Celebrating Culture in a Mixed Family: An "It's Complicated" Interview with Shawna Klatt

By AACC Editorial Team

We would love to hear about your Mixed background and how you navigated your daily life, relationships, and activities as you were growing up. Was it challenging to find spaces that would be welcoming of you? What were some of the things you considered when choosing what to participate in?

As a Korean adoptee growing up in a Minnesota suburb, I was one of the few people of color. Both my older sister and my best friend were also Korean adoptees so I saw others who looked like me. My favorite book growing up was “Chinese Eyes” about an adopted girl named Becky who was teased for the way she looked. My mother was very intentional about pointing out the differences in how we looked such as her blonde hair and blue eyes and my black hair and brown eyes and how beautiful they both were. There weren’t many spaces in my community that acknowledged my Korean identity. There were probably microaggressions and racism aimed towards me, but I was more innocent and naïve as a child. I knew I was Korean American but I still wanted to fit in with my white American surroundings, so I wasn’t intentionally going to spaces specific to Korean culture.

Did you have interest in exploring your Korean American identity? As someone who was adopted, how did you identify growing up and how do you think that has changed or stayed the same as you see yourself now? Or how do you see yourself now?

I grew up attending a Korean culture camp where I was with other Korean American children and would see the halmonis (Korean grandmas) cooking the Korean food for us. It was the only place where I was celebrated and fully accepted for being Korean. My mom learned how to cook Korean food so I also grew up going to the Korean market and occasionally eating Korean food at home. When I was younger I probably identified more as American and now I’m intentional about identifying as Korean American.

What are some of the ways you chose to get involved in Asian American communities? Are you currently involved?

As an adult, I mentored a teenage Korean adoptee. We occasionally talked about being Korean adoptees but it was more of a mentor/mentee friendship, and it gave her confidence spending time with someone who looked like her.

When I worked for a large corporation, I was part of a group who started the Asian Employee Network. This experience was when I became more curious and was more immersed in the Asian culture. I was around other Asian Americans with similar experiences, and it was the first time when I felt most connected to the Asian community.

I’m a member of the Also Known As (AKA) adoptee group. Most of the members are Korean and many of them have been to Korea and connected with their biological families. I’ve never attempted to find my bio family or been to Korea, but I still feel connected to my friends who’ve gone through the experience.

I was the co-lead of my company’s Asian Affinity Network for the past few years, which has kept me much closer to AAPI celebrations, holidays, and social matters. Particularly, with the increase in anti-Asian hate, I’ve been a strong leader for my AAPI colleagues and community to build awareness and advocate for changes.

I'm so curious, what's your favorite kind of food? Do you find you prefer one style of cuisine to another? 

I love pizza! But, my next favorite is Korean. Living in NYC I’ve gotten to eat more authentic Korean dishes, have access to more ingredients, and be immersed in many Asian cultures. I’ve always preferred Asian food over American. One of my favorite memories was cooking Korean food for my family and friends. Now that my son is an adult, we’ve been cooking together and I’ve been sharing the recipes that I used to make when he was younger.

What advice and encouragement can you share for Mixed folks and families who are navigating how they can both honor/celebrate their own cultures and heritages in their day-to-day?

My advice is to love yourself and appreciate your Asian beauty. You don’t need to look or act a certain way and there’s no such thing as not being Asian enough—I’ve heard people say they’re not Korean ‘enough.’ Integrate tradition, culture, food, music, media, people, etc. into your daily lives not just as an annual tradition or on occasion. Be aware of who’s in your circle of friends and support your AAPI communities as a representative and an ally.

Looking back, is there advice, encouragement, shout-out, or cautions you would share with your younger self as you particularly navigate your own mixed identity?

I would tell my younger self to be proud of my Asian American identity in every way—including my place within my family, friends, school, work and society. I’d encourage myself to advocate on behalf of other Asian Americans and to seek out and support Asian representation around me in media, community, culture, etc. I would’ve told my younger self something that I’m much aware of now: You don’t see what’s not in front of you.

You can watch our interview with Shawna here:

For more articles in this series, please see the links below:

Church Community and Global Identity: An “It’s Complicated” Interview with Justin & Carolyn Fung

Navigating a Multiracial Marriage: An Interview with Andrea and Jarius Justus

Photo by Jakub Kapusnak on Unsplash

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Shawna J. Klatt is an Attorney, Risk and Fraud Client Manager and Team Lead for Thomson Reuters and resides in New York City. She leads the development, negotiation, presentation and implementation of client relationships including educating on the benefits of risk solutions for optimal productivity in various competitive industries. 

Shawna is a former co-lead of the Thomson Reuters’ Asian Affinity Network-NY (AAN) chapter working to increase awareness of the Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) community during the pandemic and the coincident rise in anti-Asian violence in the US through education and advocacy. She was influential in creating opportunities for AAN members including forming a mentorship program, co-hosting discussions with AAPI leaders, and external panel events focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Prior to Thomson Reuters, Shawna was a law clerk for The Innocence Project of MN and a Public Defender for the state of Minnesota.