Irish | Jamaican
A journalist once described me as ‘the Irish Jamaican activist’ which is cool. Aside from that, I am a documentary filmmaker and brand expert. My recent short film, ‘Being Both’ was released by the British Film Institute. The eight-minute film condenses a series of compelling stories from the mixed-race community. I made this film because I am tired of constantly having to fight for a seat at the table. As mixed-race people, we are largely ignored by wider culture and not allowed to share our narratives. Instead, we are objectified and fetishized, constantly boiled down to ‘racially ambiguous’ sportswear models or cute and unthreatening curly hair kids on TV commercials. Or worse still, we are told by mono-racial society how to identify based on what makes them feel most comfortable.
My Mother is White Irish and my Father is Black Jamaican, they met in London. I would say my Mother assimilated into the 2nd generation West Indian London culture for a period of time, as did most young people in London then. The rise of Reggae.
My Irish family were not jumping for joy when my cute little White Mum met my Dad, a story often told. I don’t think the UK is as bad now, we are far more evolved than other parts of the world including the US.
In the 80s /90s there was more visibility in colloquial language for mixed people, such as the widely used term ‘halfcaste’, not a great word but at least we were acknowledged in the media. Now, there is a lot of ambiguity which leads to people being grouped together. Or worse, dulled or silenced, ‘you’re mixed, so you are Black’ type thing. It's back to an unwillingness from mono-racial people to invest in our stories.
I faced enough challenges that I felt I needed to constantly create content and activities to celebrate mixed-race people! It took me to get to my late 20s before I felt fully proud and owned my mixed-ness. Kids in 2021 should not have to go through all that.
In the wider sense, or from a societal point of view we are in no way represented in senior positions, be it at work, in the media or in educational institutions. We are continuously put in boxes by ignorant and lazy people, brands and organisations.
If I can’t be a gremlin, then I don’t want to be reborn. Why would you want to keep reliving the same environment? I’d rather be reborn on an alien planet.
Please check out our docu-short – Being Both, which can be found on the BFI PLAYER. Link: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-being-both-2019-online
You can find us on Instagram @wearemixxeup