Youth Discussion Topic
“Some have charged those of us who identify as biracial as “blacks who are attempting to escape their blackness.” Are you?
Youth Discussion Topic
“Some have charged those of us who identify as biracial as “blacks who are attempting to escape their blackness.” Are you?
Use "Escaping our blackness" as the Subject.
To respond to this discussion topic press 
As a bi-racial female, I understand completely the trials of other bi-racial teens. I never knew I was mixed until I saw my biological father for the first time. My biological father, who was black, never married my mother, and when i was very young, my mother married a white man. My mother already had 2 white children from a previous marriage so I was absorbed into white culture. When I was young, I didn't know what to think of it. When kids in my preschool class would ask if I was white or black, I'd say, "My Mommy is white and my Daddy is black", but even I wasn't sure of what I was. As I grew older, my mother would make sure that I never neglected my African heritage. Her family would buy me afro-centric postcards and black barbies. At that age, I thought it was offensive and I'd throw the gifts away. Up until the age of 13, I had no black friends. I had many black acquaintaces but no friends. Later that year, while at a picnic, a boy at a park called me a Black Nigger and everything changed after that. I can still remember my rush of anger. I pounded the mess out of him. After that, I realized that people saw me in a different way then I saw myself. I started to hang out with more black girls and I found I was more accepted within their group. Today, I have all kinds of friends. I also think it's important for people to have an identity. I indentify myself as mixed, and nothing else. I like myself because I feel that some mixed teens can understand black and white issues better than anyone else. By identifying myself with one group without compromising my individuality I've learned that you can be a much happier person. To all the bi-racial kids out there, be yourself.
Name: Hepzibah Elizabeth Singh, Phoebe8270@aol.com
Date: 12/24/98
I am Half Greek and half Asian Indian (Not native american indian) but I don't look Indian at all. Most people don't even consider me to be biracial because they think of Asian Indians as white. I don't see my Asian ancestry as something to escape but as something to celebrate. Once, I tried to explain to my cousin that I wasn't white. This was somehting she just didn't understand. She responded by saying, "No, you're white because you look white" This cousin is only a year younger than me. Other people who I explain it to usually take it very well. (With all due respect to my cousin, she isn't the smartest person in the world) I guess according to the government I am white, but what do they know? I'm not Greek and I'm not Indian: I'm both! Where I live people understand that pretty well (Besides my dim cousin)
Name: Tiffany Kowalski, intrepid@argohouston.com
Date: 09/11/97
What a coincidence! Just today, after I gave a speech on my culture, this black girl asked me why I choose to check the box that states: "other". She obviously was not paying any attention for the second paragraph clearly stated: "...but by the time I had reached the eighth grade, I had realized that I wasn't black, nor was I white. I, (like so many of my "mixed" friends) was an "other". One not to be classified as a single race. And that is when my life began, my dusk unto my dawn." As soon as she uttered those words to me I wanted to cry. Why? Because I feel a great compassion for those who are lost in their own ignorance of interracial children and couples. It's not a way to get out of being "black". But it is a way to get to know myself. If I were to just focus all my attention on one single "race" I wouldn't truly be myself. I'm not all black so why should I claim that I am?