MIXED MESSAGES

Over the years, I have had many mixed heritage friends express the difficulty of straddling two worlds. Not white enough on the one side of the family, considered too light on the other side. It was a narrative that continued into school and the community, where they were often eroticised. Lighties. Brownings. Fair-skin. On the flip side, they were also subject to horrible epithets, such as half-caste and mulatto. Even the term Mixed (or mixed race) can be problematic.

It has always intrigued me that there is more chance of someone of mixed heritage being identified as Black or automatically aligned with Black culture. I include myself in this. I often default to thinking of people like Barack Obama, the musician Akala, or commentator and journalist Afua Hirsch as Black. Partly because of their political positioning, still, I wonder why this is.

But also, do we ever stop and ask those of mixed heritage how they wish to identify?

Some years ago, I was invited to join a Whatsapp group that focused on issues of race and ethnicity within the public sector. In one discussion, I gently inquired about someone of Black mixed-race heritage, why they chose to identify as Black, and how was it navigating the non-Black part of their family. Said person took that as an insult and made it abundantly clear that I was out of pocket with my line of inquiry. That they chose to define as Black was the final word.

I left the group soon after, as I realised that incident left a rather unsavoury residue in other provocations that I put forward. Of course, that was not my intention nor the impression I wanted to leave behind, but a big lesson I learned that day was it is the prerogative of people of mixed heritage to choose their own identity without question.

In my work around inclusive leadership, it is interesting to see how people of mixed heritage are defined as members of affinity groups. Are they Black? Are they Mixed Black? Why would they identify as only Black if they have another rich heritage to display proudly alongside it?

In light of the conversations we have been having around race in the workplace, especially over the last two years, I believe more space should be given to amplifying the identity and voice of those of mixed heritage. Not as some means of extending so-called identity politics, but rather to not quieten the voice of those who have to navigate the workplace differently. Understanding how code-switching shows up on a personal rather than group basis, exploring the assumptions made about those from a mixed heritage voice. I don’t hear it enough. It gets swallowed up in Black, BAME or BIPOC narratives when we should make enough room for all our voices to be heard. Whether Black or Mixed Black, our voices are distinct and equally worthy of recognition and respect.