French/Senegalese | British/Ghanaian
My French Grandmother was ostracised, professionally and personally, when her relationship with my Senegalese Grandfather became public. They got married in Dakar, where Micheline continued her work as an expatriate. My British Grandmother didn’t marry my Ghanaian Grandfather. My Grandmother managed a fish & chip shop Alfred owned, while he also oversaw his other international businesses and Ghanaian political affairs. Whilst my Grandfathers had a strong West African identity, I think that today interracial relationships will be the norm, particularly as more ethnic minorities climb the economic and social ladders, to a point that racial identity in cities becomes pale in the significance of other factors.
Through my lens, my Father largely identifies as Ghanaian, perhaps due to discrimination in the UK during his formative years and the rejection he received from his peers that continued into his professional pursuits. Dad attempted to establish a ‘Ghanaian first’ identity in me, which resulted in a placement as close second, to my British identity, but I still feel alien, considering I’ve spent just under two years there, across my lifetime.
As others drew their perceptions of who I have been through the cultural lines they drew, only certain people would have been open to the idea. I definitely had the perception many women were uninterested in a relationship with me, but had more of an interest in me as an exotic individual. I think this subconsciously rubbed off on me, with my own interest growing toward individuals with other mixes to my own. As a consequence, the majority of my relationships have been with women of other cultures.
When I met Charlotte, my impression was that she was wholly identified as Black, by her actions and cultural influences and identified as mixed-race by title alone. With me coming from the opposite end of the mixed-race spectrum, we found a level of harmony in teaching each other from our differing experiences of being mixed-race in Britain. I have been immersed in West African food and music, while she has learned from my European cultural embraces.
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