This piece was going to be called 'Women of mixed Race', but after many discus­
sions and thought I have decided not to call it that as I find the term 'mixed race'
racist. Therefore I have gathered together various women's pieces and have put
them in a 'suitable' order for you to read. The concept of race is a strange one hav­
ing no genetic validity at all. There are no genetic differences between Black and
White people even though white, male, scientific intellectuals would like us to be­
lieve differently. Even anthropology does not include the concept of race. Race is
seen as a specific term of abuse. The concepts of 'mixed race' or 'half-caste' are
racist, they imply that there is a pure race, an idea reminiscent of 'Mein Kampf
and fascist ideology.
This piece is a very personal piece for me and does not intend to put over any
specific-political line; it does not intend to educate, but I hope it will make people
think.
Sona's piece.
To be a woman of mixed race, a halfcaste, a half-breed
doesn't that
sound exotic, romantic, erotic .... To
Hell with the lot of you I Those are
your LABELS, your racist interpreta­
tion, your fears internalized and LAID
on. I don't care anymore, do what you
will, think what you will, safe in your
whiteness, your blackness, your super­
ior purity I
I am ME and I will always stay ME.
I will never be white, Anglo-Saxon and
PURE. Sorry, you'll have to make do
with a half-Finnish and half-Indian
woman born and brought up in the
splendours of Brixton, London. Am I
angry with my lot ? Wouldn't you be
angry if ever since you were knee high
you had to put up with taunts, fights,
bloody noses, put-downs, comments
and insults ? But perhaps that is my lot
and I should be grateful for it. Thank
you so much people, allowing me to be
born and brought up in this glorious
country of ours. It's great to feel un­
wanted.
It's strange and yet wonderfully
weird, 'cos I know that around the
world I am seen as something else :
In France I am taken to be a native
French woman, (I do speak French, so
Spare Rib
58
that helps), in Spain I am taken to be
Spanish. People have thought me
South American, from Peru or Brazil, or
from Turkey or Iran. Strange ain't it here I am, the unwanted, the unloved,
and the uncared for.
I do feel 'lucky' because I have
learned things from both my mother
and my father. From my father I learnt
the proper way to make curry, chapatis
and carrot halwa. He would take me to
the mosque and show me where and
how to pray. From my mother I learnt
about her country's history, the con­
tinual war with Sweden and Russia.
Strange to think that Finland used to
a Russion Duchy. Memories of Finland
are full and varied, miles and miles of
sweet-smelling pine forest, millions of
lakes, fresh-water fish, wild exotic
berries, hay-making, and hot days of
strawberry-picking. But yet, here in
the country which is my Home, I am
denied my right to be here. 'Go home
Paki', - Ha I, where is my home ? My
home is HERE, and I intend to stay.
I refuse to give you any more ana­
lysis of the situation from my point
of view.
In Britain I am Black and I am PROUD
of that.
Debbie Licorish.
My mother is a white French womaf1
born in the West Indies and my Father
is a Black West Indian. When I first star*
ted school in Luton I didn't feel I was
any different from the other kids in the
class. However, when it came to dealing
with the parents, it was a different
matter. Also, as my friends became old'
er they were taught to notice the
visual difference and were indoctrina­
ted with a strict definition of how
black people behave.
My first memories of racism came at
a friend's party when after a vigorous
party game we all became hot. The
friend's father said, 'Oh, Debbie
3^^
Wouldn't mind - she must be used to it
she comes from'. Being so inf^ocent I thought he was referring to
our new central heating or something.
Soon, when these people realized
my family didn't fit into their conven­
ient description of behaviour, the phrase
' don't think of you .as black' became
'amiliar to me, and I regarded it as a
wonderful compliment as I was now
accepted. However, I gradually came to
realise the racism and narrow-mindedness of this phrase. It is the most upsett|ng phrase anyone can say to me now.
