Nigerian | Irish
My Dad was from Nigeria and my Mother is from Northern Ireland. My parents met in 1965 at Stratford, East London and were happily married for 52 years. Unfortunately, my Dad died in February 2019 after a short illness at the age of 82. My Mother is keeping in good health at the age of 81.
My parents told me many stories about the early stages of their relationship, in a society where integration was rare. Both often found that they were being discriminated against, for example trying to find accommodation with a young child. Or people staring at them with a young child.
I had a negative experience being mixed-race as a child in the 70s & 80s. This was a time I felt culturally isolated, especially in primary and start of secondary school. Name calling at school, which was upsetting to hear, my parents would tell me to ignore the verbal remarks. I would encourage others to be themselves with their own identity. In today’s society there have been vast improvements, but unfortunately situations like this still continue. My own children have experienced the exact same issues.
I would like the next generation of mixed-race people who are trying to find their identity to have positive thinking and embrace the identity of culture, food etc and continue to filter the same approach towards their own children.
My role model for me would be Barack Obama. The reason was his mixed race heritage and being a successful president. I recall watching the day of Barack being sworn in as president and inviting a congregation of members of the family of both cultures of his parents.
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