Our True Colors: Mixed Race Voices and Other Stories of Belonging

MESSAGE ME HERE! Dr. Shawna Gann and her co-host, Marcel De Jonghe, sit down with Dr. Natalie Hart — speaker, consultant, and educator — for a warm, funny, and honest talk about growing up between cultures. Identifying as Afro-Latina and Latin Caribbean, Natalie shares how she moved past the pressure to prove she's "enough" for every community and learned to carry her full identity...

MESSAGE ME HERE! What does it mean to reconnect with your ancestry when the journey doesn't come with a roadmap? In this episode of *Our True Colors*, Dr. Shawna Gann sits down with storyteller, community organizer, and anti oppression facilitator Jamison Schulz-Franco for a thoughtful conversation about identity, belonging, and the courage to remain curious. Together, they explore what it me...

MESSAGE ME HERE! What does it mean to have civil courage? And what happens when you refuse to forget? In this special episode, Shawna talks with her friend of 35 years, Professor Dr. Mirjam Rein, about an extraordinary project that began with a simple classroom conversation. Students from HTL Mössingerstraße , a technical school in Klagenfurt, Carinthia in the south of Austria, spent months interv...

MESSAGE ME HERE! In this episode of Our True Colors , Dr. Shawna Gann and Season 6 cohost Marcel DeJonghe sit down with Teressa Plammoottil, a first generation Indian American whose story explores identity, racial ambiguity, religion, family dynamics, and the complicated search for community. Raised in a traditional South Indian Catholic household and shaped by both life in India and the United St...

MESSAGE ME HERE! Five years after his first appearance on the show , Joshua Grant returns for a deeply layered conversation with Dr. Shawna Gann about transitional justice, systemic inequity, activism, media manipulation, and what it means to be human in a time of fractured realities. Together, they unpack how movements born in moments of collective trauma continue shaping communities today, from...

MESSAGE ME HERE! What does it mean to live in between? In this episode of Our True Colors , Dr. Shawna Gann sits down with scholar and thought leader Dr. Marc Johnston-Guerrero for a powerful conversation about liminal identity, multiracial experiences, and the systems that shape how we are seen and understood. From his personal journey navigating identity through something as intimate as his name...

MESSAGE ME HERE! What if something as simple as vitamin D could unlock deeper conversations about health equity, research gaps, and advocacy? In this powerful episode, Dr. Shawna Gann and Season 6 cohost, Marcel DeJonghe, are joined by Lauryn Walker, a patient recruitment associate in clinical research, who is passionate about translating science into real world impact. Together, they explore the...

MESSAGE ME HERE! What does it really mean to belong when your identity doesn’t fit neatly into one box? In this powerful and deeply human conversation, Dr. Shawna Gann and cohost, Marcel DeJonghe, chat with somatic psychotherapist, coach, and educator Raina LaGrand to explore the layered realities of mixed race identity. Together, they unpack the tension between fitting in and truly belonging, the...

MESSAGE ME HERE! Content note: This episode includes strong language and explores childhood abuse, sexual abuse, and the lasting impact of trauma on identity and self worth. In this powerful and layered conversation, Dr. Shawna Gann and co-host, Marcel De Jonghe sit down with Tara Moore, intuitive coach, empath, energy healer, host of the Rooted & Rising podcast , and founder of Soul’d Spaces...

MESSAGE ME HERE! In this episode of Our True Colors , Dr. Shawna Gann sits down with returning guest Ashnie Butler for a rich conversation about identity, belonging, and the power of asking better questions. Together with Marcel De Jonghe, they explore what happens when curiosity crosses the line into assumption, why certain questions about race and ethnicity can feel intrusive, and how mindful in...

MESSAGE ME HERE! Dr. Shawna Gann travels from Washington, DC to UCLA for the 2026 Critical Mixed Race Studies Association (CMRSA) Conference, themed Critical Healing. Before the first keynote, a grounding experience at the Fowler Museum’s Fire and Kinship exhibit reframes the weekend through an unexpected through line: fire as renewal, not destruction. Across two workshops (Resonant Voices and Fau...

MESSAGE ME HERE! What would people assume about you if they could only hear your voice? In this expansive and thought provoking episode, Dr. Shawna Gann and Marcel sit down with global cultural commentator Joy DuVivre to explore identity across borders, histories and lived experience. Born in Romania to a Romanian Romani mother and an Angolan father, and raised primarily in Angola, Joy brings a de...

