Print Media Appearances
Carmen’s perspectives on race and racism have been featured in Newsweek, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe, and The Miami Herald. Carmen has appeared on MSNBC Live, NPR’s News & Notes, Washington Post Radio, American Public Media’s Marketplace, and PBS’s Asian America.
She has provided expert commentary on the following topics:
Contact Us
Carmen Van Kerckhove
Co-founder and President
New Demographic
Tel: 917.657.3886
carmen@newdemographic.com
New York, NY
The Boston Globe
May 5, 2008
“A no-win situation”
An article about the debate over stereotypes in video games prominently features Racialicious, New Demographic’s blog about race and pop culture.
Read the full article here
The New York Times
March 31, 2008
“Who Are We? New Dialogue on Mixed Race”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses how multiracial folks are identifying with Barack Obama’s frank discussion of his own racial background.
Read the full article here
The Los Angeles Times
March 23, 2008
“Talking about race: Um, you first”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses Obama’s historic speech on race and whether it can change the national dialogue.
Read the full article here
Men’s Health
March 2008
“On the Minds of Men: Pride vs. Prejudice”
Carmen Van Kerckhove gives advice on how to unlearn your unconscious racist beliefs.
Read the full article here (will launch PDF)
Associated Press
January 17, 2008
“Ignoring racist remarks teaches children the wrong lesson, experts say”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses what parents should do when someone makes a racial slur in front of their children.
Read the full article here
QSR Magazine
January 2008
“Race-on-Race Harassment in the Restaurant Industry”
Carmen Van Kerckhove talks about a less common type of racial discrimination: race-on-race harassment in the workplace.
Read the full article here
Association Meetings Magazine
December 1, 2007
“Bias? What Bias?”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses how meeting planners can make meetings more inclusive to people of color, and warns against common pitfalls such as creating a “diversity ghetto” by lumping all minorities on one discussion panel.
Read the full article here
Latina Style Magazine
November/December 2007
“Bridging the Gap, Building the Future”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses how many corporations are suffering from diversity fatigue, and explains why an emphasis on cultural diversity does nothing to combat racism in the workplace.
Read the full article here (launches PDF)
The Boston Globe
November 13, 2007
“Blog is beautiful”
An article about bloggers of color who are challenging mainstream perspectives on race prominently features Racialicious, New Demographic’s blog about race and pop culture.
Read the full article here
The Daily Princetonian
November 8, 2007
“Mixed-race individuals suffer from a lack of societal options”
Article covering Carmen Van Kerckhove’s guest lecture at Princeton titled “Cute but Confused: Myths and Realities of Mixed Race Identity”
Read the full article here
The Miami Herald
November 2, 2007
“The noose — a symbol of hatred — reappears”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses the horrific history of lynchings, explaining that they were once celebratory events for the community referred to as “picnics.”
Read the full article here
The New York Times
October 21, 2007
“Few Answers About Nooses, but Much Talk of Jim Crow”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses the rash of incidents in which black people have found nooses left in their workplaces. Carmen explains why nooses are not just “pranks,” but serious cases of racial intimidation.
Read the full article here
The Nation
October 29, 2007
“Taking Celebrity Seriously”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses why progressive activists cannot afford to overlook celebrity and pop culture. The article also mentions Racialicious — New Demographic’s blog on race and pop culture.
Read the full article here
Bitch Magazine
September 2007
“Bitch In: Cool Activists, Good Causes”
The critically acclaimed feminist magazine profiles Carmen Van Kerckhove and her work on race and racism.
Read the full article here (launches PDF)
Time Out New York
August 22, 2007
“Blog Like Me”
An article that explores blogging about race prominently features Racialicious — New Demographic’s blog on race and pop culture.
Read the full article here
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
July 25, 2007
“BET still has a ‘Mess’ even with title change”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses the new BET show “We Got to Do Better,” based on the web site HotGhettoMess.com.
Read the full article here
The New Zealand Herald
June 9, 2007
“Shades of blackface”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses the decision to cast Angelina Jolie in the role of Mariane Pearl, a woman of Afro-Cuban heritage, in the film “A Mighty Heart.”
Read the full article here
Columbia College Today
May 2007
“Carmen Van Kerckhove ‘99 Works to Stop Racism”
Carmen’s alumni magazine profiles her work with New Demographic.
