Russian/Caribbean/Indian
I'm a mixed-race woman from south London. I am of Russian, Indian and Caribbean descent. My mum is mixed-race, with her mum being Russian and Caribbean, and her dad being Indian, from the East Indies. My dad is White. Though I do not know much about him, my mum has spoken of him possibly having Spanish & Romanian heritage his side of the family due to the particular features his parents had. I was very aware I was mixed-race from young. I would look at my mum, then look at me and go ‘Okay, she's darker than me but I know she's my mum’. Walking down the street with my mum was okay, normal almost. I would only begin to question now and again when I was younger about my ethnicity when people would walk past the both of us, stare with beading eyes as though something was wrong. The etymology of being mixed-race is so broad now, whereas before, it might not have been. It would have just been Black and White, and that's it. When you take into account, Faith, Religion, demographic of a person or people, that is when you can begin to understand the hierarchy of race. It does exist, and there is no denying that. The lighter you are, the more accepting into society you will become. But then at the same time, we are seeing what I like to call ‘The mixed-race rebel movement’, which means that society is finally listening to us. Society is realising that inter-racial relationships are on the increase. If I had the opportunity to be born again I would come back as myself. Through and through. There is only one me. The future of mixed-race is here and now. We're a strong movement. Parts of society are ridged in their teachings, so for us to continue and grow, we need to not focus on those teachings too heavily. We do need to accept that they are there and that they exist. But with the rise of inter-racial relationships, poor teachings like that will probably be so redundant in our eyes. I say to society embrace the mixed-race because we're not going anywhere.
Want to read more? – Subscribe here #mixedracefaces