Don't Take The Colors Apart

Summary:

Amerasian Playwright Velina Hasu Houston learned early on to have pride in her identity through her African American father and Japanese mother.

Website:

http://www.public.asu.edu/~dejesus/210entries/velina/VelinaHasuHouston.html

Additional Credits and Funding:

Produced with funding by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Timely on:

May: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Tones:

Intimate, Personal, Sound Rich

Language:

English

Description:

This piece is about cultural identity seen through the life of Playwright Velina Hasu Houston as she travels back to Junction City, Kansas to move her mom back with her to California. Early on, Houston's dad taught her to appreciate her African American, Native American and Japanese roots by scooping out a spoon of neapolitian ice cream and telling her "Don't Take The Colors Apart." Houston has written numerous plays but the one closest to her "Tea" is about her mother's story as a military bride in Kansas. First aired in 1994 as part of the "Legacies: Tales From America" series.

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