It is not a myth that a large amount of the world’s population is racially mixed. It may not show, but it is still there. Just because a person may appear to be one race does not mean that they are just that. On some occasions you cannot physically tell if someone is mixed. Other times an individual’s mixed heritage can be easily picked up on. Does this mean that they are different or confused?
Decades ago being a “mulatto” (an individual who is equally African America and Causcasion) was seen as a ticket out. If you could pass for a white person you could live the life people could only dream of. Since the years have passed it seems as if we all want to be included and excluded. We want to be included as strong and, upstanding members of society, but then we want to say who’s in and who’s out of our group. This is wrong and can leave devastating scars on someone’s life.
I have had a handful of bi-racial/multicultural friends in my lifetime. I can honestly say that they are some of the most beautiful people, inside and out. The sad thing is that every one of them had identity issues. They were never completely accepted by one group or the other. One friend in particular happened to be African American and Japanese. She was taunted by the black community because she had long hair and they accused her of thinking that she was better than them. On the other hand, she was never accepted into the Japanese side of her family. They did not consider her one of them because she was mixed. I am not trying to step on the toes of African Americans or the Japanese. I am simply making a point that a person is a person no matter what they look like.
The only reason some biracial/multicultural people may be confused about who they are is because we as a society are making it that way. It would not be a problem if we didn’t make it a problem. You shouldn’t have to choose one side or the other. Failing to embrace all parts of yourself could have lead to low self-image and self-worth.
My sixteen year old brother is African- American ,as well as Caucasian. The town he lives in is quite traditional in the way it views race relations. On one side there is a black community and on the other side there is the white community and off to the side is a small population of people of Spanish descent. The only places people mix and mingle are the baseball park and the Piggly Wiggly. My brother has recently been interested in dating , but the girl he is interested in cannot date him because he is half African- American. Her parents do not approve of it and he was ordered not to call the their house anymore. These people fail to realize that my brother is a person, first and foremost, and that he is half Caucasian. It should not matter if he is blue, he is still a human being just like everyone else. He sometimes gets heat from both sides because of being biracial and it negatively affects his development. His teenage years should be fun, not filled with race anxiety.
Biracial people have taken Hollywood by storm. Celebrities such as Halle Berry, Alicia Keys, Derek Jeter, and our own President of the United States Barack Obama are all biracial. They have all embraced their mixed heritage and set a good example for those who will follow them.
There is no reason for this disconnect between races. Biracial/multicultural shouldn’t have to play “Monkey in the Middle” to be accepted. A prime example of this is Halle Berry and her current relationship with the German model Gabriel Aubry. I have been reading many blogs by black people that have a problem with her dating a white man. The truth is that she is half white and everyone should get over themselves and let her be. She has done a great job of representing biracial people and is well respected for overcoming the barriers of race. She has a beautiful biracial daughter and she will not grow up confused.
Overall, I would like to see people of mixed heritage not struggling over which group they need to belong too. There is no need for this ridiculous separation and it is only making things worse. Embrace your heritage, hold your head high, and show the world just how beautiful you are.
