Somebody Say Something About A Race War?

Anna Holmes, co-host of the About Race podcast, founder of Jezebel, and content queen at First Look Media, grew up with a Black dad and a white mom in California. She chats with us about her childhood jheri curl, what side she’d choose in a race war, and why we should all be a little more humble when it comes to our ideas about, well, about anything. Want to know how to ask the best questions about the most uncomfortable subjects? Ask Anna.

Anna Holmes, At Work:

Anna Holmes, With A Middle School Jheri Curl:

Anna On Growing Up With Black Hair And A White Mom:

There was a lot of crying. My mom would comb out the tangles, and I would also be crying because I didn’t want the hair I had. I wanted hair that when I dipped under the water at the pool, I would come up and it would be wet. But my hair almost repelled water. I wanted to have hair that moved when the wind blew, and it didn’t do that. That said I could do things with my hair that other people couldn’t do, like I could hide things in it. But my mom tried. Her best/worst attempt was taking me to Cecil, an African-American hairdresser, who basically gave me a jheri curl.

Jamz: Miss Holmes If You’re Nasty

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This podcast is produced by American Public Media and Southern California Public Radio, KPCC. It is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how the NEA grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.