We were going to wait until their 2nd anniversary in June to post Rita & Evan’s picture, but we found out today (thanks, Omar!) they’re featured in “Walking Down The Widening Aisle Of Interracial Marriages” on NPR, a great article by Hansi Lo Wang.
Their photo above, from Stillwater, OK.
Yesterday, we mentioned that We Are the 15% wouldn’t exist had it not been for last year’s Cheerios ad. A few days ago, Cheerios asked if we’d be willing to participate in their Family Breakfast Project. We’d planned a family trip that weekend, and we thought it might be fun to have a film crew tag along. We figured it would be a great way to speak widely about the 15%, and hopefully reach more families who’d want to participate.
We enjoyed collaborating on the video, and we feel that the real spirit of our family came across. You’ll notice we’re not glitzy; we don’t have separate make-up trailers – we’re just who we are: Michael, Alyson & Alexandra (with Grammy & Pappy). Plus, who doesn’t like breakfast sandwiches that look like owls?
The video is currently viewable with text from us on cheerios.com and on the Cheerios YouTube channel.
Thanks to the digital team at Cheerios, Zeus Jones, Rikshaw Films, and a quick shout-out to Deb Murphy, Michael’s sister, who happened to knit all of the hats we’re wearing.
It’s great to see the new Super Bowl commercial from Cheerios, featuring the same family from last year’s “Just Checking”. It’s a heartwarming continuation of the family’s story, and it’s set to air during the first-half of the game.
For us, and this project, it’s satisfying to see the story continue, because it renews a visible commitment to families like ours. Like yours! And without that first commercial, We Are the 15% would have never happened – how would we have spent the last 8 months? ; )
Stuart Elliott from the New York Times breaks it down in tonight’s story “An American Family Returns to the Table”:
“There were several potential commercials that executives considered for the Super Bowl, she added, and the one that brought back the interracial family “ended up being the spot sparking the most” interest, partly because of the performance of the 7-year-old actress who plays the daughter; she is named Grace Colbert and in the spot is called Grace or Gracie.”
We Are the 15 Percent on Al-Jazeera English, Tuesday, Jan 21st, 2:30pm
We’ll be on “The Stream” on Al-Jazeera English on Tuesday. The program will be focusing on interracial relationships, and our personal story, as well as the project “We Are the 15 Percent”.
Al-Jazeera English is different from Al-Jazeera America, and is not viewable in North America (unless you have a VPN or other kind of geo-rerouting software). Tune in, if you can!
Today, “We Are the 15 Percent” was featured on the Katie Couric Show. In this clip, we speak briefly about the project, and Katie talks with Alex & Camille who contributed their family photo to the site, and Ken Wheaton from Ad Age.
Thanks to all of you for your continued support and interest!
We Are the 15 Percent will be featured on the Katie Couric show tomorrow. We’ll be patched-in via satellite from Atlanta, and it looks like a family or two from NYC will be joining in studio. There will be a slideshow of photos from the site, too – you might see your family’s picture!
I can’t tell you what time it’ll appear in your vicinity (our segment may be in the lead-spot at the top of the hour) so check your listings and set your DVR!
From Jon Lemire’s tweet last night, the new mayor of NYC and his family, after being sworn-in. The de Blasios featured here on the site in June.
Big congratulations to the de Blasio family, featured here on We Are the 15 Percent, for winning the mayoral primary in NYC with 40.2% of the vote. Great to see the New York Times recognize how de Blasio’s family contributed to his widespread support.
Way to go, and best of luck in the next election!
…when the interracial couple connects the pain of a gay couple who were discriminated against and understands it as their own. That’s where courage comes from, when we turn not from each other or on each other but towards one another, and we find that we do not walk alone. That’s where courage comes from.