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In this episode of Our True Colors, Shawna and Marcel talk with Mike Brown, a biracial Marine veteran, nonprofit fundraiser, veteran advocate, husband, and father. Mike shares what it has meant to grow up with both Black and white family histories, including a Black Southern father whose family roots run through Mississippi and a white mother whose family came to the United States from Europe.

Mike talks with us in this episode about growing up with questions about what he “was,” navigating racial ambiguity, and the importance of being able to name your own identity rather than having other people decide it for you. He also shares the powerful family stories he hopes to preserve for his children, including his grandmother's decision to leave Mississippi during the civil rights era and his parents' interracial marriage in the early 1970s.

We also talk about the power of oral history and storytelling, what gets lost when family histories aren't recorded, and the responsibility of carrying stories forward when the people who lived them are no longer here.

And, for this episode's Mixed Message, we talk about what it feels like when people treat your identity like a riddle they should be able to solve, and what might change if we simply asked instead of guessed.

About Mike Brown

Mike Brown is a Dover, Delaware native who now lives in the Cleveland, Ohio area with his wife and two children. A Marine veteran, nonprofit fundraising professional, veteran advocate, and community leader, Mike is passionate about service, family history, storytelling, and preserving the experiences of previous generations for the people who come after him.

BOOK NEWS

Shawna's book, Mixed Signals: A Multiracial Window into Civility and Belonging at Work, will be available September 15, 2026, in hardcover, paperback, and eBook. The audiobook will be available a few weeks later.

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!

Don't forget to check out Dr. Gann's new book, Mixed Signals: A Multiracial Window into Civility and Belonging at Work available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook. The audiobook is coming soon—stay tuned!

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