Portuguese/Angolan | Portuguese/Angolan
As a young girl, I understood that I came from a mixed background but it was in secondary school that I was made to feel aware of being mixed-race and of my light complexion. I was picked on how I looked. I was bullied for not being Black enough. I realise now how much I internalised it. It’s why I always identified as Black, rather than mixed because I felt people wouldn’t embrace me as a mixed girl. Most times it made me feel quite isolated. It was only when I became an adult that I realised how harmful that was. To me, I belong in any community I feel embraced in where I can exist as I am, a mixed-race woman and be accepted as that.
I come from a big mixed extended family, which meant I could connect and identify with loads of cousins my own age, aunts and uncles who understood what being mixed-race is like. You can easily relate to one another and not feel othered. That experience growing up made me feel less alone and feel part of a unit. If anything, I feel a much stronger connection now with my heritage than I did when I was younger. I believe I need to give credit to my Mother for that. My Mother instilled in me and my twin sister, to have pride in where you come from and carry it with you as you make your way through life. The love I have for my heritage comes through her.
I believe here in the UK attitudes have changed slightly towards mixed people compared to when they were a few decades ago. However, I have had a few of racist and xenophobic experiences throughout my life, especially micro aggressions in school and in the workplace. The global protest was something that lit a fire in me to speak out, I even wrote a blog on it. It felt empowering to be uniting with everyone around the world. It was such a ground-breaking moment. I understood the rage and frustration for justice and equality within our community. I hope we can continue to keep the progress going towards ending racial inequality.
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In collaboration with Poetic Unity