about yourself, what you as a person constitute for the politics of others, and most crucially, how your identity can be jeopardised by the ignorance and naivety of others, is one of life’s biggest and most harmful challenges.
Being able to say you are content with what troubles life throws at you and being able to use that to better yourself as a person is not something that many people can do,
even more so for the ethnic minorities within this country who have to battle against systematic oppression and institutionalised racism on the daily.
It is almost an indoctrinated idea that someone of colour is usually worse off than someone who is not. The subtle racism you see on a daily basis can take its toll; whether or not it’s an article on a black real estate agent, his race having no affect on his ability to sell houses, or to the extreme of the latest instalment of America’s continuous racial profiling of young poc, such as Ahmed Mohamed and Tamir Rice.
From my point of view, as someone who has seen and experienced a lot of the hardships of being a mixed-race person both first and second hand, I can say that improvement is on its way. Yet, without being openly pessimistic of what I see for the future, it unfortunately won’t be any time soon. My family in particular have experienced the affects of racial segregation on both sides; from the oppressed and privileged, as they themselves lived in segregated neighbourhoods. A traditional black family originally from Barbados to end up within an extremely racist 60s London, dealt with racial discrimination more than anyone else I know. On the other
hand, the lower-middle class family from Surrey on my Dad’s side, probably hadn't encountered many ethnic minorities at all in their time growing up.
Being able to voice opinions based upon heartfelt belief, without being sectioned by the middle and upper class white demographic, recognising the difficulty of being a person of colour within a western society and, most importantly, having the opportunity to be in control of your circumstances, is a world in which we should all strive to live in. With the most important and powerful people of this planet coming from mostly heavily white backgrounds, it is and always will be a battle to see open equality in everyday living. Yet, having a sense of purpose and understanding of your position within yourself and to other people, is what truly matters.
"OUR IDENTITY IS WHAT
MAKES US HUMAN"
The subtle racism you see on a daily basis can take its toll; whether or not it’s an article on a black real estate agent, his race having no affect on his ability to sell houses, or to the extreme of the latest instalment of America’s continuous racial profiling of young poc, such as Ahmed Mohamed and Tamir Rice.
From my point of view, as someone who has seen and experienced a lot of the hardships of being a mixed-race person both first and second hand, i can say that improvement is on its way. Yet, without being openly pessimistic of what i see for the future, it unfortunately won’t be any time soon. My family in particular have experienced the affects of racial segregation on both sides; from the oppressed and privileged, as they themselves lived in segregated neighbourhoods. A traditional black family originally from Barbados to end up within an extremely racist 60s London, dealt with racial discrimination more than anyone else I know. On the other hand, the lower-middle class family from Surrey on my Dad’s side, probably hadn't encountered many ethnic minorities at all in their time growing up.
Being able to voice opinions based upon heartfelt belief, without being sectioned by the middle and upper class white demographic, recognising the difficulty of being a person of colour within a western society and, most importantly, having the opportunity to be in control of your circumstances, is a world in which we should all strive to live in. With the most important and powerful people of this planet coming from mostly heavily white backgrounds, it is and always will be a battle to see open equality in everyday living. Yet, having a sense of purpose and understanding of your position within yourself and to other people, is what truly matters.