I have two wonderful children that I could not be more proud of. My kids do well in school, they are active in sports and they participate in many community involvement activities. Yet the very same community where my children live, work, and worship in have faced obstacles and challenges that only certain people could relate to. My children learned at a very young age that sometimes people may not accept them based on their appearance. People have made racist comments towards them and prejudicial treatment. Although many people can relate to racism, my children have had to relate to racism and racial identity problems. In my journey, I will share with you the experiences my children face on a daily basis and how they learned to be proud of themselves and their heritages.
My children are biracial. Their father is Afro-American and I am Italian. My children have learned how to deal with bigotry and racial comments from both the black and white race. Society has sometimes chosen for my children what race they believe my children should be. Imagine how my children must feel going to school and having the school system declare them as an “other”. In many cases biracial children are faced with identity problems, feeling the need to choose only one of their heritages and rejecting the other side to feel like they belong somewhere.
I suggest for everyone to read this great article I found online. It touches the topic of identity problems among biracial children. One line that really struck a core with me was when the author said “We live in a society that sees things as black and white, with no gray areas.” (Identity problems in biracial youth). After reading this article I was upset that many government groups and educators assume that all interracial children should be classified as black. Why can’t they be considered multi-racial? Why should biracial children feel the need to discredit one of their races? My goal for this blog is make people aware of the challenges biracial children face. Society likes to classify everyone. I hope one day people will realize we are all in one, big melting pot and the only label we need to classify people under is the human race.
Jennifer Beale
Identity Problems in Biracial Youth. (Fall, 2009) Regents of University of Minnesota . Retrieved September 5, 2009 from http://www.cehd.umn.edu/EdPa/licensure/leader/2004Fall/identity.html
My children are biracial. Their father is Afro-American and I am Italian. My children have learned how to deal with bigotry and racial comments from both the black and white race. Society has sometimes chosen for my children what race they believe my children should be. Imagine how my children must feel going to school and having the school system declare them as an “other”. In many cases biracial children are faced with identity problems, feeling the need to choose only one of their heritages and rejecting the other side to feel like they belong somewhere.
I suggest for everyone to read this great article I found online. It touches the topic of identity problems among biracial children. One line that really struck a core with me was when the author said “We live in a society that sees things as black and white, with no gray areas.” (Identity problems in biracial youth). After reading this article I was upset that many government groups and educators assume that all interracial children should be classified as black. Why can’t they be considered multi-racial? Why should biracial children feel the need to discredit one of their races? My goal for this blog is make people aware of the challenges biracial children face. Society likes to classify everyone. I hope one day people will realize we are all in one, big melting pot and the only label we need to classify people under is the human race.
Jennifer Beale
Identity Problems in Biracial Youth. (Fall, 2009) Regents of University of Minnesota . Retrieved September 5, 2009 from http://www.cehd.umn.edu/EdPa/licensure/leader/2004Fall/identity.html
I like your topic. When I was in the Air Force in the mid-late 80s I had friends dealing with the same situations. I know it can really hurt the way some people act. I will definitely be watching your blog.
ReplyDeleteI like this topic. As a biracial individual (afro American and Irish) I have faced many of the struggles that you address. Like your children I am educated, was a student athlete and my friends were an eclectic grouping of individuals. I see no color, race, or gender. But a lot of people do not understand that. It is good to find like minded souls in the world.
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