Mixed-ish IRL: How Tika Sumpter Plans To Tackle The N-Word With Her Bi-Racial Daughter

On the small screen Tika Sumpter plays a beautiful, confident Black woman, who’s married to a white man and raising bi-racial children. In real life, the “Mixed-ish” star is a beautiful, confident Black woman, who’s married to a white man and raising a bi-racial child. Clearly, it’s art imitating life for Sumpter, but the similarities don’t stop there.

ABC’s hit series “Mixed-ish” is back for season two! During the first season of the “Black-ish” prequel we were really just getting to know young Rainbow, her siblings, and her parents Alicia (played by Tika) and Paul (played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar. Now, with the second season, the show is delving into deeper topics and richer story-lines. In the sophomore season premiere, the family broaches the uncomfortable, but not uncommon, conversation about racial slurs. The show handles it in a comical, yet informative, way — but, when we sat-down with Sumpter for an interview we asked her how she’d handle teaching her young daughter about the N-word in real life.

While Tika’s tot Ella is just 4-years-old, the 40-year-old actress said she’s already laying the groundwork to promote positive images of Black people, self-confidence, and self-worth in her household.

New episodes of “Mixed-ish” air Tuesday nights on ABC!