MESSAGE ME HERE! Host Dr. Shawna Gann and co-host Marcel welcome their first guest of the season in this powerful conversation of Our True Colors .  They are joined by the founder of Lonewolf District Ali Blair Caplan , known as " AB" . In this discussion, they explore what it means to live between identities and still claim a sense of belonging. AB shares her lived experience as a birac...

MESSAGE ME HERE! Season 6 is here—and we’re starting with a Meet the Co-Host episode. Shawna welcomes back Marcel De Jonghe (joining from Birmingham, UK) for a warm, funny, and deeply reflective conversation about what it means to live in complexity. Marcel shares why being mixed isn’t a neat “half-and-half” story. It’s more like ingredients baked into something entirely new. Together, Shawna and...

MESSAGE ME HERE! Welcome to Our True Colors. This brief introduction gives you the full picture of what the show is about, who I am, and what you can expect in every season. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why I started this podcast and what “racial riddle, ethnic enigma, and cultural conundrum” really mean. How different co-hosts join me each season — and why that rotating perspective matters. The...

MESSAGE ME HERE! If you’re new here, this short trailer will give you a taste of Our True Colors. You’ll hear how the show explores identity, belonging, and life in the in-between spaces. Subscribe now and then check out the full Start Here episode for a deeper dive into what we’re about. If this is your first time with OTC, check out  EPISODE 1: START HERE for more background on the show. Don&apo...

MESSAGE ME HERE! For the first time, I’m joined by my full family—my husband Chad and our kids, Christian and Ariana—in a double-length finale to close out Season 5 of Our True Colors. We get into it all: Identity, hair, and insecurities What people assume about us as a couple Family culture, music, and travel How our kids make sense of their biracial identity What it really means to belong It’s f...

MESSAGE ME HERE! In this rich and vulnerable episode, Dr. Shawna Gann welcomes Belgian-French author, historian, and researcher Victoria Kabeya to discuss the complexities of multigenerationally mixed identity. From the trauma of slavery to the politics of racial categorization, Victoria shares personal stories, global insights, and the intellectual foundations behind her groundbreaking books . To...

MESSAGE ME HERE! This week, Dr. Shawna Gann—joined by her co-host Kat—welcomes Dr. Geoffrey Greif and Victoria Stubbs, LCSW-C , for a thoughtful and timely conversation about interracial and interethnic relationships, raising mixed-race children, and navigating identity across lines of race, culture, and experience. The discussion is rooted in research and real-world insight from their forthcoming...

MESSAGE ME HERE! In this episode of Our True Colors, Shawna is joined by co-host Rachel Sadler and special guest Ian Gibbs-Hall —a DEI advocate, thought leader, and creator of Curiosity Architecture . With over a decade of experience creating inclusive environments, Ian offers a fresh framework that invites us to move beyond checkboxes and binaries and into deeper, more curious ways of seeing one...

MESSAGE ME HERE! In this powerful episode of Our True Colors, Dr. Shawna Gann is joined by Cindy Ogasawara and Kara De Maine , leaders in the Resounding Love Interfaith Gospel Choir —a multiracial, interfaith, LGBTQ+ embracing choir grounded in African American musical traditions and active anti-racism practice. Together, they explore: The complexities of racial identity, especially for those with...

MESSAGE ME HERE! In this episode of Our True Colors , Dr. Shawna Gann is joined by Hallie Pritchett — a public health leader, facilitator, and equity strategist — for a deeply personal and wide-ranging conversation about identity, belonging, and the challenges of showing up fully at work. Hallie reflects on growing up mixed-race in the Pacific Northwest, parenting a child who's already naviga...

MESSAGE ME HERE! In this episode, Shawna sits down with Londell Jackson —educator, strategist, and author of Between the Opposites —for a powerful conversation about the complexities of identity. From growing up mixed-race in Denver to navigating masculinity as a same-gender-loving Black and Latino man, Londell shares his deeply personal journey of self-discovery, cultural belonging, and emotional...

MESSAGE ME HERE! In this rich and candid episode of Our True Colors, Shawna is joined by Rachel, returning co-host and fellow deep thinker and wonderful guest Annemarie Shrouder , international speaker, facilitator, and bestselling author of Being Brown in a Black and White World . Together, they explore what it means to hold a “both/and” identity—especially as mixed-race or multiracial individual...

MESSAGE ME HERE! In this powerful conversation, Dr. Kalya Castillo —a Black and Japanese psychologist and trauma-informed therapist —joins Shawna to explore identity, racial ambiguity, and the lived experiences of multiracial individuals. Together, they unpack what it means to grow up without cultural mirrors, the coded messages around hair and professionalism, and how mixed-race identity can shap...