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Dr. Cherrye,
How will the multiracial family rear their children in such an adverse political atmosphere where inclusion, acceptance and the lack of respect for others is concerned? Personally, I am concerned that our communities are becoming more toxic daily.
Dear Our communities are becoming more toxic daily,
May I share my personal experience with you? As a multiracial family my husband, daughter and I just lived our lives. Our daughter is all grown up now, so we are empty nesters. Though we realize we are a multiracial family, we never pointed it out when our child was growing up. We never dealt with adverse issues until it was time for our little girl to begin elementary school. We dreaded each year having to fill out the forms. In those instances, we always selected my husband’s race on paper. Since he is the dad, I respected his choice. Once our daughter graduated to Middle school, she would not have it! No one, regardless of authority would ever identify her again. It was now her right. She wrote Biracial in the “Other” spot, and selected Hispanic as her Ethnic group and African American as race. She said that doing this allowed her to point-out and love both heritages.
HOW I SHAPED THIS IDEOLOGY
As a mom who always read books and articles on the subject, and who is present on social media platforms, I knew the importance of shaping our daughter’s world around her self-esteem. I am not certain my husband ever gave it much thought, but I always taught our daughter the importance of embracing both her heritages. My ideology stemmed from listening to biracial celebrities explaining how they dealt with and felt about identity issues. Some shared how mentally draining it was never knowing which group(s) would accept them, if at all. They often shared how confused and lonely they felt. Knowing this, I vowed that my bond and interactions with our daughter would focus on her experiencing a balanced life loving all of who she is – her total self (in-keeping with my religious beliefs). To date, our daughter only identifies as biracial. She never says Hispanic. She never says African American. Later, she informed me that she became okay with saying mixed (in a more relaxed setting), but biracial (always in professional settings).
MY CURRENT GOAL
Through the years, I look for Instagram posts that feature multiracial family unions. I am often disappointed whenever I read many of the posts where moms refer to or identify their biracial/multiracial children as one race. I have especially noticed that whenever I read these posts, oftentimes, one parent is Black, so their children are told that they are Black. Because of current racial tensions, many parents are going LIVE on Facebook, and/or writing posts lovingly advocating for their ‘Black’ children (who are clearly biracial). This is not fair to children and will ‘play into’ low self-esteem and identity issues later in their child’s life. Due to these scenarios, I feel strongly that the fight for race status for biracial people is an uphill battle. As parents, especially parents of biracial children, we must empower them. Their self-worth matters!
YOUR THOUGHTS?
What is your take on this important topic: the Multiracial Family? Are you in a multiracial family? Do you acquaintances who are in a multiracial family? Do you have biracial grandchildren? What are your experiences? Please share on the post site.
OPEN FOR COMMENTS
IMPORTANT
I have made it my mission to assist parents and educators in resolving the bullying issues children suffer. Offering your feedback and suggestions in the comment section could facilitate meaningful dialogue on this critical issue among ourselves and I encourage this. I will respond to each comment in a timely way. Should you wish to speak privately with me, please email me at cherryeVasquez@gmail.com and I will reply promptly.
Please take advantage of my 3 Free resources by downloading them today. One of them includes my FREE Bullying Checklist. If you feel that your child has been bullied, please use the checklist to determine if your ‘gut feelings’ are accurate.
