Honor the biracial / multiracial experience.
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Hi friends,
Today's Anti-Racism Daily is written by Ebony, our newest addition to the team! This piece honors her identity and the perspective she'll bring to our daily conversations. Send her a virtual warm welcome from wherever you're reading this!
This newsletter also offers a small glimpse into the breadth, depth and complexity of racial identity in our society and how it impacts our collective experiences – something to keep in mind as we continue to dismantle systemic oppression. It's why I'm committed to ensuring we continue to offer diverse perspectives on these critical issues.
This work is possible because of your contributions – you can invest one-time on Paypal or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza) or monthly on Patreon to keep this community growing. Thank you for your support!
Nicole
TAKE ACTION
To better understand the struggles biracial and multiracial people face daily, read books such as Beyond Black: Biracial Identity in America, watch Ted Talks, and videos that fully breakdown the biracial and multiracial experience.
Reflect: How would I feel if my racial identity was constantly being questioned? If this is already your lived experience: what do you wish to reclaim about your identity?
GET EDUCATED
With conversations around Black Lives Matter becoming more prominent over the last two months, this has left multiracial people asking themselves, “where do I fit into these conversations?”, “am I allowed to voice my opinion?”, and “is my Blackness valid?”.
For biracial and multiracial individuals, especially those who are half-Black, 2020 marks a year of racial challenges. Whether it’s questioning their right to identify as a BIPOC or wishing they had the same physical appearance as a specific parent to fit into society’s standards, it can be difficult for them to accept their racial identity.
Throughout history, there has been a long list of words to describe people who are two or more races, and some of those were used to be hurtful. “Mixed”, “half-breed”, “mutt”, and “cross-breed” are just a few examples. In America during the 1800s, “mulatto” was the term used for someone who had one white and one black parent or was racially ambiguous. In South Africa, “bushie” is a derogatory slang term for mixed-race people because it’s believed multiracial children are conceived in the bush. While in Japan, they use “hāfu”, which means half, and in Brazil they use “cor de canela”, “cor de rosa”, and “cor de crema”. Read All Mixed Up: What Do We Call People Of Multiple Backgrounds? by Code Switch to learn more about the history of the terms used to identify multiracial people.
Today, “biracial” and “multiracial” are the most common terms used to describe a person who identifies as more than one race. Biracial is normally used for someone who has parents from two different races. While multiracial is used when someone has parents from two or more races such as a child having a half-Colombian, half-Trinidadian mother, and a father who is German, Nigerian, and Korean.
Unfortunately, it has become a glorified goal in society to have biracial or multiracial children. More and more individuals are seeking out partners from other races because they want their child to have “good hair”, light-colored eyes and a lighter complexion. But, they fail to realize the emotional and psychological challenges their children will face due to their complex racial background.
“Being able to pass as a lot of different races means other people don’t know how to categorize me, but it’s also made me second-guess how to categorize myself”.
Kayla Boyd, 23-year-old fashion and lifestyle blogger, in a Marie Claire article that shares the stories of biracial women who are half-white and half-Black
Growing up biracial and multiracial means people constantly asking, “where are you from?” and wanting you to categorize yourself. Although this question may seem harmless, it’s a difficult one to answer because not everyone wants to explain their racial background. Some individuals struggle with their identity and aren’t sure how to identify themselves. Plus, they don’t want to feel like they have to prove themselves if their physical appearance doesn’t closely resemble their race.
In today’s society, people are obsessed with their peers being “exotic” or a “cool mix.” This is extremely problematic because biracial and multiracial people are human, not a collector’s item or an object. It’s not their job to fulfill your curiosity by explaining their racial identity. Their race shouldn’t be the only aspect of them that defines them. That’s why a number of biracial and multiracial people refuse to disclose their race because they know they’ll be asked a million questions about their ancestry or if they like certain things because of their race. These questions are our subconscious way of placing people into a box based on stereotypes.
As a society, we feel the need to categorize people so they fit into our world views. And, when we can’t identify them we get frustrated and form unrealistic opinions on who they might be and how they should act. A good example of this is assuming all people with darker complexions are Black and like rap, the same music and fried chicken. That’s inaccurate and a dangerous way to think. Watch this 4:51 minute-long video BBC Three which discusses things you should never say to biracial and multiracial people.
We live in a world where our race determines how we’re treated by our peers and what opportunities we’ll be granted. Race plays a large role in how we relate to other people and how we see ourselves. So for biracial and multiracial people, they sometimes feel like they can only be one race. Simple things like applying for a job or scholarship require them to pick one race to identify with because a lot of companies and organizations still don’t offer two or more races as an option within the application. It’s a constant battle to figure out where they belong.
It’s human nature to want to feel like you’re a part of something. We all want to feel understood and represented in society. But, that’s something biracial and multiracial people don’t experience often enough because they feel like they constantly have to prove their self-worth and their identity.
“Identity is understanding who we are in the world. Part of that is how others understand us, and the other part is how we understand ourselves”.
Kerry Ann Rockquemore, co-author of Beyond Black: Biracial Identity in America for Marie Claire
As a biracial woman of Hispanic and Black descent, I can only speak from my own personal experiences. Not all biracial and multiracial people have the same experiences. Here are some viewpoints of other mixed-race people so you can further understand the biracial and multiracial experience in America.
"White people like to believe I'm Caucasian like them; I think it makes their life less complicated. But I don't identify as 100% white, so there always comes a time in the conversation or relationship where I need to 'out' myself and tell them that I'm biracial.”
Helen Seely, 'Racial Impostor Syndrome': Here Are Your Stories, Code Switch Podcast
“My mum’s family are from Cyprus. My dad’s family are Jamaican, with African heritage. But I grew up in northwest London. When I was the president of the African Caribbean Society at university, one of my friends who ran the society with me told me I wasn’t really black because I had a white mum. I think from that point onwards I’ve always referred to myself as black – very intentionally. I stand in solidarity with all black people. I don’t think being mixed makes me any less black. Whiteness is set up to exclude all those who are not white.”
Dean Atta, The mixed-race experience: 'There are times I feel like the odd one out', The Guardian
“I've noticed that some people are much less tolerant. They get tied up in knots when people identify in ways that don't square with their own worldviews or racial math. Check the comments on any article that refers to Obama as the first black president, and you'll find someone lamenting that he is just as much white as he is black — half and half! — and it doesn't make sense to call him African-American. But he's chosen a descriptor that reflects his life experience, and, hard as it is for some to accept, we don't get to dictate what other people call themselves.”
Jenée Desmond-Harris, 6 things I wish people understood about being biracial, Vox
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Research the history behind the terms used to identify people of multiple racial backgrounds to better understand the biracial and multiracial experience.
Although we’re curious about people’s racial identity, we shouldn’t interject our own personal opinions on race when talking to someone who is biracial or multiracial.
Read perspectives from biracial and multiracial people when understanding what not to say in conversations.
Acknowledge that each biracial and multiracial experience is different and unique.
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