Read the full article here
St. Petersburg Times
April 15, 2007
“Shades of black”
Carmen Van Kerckhove weighs in on the discussions surrounding Barack Obama’s race. If Obama isn’t considered to be authentically African-American, then who is? How is racial authenticity determined?
Read the full article here
Pacific Citizen
March 2, 2007
“N-Word vs. J-Word”
There’s a national movement to abolish the use of the N-Word. Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses whether a similar effort can be launched for racist terms directed at the Asian American community.
Read the full article here
Herald News
March 1, 2007
“William Paterson seminar adds a voice to the national debate”
Carmen Van Kerckhove weighs in on the movement to ban the n-word.
Read the full article here
Newsweek
February 19, 2007
“Rattling His Chains”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discuses the film Black Snake Moan, director Craig Brewer’s follow-up to 2005’s Hustle & Flow.
Read the full article here
Excalibur - York University’s Newspaper
January 24, 2007
“Unpacking and reloading the invisible knapsack”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses the work of Robert Jensen around issues of white privilege and white supremacy.
Read the full article here
Backstage
October 2, 2006
“In Living Color”
Jen Chau discusses Hollywood’s lack of awareness surrounding mixed heritage issues and discusses the difficulties mixed race actors face in being cast for roles.
Read the full article here
Nichi Bei Times
September 14, 2006
San Francisco, CA
“Entertainment Re-oriented: Race to ‘Survive’ on CBS This Fall”
Jen Chau and Carmen Van Kerckhove analyze the media coverage surrounding the reality show “Survivor’s” decision to pit contestants of different races against one another.
Read the full article here
USA Today
August 24, 2006
“Racial teams on ‘Survivor’ may cross more than the color line”
Jen Chau comments on the reality show “Survivor’s” decision to pit contestants of different races against one another.
Read the full article here
The Austin Chronicle
August 4, 2006
“Amid Yahootinis and Freebies, a Focus on the Future”
An article about the BlogHer Conference ‘06, at which Carmen Van Kerckhove was a featured panelist.
Read the full article here
The Toronto Star
July 9, 2006
“Are We All Going to Be Latte?”
An article about Canada’s growing mixed race population that mentions our blog, Mixed Media Watch.
Read the full article here
Maclean’s Magazine
July 1, 2006
“Look Over There. It’s a Black Guy!”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses how colorblind casting in TV, film and advertising can paint an overly-rosy pictures of race relations.
Read the full article here
Colors NW Magazine
May 2006
“Mixed Blessings”
Jen Chau discusses the problematic media representations of Asian men and black women.
Read the full article here
San Francisco Chronicle Online
March 30, 2006
“The Pursuit of Hapa-ness”
A profile of Jen Chau and Carmen Van Kerckhove and their many projects, including New Demographic, Addicted to Race and Mixed Media Watch.
Read the full article here
USA Today
March 8, 2006
“Reality TV tackles life in color”
Jen Chau and Carmen Van Kerckhove question the value of reality show “Black.White.”
Read the full article here
The Indianapolis Star
February 26, 2006
“Learning their colors”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses the problematic compliments that mixed race children often receive.
Read the full article here
The Patriot News
February 9, 2006
“For interracial pairs, life is not just black and white”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses the increasing number of interracial relationships depicted on TV and film.
Read the full article here
The Ocala Star-Banner
February 8, 2006
“Bigger Picture: Interracial Relationships Play A Large Role In Movies, TV”
Jen Chau discusses the increasing number of interracial relationships depicted on TV and film.
Read the full article here
The Atlanta Jewish Times Online
December 22, 2005
“Jews of Many Colors”
Jen Chau shares the difficulties she faced as a mixed heritage woman in being accepted by the Jewish community.
Read the full article here
USA Today
December 21, 2005
“Love Is No Longer Color-Coded On TV”
Carmen Van Kerckhove discusses the significance of interracial relationships on today’s top-rated TV shows.
Read the full article here
Mom & I Magazine
November 2005
Jen Chau and Carmen Van Kerckhove discuss parenting mixed race kids in this magazine for Korean-American families.
Visit Mom & I Web site
The New York Times
April 24, 2005
“When You Contain Multitudes”
Jen Chau discusses the attitudes of the growing mixed race population.
Read reprint of this article