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

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

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

Von: Dr. Shawna Gann
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Our True Colors is a podcast about identity, belonging, and life in the in-between. We explore what it means to be mixed race, multiracial, multicultural, racially ambiguous — or to grow up across cultures, through adoption, or in any space where identity doesn’t fit neatly into a box.

What’s it like to feel like you fit everywhere yet belong nowhere, all at the same time? If you or someone you love has ever been called a racial riddle, an ethnic enigma, or a cultural conundrum, this show is for you.

Each season, host Dr. Shawna Gann — a business psychologist and storyteller — is joined by a new co-host who brings their own lens. Together with guests, they share candid conversations, family stories, and professional insights that remind us we don’t clock in and out of our identities.

At its heart, Our True Colors is about connection: creating a space where mixed, multicultural, and cross-cultural voices can be heard, where belonging is explored, and where “otherness” becomes something powerful to claim.

Our True Colors is an extension of True Culture Coaching & Consulting, Dr. Gann’s practice dedicated to building stronger, more inclusive workplace cultures. Learn more and connect at www.truecultureconsulting.com

© 2026 Our True Colors: Mixed Race Voices and Other Stories of Belonging
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  • From Luanda Angola to Los Angeles: Joy DuVivre on Mixedness Across Borders
    Feb 11 2026

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    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 deeply layered perspective shaped by colonial history, colorism, migration and disability. From the legacy of Romani enslavement in Europe to the impact of colonial borders in Africa, this conversation moves across continents while staying grounded in one powerful truth: identity is fluid, contextual and constantly evolving.

    Joy shares reflections on colorism using the framework coined by Alice Walker, the historical reality of Romani persecution including during the Holocaust, the parallels between Romani experiences in Europe and Black experiences in the United States, and what it means to become disabled after building a career rooted in physical expression. She also introduces her playful yet powerful identity markers like "West Coastian" and "Sunsetter", reminding us that belonging can be self-defined.

    In this episode, we explore:

    • How perception and voice shape racial assumptions
    • The global roots of colorism and colonial hierarchy
    • Romani history, enslavement and ongoing discrimination
    • Afro Romani communities in the American South
    • Assimilation, survival and generational silence
    • Disability as identity
    • Why mixedness is not a box but a lived experience

    Joy mentions her excitement about attending the Critical Mixed Race Studies Association Conference taking place February 19 through 21 at UCLA in Los Angeles. Click here to learn more about the Critical Mixed Race Studies Association. Consider becoming a member!

    If this is your first time with OTC, check out EPISODE 1: START HERE for more background on the show. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram!

    Interested in being a guest?
    Head to this link to share your story with us!

    Our True Colors is powered by True Culture Coaching & Consulting. Head to our website to find out how True Culture Coaching and Consulting can support you and your organization, and subscribe to our LinkedIn Newsletter, The Culture Clinic, for more great content.

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    46 Min.
  • SPECIAL EPISODE: “Wait, Is This Really Happening?” A Candid Check In From Inside the Moment
    Feb 6 2026

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    No guest today, no polished lesson, no neat ending. Just Dr. Shawna Gann and Rachel, one of last year’s co-hosts, sitting down for an unfiltered, unscripted conversation about what it feels like to be alive in this moment. They jump from media to power, faith to language, survival to community, and the constant mental whiplash of trying to stay grounded while everything feels loud. The through line is voice, not the perfect kind, but the kind that helps you name what you’re noticing, process out loud, and remember you are not the only one holding this tension in your body.

    Together they talk about how we got here, how information gets curated, how language gets manipulated, and why proximity to wealth and authority has never been proof of intelligence or morality. They reflect on growing up in church, the ways religion and politics get tangled, and how systems shape what we believe about gender, race, and who is seen as human. It’s funny in places, heavy in others, and above all honest. A reminder to protect your voice, protect your energy, stay connected, and stay engaged where it counts, especially locally.

    Content note: adult language and discussion of politics and current events. This is not a news report or definitive analysis, it’s two people thinking out loud in real time.

    If this is your first time with OTC, check out EPISODE 1: START HERE for more background on the show. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram!

    Interested in being a guest?
    Head to this link to share your story with us!

    Our True Colors is powered by True Culture Coaching & Consulting. Head to our website to find out how True Culture Coaching and Consulting can support you and your organization, and subscribe to our LinkedIn Newsletter, The Culture Clinic, for more great content.

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    58 Min.
  • Half of Many Things, Whole on Purpose: Conversation with Shaman and Reiki Master AB Caplan
    Jan 28 2026

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    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 biracial Black and white woman adopted into an all-white family, and how that journey shaped her understanding of race, contentment, and self-trust.

    This episode moves through stories of being labeled, questioned, and reduced by others and how those moments can fracture identity or become catalysts for healing. AB reflects on the moment she realized society would always see her as non-white, regardless of proximity to whiteness, and how that reckoning led her toward spiritual practice, integrity, and creating spaces where people feel safe to be fully themselves. The conversation weaves together race, adoption, wellness, cultural responsibility, and energy work, offering grounding rather than escape. A central reminder echoes throughout. Love and good intentions are not always enough. Integrity, responsibility, and tending to ourselves matter if we want to stay human in uncertain times.

    More to Check Out:

    • The Aimee Amour - Best Bar DJ in New York City
    • How frogs went from right-wing meme to anti-ICE protest symbol

    To explore Shawna’s work and sign up for updates about her upcoming book Mixed Signals, visit TrueCultureConsulting.com.

    If this episode resonated, subscribe to the show, leave a review, and share it with someone who might need it.

    If this is your first time with OTC, check out EPISODE 1: START HERE for more background on the show. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram!

    Interested in being a guest?
    Head to this link to share your story with us!

    Our True Colors is powered by True Culture Coaching & Consulting. Head to our website to find out how True Culture Coaching and Consulting can support you and your organization, and subscribe to our LinkedIn Newsletter, The Culture Clinic, for more great content.

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    59 Min.
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