Surrounded by racial love and hate
I don't talk about my multicultural life a lot on this blog because, honestly it's hard to fit it in. Also that wasn't the purpose of this blog. I had another blog for that. But lately I feel that keeping things separate, also keeps me separate in other people minds. Even thought I'm not.
I've taken it for granted the my readers know that I identify as a black woman. That my son is half Korean. That we have a foot in the "Black" community, the Asian community, the Latino community, as well as a few other ethnic communities.
Being a multicultural family has always been a joy for us. We're exposed to all the love, experiences and things from different cultures and I believe this makes us better individuals for it.
But that's just one side of things.....
The other side is that it also exposes us to a different level of hatred. For being black. For being Asian. For being Other.
I can not explain to you what the past year has been like for my family. Everyday there's a news story highlighting that we're hated. That we're being killed or objects of violence. That we're not safe as citizens within our own country.
As a multicultural "Black" woman, what to do?
As a mother to an "Asian" child, what to do?
Ironically I know what do because this isn't the first time racially target things like this has happened. I can count twice before this. And I know there will be more times like this. Racial hatred won't stop anytime soon.
So I do what I did back then, and what I will have to do in the future. I cling to my community. I teach my son to cling to his community. All of them.
Because that is where the love is. That is where the safety is. That is where changes will start that will impact the other communities and hopefully one day, change something. I've seen it already happen. Minority communities tend to be the catalyst for change. I know it will happen again.
So for now my son and I will stay surrounded by our communities in love, while the world tries to surround us in hate.
1 comments
Thank you for sharing this. Navigating the world as a POC can be exhausting. I hope that your communities continue to offer you support and strength on this journey.
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