My Interracial Family was not Allowed Essay

“But… what ARE you?” It was a question I encountered with discomfiting regularity. As a biracial child growing up in a working-class southern community, I was often the only non-white student in my classes. In this homogeneous town, my otherness stuck out like a sore thumb, and I learned from a young age that people can be unkind when they feel threatened by bucked conventions. Though I inhabited two cultures, I didn’t fit neatly in either. These experiences taught me the importance of inclusivity, and I developed a sensitivity for people deemed outsiders because of their differences. In college, these feelings became more acute when I learned that minority and multiracial patients often face specific medical challenges, and need culturally

To start off, both of my parents are white Americans. My father’s great grandparents came to america from czechoslovakia in the late 1800’s and same for my mothers German great grandparents. Born and raised in primarily white small towns, my parents are your stereotypical middle class white americans. About 10 years into their relationship when my mom first got pregnant with my oldest brother Dalton (23), they bought a 3 story house that was right outside of a suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of Anoka, Mn. The nearest gas station was about a 8 minute drive, and the nearest restaurant was 10. They had 3 boys together, and took in my oldest cousin Chey when she was 10 because my aunt had passed.

When addressing self-identification, some multiracial or biracial individuals do identify as being two or more races. Some identity as just one, or that they feel closer to a certain racial group. About 69% of Multiracial adults with a black background considered themselves as black/African American (experiences, social interactions that align them within the black community). While Multiracial Asian adults, with a white and Asian background, feel more connected to the white community than to the Asian community. Another group of multiracial individuals, are those that are white and native American, and around 22% say they have a lot in common with the in the US that is native America. And 61% say they have a lot more in common with the whites.

The word family has changed so much in the past century. A family back in the 1950’s was probably considered a husband, wife, and one or more children. Times have changed and families have become much different. The Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others book defines family as a, “Unit made up of any number of persons who live in relationship with one another over time in a common living space who are usually, but not always, united by marriage and kinship” (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 243). Families can be broken up into five different types. The first is the traditional family, which includes a mother, father, and their biological children. Next, is the blended family which includes

I think a big problem came from the foster-care workers. “Some foster-care workers said that matching skin shade was a legitimate way of easing a child’s adjustment to a new environment…” (Bernstein 113, 2001). In some situations I do believe that it would be hard for a child to adjust to a certain kind of environment but that does not mean that the only thing that should be matched up is skin color. If a child needs a home and their skin color happens to be different from the adoptive parents, so what. They are still going to receive the care they need regardless. I do not know about everyone else but if it was between getting foster care parents who are a different race than me or not getting foster care parents at all I would choose getting them.

Upon entering the class I was anxious, curious, and also oblivious to the ideas I would be encountering. Like other students who had not previously spent time discussing topics of race and ethnicity, I myself had nervous tendencies in assuming that such a class may not strengthen my understanding of ethnic and race relations. I realized I knew little about race or ethnicity, and even the possible similarities or differences. However, I welcomed the opportunity to further discover the possibilities of the class. My understanding of race was concentrated in a definition that could be understood as different skin colors. My limited conception of ethnicity applied to people’s origin or where they lived. It seemed as though my lack of

In “Races isn’t what defines me: exploring identities choices in transracial, biracial, and monoracial families”, Butler-Sweet, Colleen explains that there has been a controversial issue in the United Sates for more than half a century, among black children raised in white homes. The author’s main claim is that transracial adoption will miscarry a black identity. Comparing experiences among monoracial, biracial, and transracial families on black identity.

Families around the world consist of many variations. The traditional family includes a mother and father of the same racial background and their children. While this is the most acceptable type of family dynamic, today there are families that consist of countless different types of deviations. Many children grow up with one parent, gay parents, or with their grandparents. There are also families that consist of two parents that are of different races. Interracial families consist of relatives who are from diverse origins. Interracial families include families where the parents are of two different races or when the adopted children are of a different race than their parents.

