Welsh/Scottish | Jamaican/Sierra Leonean
My heritage has made me open my eyes to other mixed-race heritages which are not just Black and White. I hate how other mixes are not heard or brought to the forefront. This is a big positive for me as I feel it has made me so aware of other's stories that aren't always told. This is why Mixedracefaces is such an important and informative platform to break the stereotypes and elevate the voices of diversity.
The attitudes towards mixed-race people have definitely changed! It seems to be the most fashionable and trendy thing now. It seems like everyone wants the inclusivity and ambiguity that being mixed can sometimes bring. This is different to ten years ago when the Black or mixed-race aesthetic just wasn't 'in'. Many people see this as a good thing, as if it hints towards a less racist society when in fact I think it points to how much progress we still need to make. It is not nice to be fetishized because the systems of power which hold me back are still in place regardless of how pretty someone thinks I am.
I want racism to be completely eradicated. I want my children to grow up in an environment where they are taught to love their skin colour, facial features and potential quirks. However, I have often found the conversation so divisive and difficult. I feel the anger, but I don't think that punishing or guilt tripping the average person is going to get the results we want. I have had so many challenging conversations and I think being a mixed-race person has increased the regularity of this. I have felt as though both Black and White counterparts feel more comfortable to garner opinions from me, without consideration of how that makes me feel. In one sense, I am told due to the privilege my lighter skin gives me that I have no place to discuss issues of racism but on the other hand I am seen as the oracle of racial issues. It's confusing and isolating. I don't feel like many people want to hear my perspective because, like most things for me, it doesn't fit into a neat box.
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In collaboration with Poetic Unity