^hy should you behave in a certain way
because of the colour of your skin ? I
^ari t relate to my oiack culture because
' havn't been brought up in that way.
consequently I do find that I have
to ^ght for my little bit of British
^ulture. I think that culture is being
denied to me and I don't like it. It is
So hard to be accepted by white people
and try to do the same things which
ave been regarded as prerogatives
the middle-classes such as going to
diversity and even going to the theatre.
I suppose I really became aware of
h's problem in my early teens, when
other sections of the town merged
Aether into the secondary school.
Was then that I became friends with
9'rls who turned out to have some of
6 most racist attitudes I have ever
•^countered. They obviously learned
ese attitudes from their parents as
ey would often say to me, 'No
.nee {!), but I'd never dream of
out with a black boy. My dad
0uld kill me.' But how could that be
s
0 bad if they let me into their houses
^ gave me lifts in their cars ? The
1 0^st point came when one friend
^Vlted me and another white friend
g0 help in her dad's shop in town one
aturday. Nearer the date our help was
^celled and I thought nothing of it.
ery much later she insisted she tell
e the reason for this as she was
^ "tain I wouldn't mind. Apparently,
I ecause I was black her dad believed
Would frighten away potential white
c
Vomers. This explanation was fre,gently punctuated with the words,
* that he's racist, you understand.'
lr> my secondary school it was
^ternary for those of the same colour
So around in the same groups. There
re very few people who had close
'ends regardless of their colour. Somew the whole nature of the environnt encouraged us to be very colour
Scious. I didn't realize how intense
^l^as at the time. As the majority of
foack girls lived in the area designated
them by the white estate agents they
nded to stick together and there was
ignorance on both sides. Many
l re called traitors to their colour
cause they had best friends of a
These myths and fallacies have to be
dispelled on all sides. I'm fed up of
seeing the Black stereotype on tele­
vision as inarticulate, struggling in the
lower recesses of the British class
system with a bad case of Jamaica
accent. Black people must be allowed to
be as individual as white people - it
applies to races, in fact, as we are
constantly barraged with media
stereotypes. There is much ignorance on
all sides, and although there will be the
diehards who will never open their
eyes to the truth, I, at least hope that
these people remain in the smallest of
minorities whilst the rest of us are
allowed to get on with it.
where
different colour, and many of the
black girls opted out of the white
middle class educational system rather
than face the hassle. Being brought up
in such an environment since birth, I
could cope with it, but God help those
who couldn't !
The encounter with black 'racists'
brought with it the feeling that I was
horribly alone. We also had our share of
disturbances in the summer of 1981,
and this became a very confusing
period. The 'riots' in Luton were assumed
to oe of a racial origin when in fact it
was simply a case of a group of agressive men looking for a fight as they had
nothing better to do. It was very vexing
to see these men get increasingly excited
as the prospect grew nearer. They
looked like vultures on the street
corners waiting for trouble. This sit­
uation created curious divisions at my
college for the first time. A group of
white people complained about the
blacks swamping the country, messing
up the economy and then bringing
terror to the streets, whilst an Asian
woman told me she would never qo
out with a white boy as you couldn't
trust them an inch with their sexist
and racist attitudes. Imagine her horror
when she discovered that my mother was
white.
I continually live in the hope that
things must be getting better, but then
a casual racist remark from someone
makes me think that we have not pro­
gressed at all. Even last summer one
student at my college said she could not
see the point in black people going
abroad for their holidays because they
don't need tans !
I think that it is important that
people from the same 'mixed race'
background do not think of themselves
as freaks. I feel that I have achieved
something through personal contact to
counteract racist attitudes, whilst the
ignorant see me as being a traitor.
Spare Rib
59
I
I
Spare Rib
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Title
Author
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Mixed Race…So What!
Osman, Sona
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child
59
Mixed Race…So What!
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child
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children
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family at Kew Gardens
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Mixed Race…So What!
Osman, Sona
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family at Kew Gardens
Osman, Sona
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Sona Osman
Osman, Sona
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Usage Terms: © Sona Osman. This item can
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Usage Terms: © Sona Osman. This item can
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research and educational purposes only. You
may not use this work for any commercial
purpose.
Usage Terms: We have been unable to locate
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