Dutch | Curacao
I would identify myself as mixed White/Black Caribbean. My mum is from Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. My dad is from Curacao, Dutch Antilles. They met in a supermarket near Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. I grew up in Hilversum, the Netherlands. I must have been 7 or 8 when my Sunday school father B. kindly pointed out to me that I was special, having mixed heritage. But that I would have been even more special had I had light coloured eyes.
My friendship group is very mixed; race, sexual orientation or religion do not really play a part. When it comes to picking a partner I look for someone who is honest, affectionate, supportive & outgoing. Race and culture do play a role in the sense that I feel I have more in common with a partner who is mixed race or from another culture.
I do think that there is still bias attitudes towards mixed-race people, especially Black & White people in my case. A negative for me is always feeling like an outsider as you never feel fully ‘accepted’ by either Black or White people. You are deemed ‘too White’ to be Black and ‘too Black’ to be White. While in the same breath they want you to pick a side. If I could have a pound for every time I have been asked; ‘do you consider yourself to be black or white’. When I was on holiday on Curacao, they called me a ‘Black Makamba’, which is slang for ‘White people’. So basically a Dutch oreo. A positive experience has been connecting with other mixed-race people and share experiences.
If I was to be born again I wouldn’t change a thing! I believe more and more people will have dual, triple or quadruple heritage in the future. And hopefully then we will no longer be asked to ‘pick a side’.