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 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.
In the 80s and 90s there was more visibility in colloquial language for mixed people, such as the widely used term ‘half caste’, 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 people to invest in our stories.
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.
Being Both, can be found on the BFI Player .
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