It is known as the land of the free and home of the brave. It’s the United States of America one of the greatest countries to live in. A country where many other people from around the world wish they lived in. “This country is home to five percent of the world’s population” (13th, Netflix). But I ask is it really the land of the free for everyone? Unfair treatment to African Americans has been around for decades and it’s gone from slavery, to mass incarceration, to police brutality, and to racism that still occurs in the present time. African Americans make up to twelve point three percent of the United States. Through the decades mass incarceration of African Americans has skyrocketed. The dramatic increase in mass incarceration of African Americans has now left more blacks in prison then there was during the time of slavery. Since America started taking more and more prisoners throughout the years a film documentary named 13th illustrates that “the United States now home to twenty five percent of the world’s prisoners” and that “1 and 4 human beings are locked up with their hands on bars in this country they call the land of the free” (Netflix). Millions of dollars were spent building more and more prisons to contain and hold all of the prisoners from over the years of incarcerating so much people. So the United States may be known as the land of the free, but to the African American people it isn’t or hasn’t always been so free for them.

Many people question, does race affect the depth and strength of a family’s ties? Gerstel and Sarkisian used their essay, “The Color of Family Ties,” to support their opinion that yes; race does have a direct effect on the strength of a family. “We often hear that Black and Latino/a, especially Puerto Rican, families are more disorganized than White families, and that their family ties are weaker, because rates of non-marriage and single parenthood are higher among these minority groups. (Gerstel and Sarkisian p. 1)” The writers continue on to say, “taking this broader perspective on family relations refutes the myth that Blacks and Latinos/as lack strong families… Even if they don’t live together, Blacks and Latinos/as are as likely as Whites – and in some ways more likely – to be supportive family members. (Gerstel and Sarkisian p. 2 and 3)” Although commentators believe that a family should consist of both parents, should only be strongly involved with their nuclear family and need to be more than financially able, I believe family to be more than just that.

I was going to write this essay about growing up biracial. I had it all planned out. I was going to start by telling you how, for as long as I can remember, meeting new people always seemed to require explaining just what exactly I am. I had drafted a detailed mental blueprint of where my essay would lead; I would talk about being restricted to one checkbox on standardized tests (and the accompanying inner turmoil about which race is “more” me), about being told to wear a Filipino outfit in my [second grade show about the American melting-pot] instead of the German dress my grandmother bought me. I was going to impress you with my multicultural background. You would have learned all about my struggle to reconcile the two very distinct sides

Family is a basic unit in every society. However, the makeup of a family is more complex to define. There are so many types of families that it is impossible to have one distinct definition in trying to explain how a true family is defined. For example, there are married couples with or without children, single-parent families, and even families headed by gay men or lesbians. These may not have been considered families not too long ago, but now must be recognized because we live in such a diverse society. What I want to focus on is the African-American family, in terms of what they had to go through before, during, and after slavery. As well as, where they are now and where it’s going in the future.

Every black girl/woman has been asked a point in her life, who is your role model?For little black girls, that question has had more answers added to it over time. They now role models in probably any career path they they choose. During the early and mid 1900’s black girls were seen as less innocent than the white girl. Their bodies and even their whole existence was less valuable than the white girl. Representation of black girls in the media during the early 1900’s showed caricature of little black girls that further exemplified how black girls were looked at in society. Media is

Today, a serious problem exists all over the world. Racial oppression takes place in the poorest and the richest countries, including America. Racial oppression is characterized by the majority, or the ruling race, imposing its beliefs, values, and laws on the minority, or the ruled race. In most areas, the ruling race is upper class whites that run the “system”, and have a disproportionate amount of power. In other areas, it may not be the white race, but it is still the race that is comprised of the majority, makes the laws, or has the most money. These are the keys to domination over the weaker minorities that don’t have the power to thrive under the majority’s system according to their own cultural beliefs,

The Bronzes had sent their daughter to a pajama party at a Black families place.