Athena Mari Asklipiadis

Athena Mari Asklipiadis, was born and raised in Leimert Park, Los Angeles and holds a broadcasting degree from Pepperdine University. While pursuing a career in radio and voice over, Athena also worked writing and podcasting on mixed/hapa websites. After recognizing a lack of mixed and minority bone marrow donors, she started Mixed Marrow in 2009 and most recently worked as associate producer on award-winning documentary film, Mixed Match (2016) which chronicles the journeys of patients in need of a marrow match. Athena now works in marrow recruitment at A3M (Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches) as the recruitment manager and as a freelance writer. She still lends her spare time to organizations, Multiracial Americans of Southern California and Mixed Marrow, serving on their boards.

Updated December 2019

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Kingi’s Kajukenbo: A multigenerational, multiracial family legacy in Inglewood, Calif.

  • By Athena Mari Asklipiadis
  • 31 Jan 2020

This article is a follow-up to the writer’s original “Living in South Los Angeles — Today as a Japanese American” story. This story further explores Japanese American entrepreneurs who are thriving in the vast multicultural area of South Los Angeles.

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Ricardo Jiro Kingi, better known as Rick Kingi, is a 9th degree Kajukenbo grandmaster. For more than 50 years, Kingi has been studying and teaching Kajukenbo in the Los Angeles area.

Kajukenbo, or 垂姜怠垮扁很 in Japanese, is a hybrid martial art that originated in Hawaii. The name of the fighting style comes from a mix of multiple disciplines: KA(rate ...

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Tak’s: From hashbrowns to hardware, it all stems from memories and traditions of the Holiday Bowl

  • By Athena Mari Asklipiadis
  • 13 Jan 2020

This article is a follow-up to the writer’s original “Living in South Los Angeles — Today as a Japanese American” story. This story further explores Japanese American entrepreneurs who are thriving in the vast multicultural area of South Los Angeles.

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If someone says, “I’m going to Tak’s,” most South Los Angeles natives will likely ask something along the lines of, “The restaurant or the hardware store?” That’s because in less than a mile and a half in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles, you can find Tak’s Coffee Shop and Tak’s Hardware and Garden Supply ...

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Living in South Los Angeles: Today as a Japanese American

  • By Athena Mari Asklipiadis
  • 16 Dec 2019

Earlier in the year, it was nearly impossible to miss the mentions of rapper Nipsey Hussle and filmmaker John Singleton in the news. Both celebrities, whose deaths dominated headlines in the spring, each hailed from South Los Angeles.

The pride they had for their African-American roots and their neighborhood is something that they not only referenced in their work, but also made a focal point — voicing ’hood stories from a raw first-hand point of view.

In addition to their enormous creative talents, they may be arguably best remembered for their advocacy work for the people in their community. “Crenshaw” is ...

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