity and/or creative process of telling your story</li></ul><ul><li>Stories you feel inspired to tell – we'd love to hear where your curiosity is leading you!</li></ul><ul><li>Invite a family member you'd like to collab with. Or a friend who's exploring their roots as well!</li></ul>

Ryan Alexander Holmes 何仁安 is an actor and content creator based out of Los Angeles, CA. Having garnered a sizable presence on social media (@ryanalexh) by using his platform to embrace his mixed Chinese/African American background through comedic storytelling and poignant writings about his family’s perseverance, Ryan has made it his goal to encourage others of mixed ethnic/cultural backgrounds to fully embrace who they are and to show the world there is unimaginable strength in discovering harmony in multiculturalism.His acting credits include For the People on ABC, Dear White People on Netflix, The Morning Show on AppleTV+ and Back on The Strip, in which he stars alongside Tiffany Haddish, Wesley Snipes and Kevin Hart.

Laurence Carroll Brahm 龙小龙 is a rapper, film director/producer and content creator based in Los Angeles, CA and Beijing, China. Born and raised in the Hutongs of Beijing to a Caucasian American Father and a Chinese Mother, spending much of his upbringing around the African Diplomatic community, Laurence has always found himself in the center of many worlds where cultures clash and unite. Establishing the first ever multi-racial/cultural rap group out of China, titled Unfazed, together with his childhood friends from Sudan and Nigeria, Laurence has dedicated his career to bridging the entertainment industry and worlds of America, China and Africa together. Promoting this vision together with his group, Unfazed has been featured on CGTN, China Daily Newspaper, and has gained a large following across Douyin (痘印) [@UNFAZEDRECORDS], TikTok, and Instagram (@laurencebrahm).Laurence also expresses his multicultural upbringing through the medium of film, writing and directing short films which have gained global recognition in film festivals across the world (Beijing Independent Short Film Awards, Los Angeles Student Film Awards, Abuja International Film Festival, and much more).

Chrislyn Choo 朱琦恩 is an Emmy-winning video producer, writer, and community builder, nurturing curiosity and belonging in who we are. As Community Lead and Multimedia Producer at My China Roots, she builds bridges across cultures and facilitates honest, welcoming spaces to celebrate our mosaic identities. A member of the Asian American Documentary Network and Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Chrislyn documents the full-circle journeys of diaspora families to find "home," as seen in the Netflix film Found (2021). Guided by her ancestral journeys by way of China and Malaysia, she is drawn to capture 只可意会, 不可言传: what can be sensed, yet eludes words.