I met LaToya (IG: @latoyakatherine) several years ago, in the backyard of a house party in Los Feliz. At that time she was going by the name Katherine, and we found ourselves in conversation with one another, as mixed people often do at parties that are largely ethnically homogenous. I learned that Katherine was from Australia, but that her father was a Black American. Some years later, when I was preparing to produce and direct a script I had written, I thought of Katherine for the lead role. The movie fell apart before it even came together, but once I began shooting The PartBlack Project, Kat was one of the first people that I reached out to. She is naturally bubbly, always smiling and full of life, but she graciously entertained my requests to be serious and heroic for the sake of this project.

Q: Do you identify as Black? White? Mixed? Bi-Racial? Something else?

A: I’m always switching it up. Sometimes I identify myself as a Mixed Kid or just by my name. However, when I’m referring to (my kind) in a conversation with (Others), I have a tendency to reference myself as Bi-racial. There’s something comical about how clinical and structured that term is when living Mixed and/ or Bi-Racial defies living in a box. Being Mixed is the personification of a person who is inherently a combination of different races and cultures.

I think saying I’m Mixed adds a little charm and fun to the situation and it acknowledges my Irish and Native American Heritage. Thats way more than just Bi-Racial! Sometimes I call myself a “Mutt” because I’m such a blend haha.

What are your feelings on the N-Word? Do you use it?

Growing up with a Serbian Mother in Sydney, Australia. The N word wasn’t part of the culture, so I never picked it up. However, growing up on the otherside of the World, I did know that it was Historically considered a derogatory term. One Summer when I was visiting my Grandparents over here, I hung out with an African American friend of mine and it was my impression that when I heard her use it, that it was considered okay… If you are also Black.

With that said, I’m not a fan of this word. I made the grave error of using it around my Grandparents after hanging out with my friend and… it didn’t go over well. I see this from various views though.

I understand that the African American Community proclaims that they are taking the power out of the word and have created rules and regulations regarding its acceptability depending on if it is pronounced with and an “A” at the end as opposed to “ER”. But, the fact of the matter is, there is so much Historical Oppression associated with this word that I wonder if its actually possible for the power to be taken out of it? I’ve witnessed numerous Black People get offended if a White person so much as Utters it. However, if the Black Community were truly taking the power out of the word, Id have to question why there is still so much sensitivity regarding the N word when it is constantly utilized in Pop Culture over and over again. Also, I question if Black people use it around White people just to dig into them about what their ancestors did to Black People as a means to oppress the original oppressors by taunting them for their White Privilege which is based on the foundations of Slavery. Is there a power play going on here? I’m not sure, sometimes I catch a whiff of it and then its gone. Its a Fucked up word with terrible history and it sounds unfortunate coming out of anyones Mouth because it represents a World that we’re trying to move away from and I guess it rubs me the wrong way because it seems to fuel the underlying racism that has tormented this country for centuries.

With that said, I understand that I live in America now and thats how The Black Community shows connectedness as well. It doesn’t resonate with me because I wasn’t raised here, but I accept that that’s a true part of the culture.

In your career, how has being PartBlack helped or hurt you?

The only way that being Part Black has hurt my career is when I scored a meeting with a prominent agent at UTA. After speaking with me for 15 minutes, she asked me if there was another name I could go by, because in so many words, she explained that I wasn’t Black enough for my name… Latoya. When I told her my middle name was Katherine she perked up and instructed me to go by that because “Katherine can be anyone, Latoya is just more of a Black name and when CD’s read your name they’ll call you in for really Black roles and you just aren’t that.” I took her advice and went by Katherine for almost 6 years until I recently decided to go back to Latoya. Its my NAME!

Call me crazy, but I think there’s more to succeeding in the entertainment industry than not being “Black Enough” for my own name. Taking the advice to try to put myself in a box for someone else’s comfortability and expectation of that I should be was what hurt my career. Maybe Mixed girls with Black names is the NEXT BIG THING!

Have you ever felt that your life would be easier if you were just one ethnicity?

I don’t. Everybody has their cross to bare and the grass is always greener..Until it’s not. I like being mixed because it allows me to take a more intimate look at the world through different lenses. I feel that thats a perk of being Mixed; we are a part of different cultures, races, religions and living proof that the human race is expanding way past these constructs and labels that we’ve been carrying for far too long.

What would you tell your 12-year-old self?

Don’t let other peoples insecurities determine the way that you think of yourself. Opinions are like Assholes, everyones got one.