English/Irish | St Lucian/Antiguan
I was adopted and consider my parents who raised me to be my Mum and Dad. They were both born and raised in the UK but Mum's family is from Poland and my Dad is Jewish. My biological Dad is St Lucian & Antiguan and Biological Mum is English/Irish. They were 15 when I was conceived.
Being adopted adds an additional layer of desire to fit in. Very difficult when you have an afro at age 5!! My sister (also adopted) is White and was often mistaken for our parents’ biological daughter. I didn’t have that luxury and whilst I have always felt a part of the family I have been raised in, society has constantly reminded me I don’t look as though I am a part of my family.
I think adoption can be a wonderful thing but more support needs to be available for interracial adoption. Growing up, I disagreed with this as I felt strongly that love was enough but now, looking back, I don’t feel my parents were aware of the challenges mixed-race people can face around their identity and belonging. I think any issues I had around my background were viewed as a normal reaction to being adopted but without any acknowledgement of a race element. I think this was also reflective of the time I was adopted and hopefully the support is in place now. More could have been done in the home to expose me to Black culture and more support could have been given to my parents from the adoption agency.
I work in healthcare and I rarely see people of colour in senior positions. In the media, I often find mixed-race people are marketed as the race they look most like which, with the Black/White mix, is usually Black. For example, President Obama was marketed as the first Black President instead of the first mixed-race President. Bob Marley, Booker T Washington, Mel B, Halle Berry, Alicia Keys...the list goes on. I believe it is so important for mixed-race people to see other mixed-race people marketed as the mixes they are and not being trapped in one box. This would enable people to also feel they do not have to 'pick a side' and it is okay to identify as 'mixed-race'.
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