Mulatto, dougla, buffiana, blasphemy – there are many words that are used to describe the Black mixed child. It was not so long ago when social orders stood firm against misconception that these children were considered to be persona non grata. Today, the mixed Black child is portrayed as a mythical creature with powers to heal racial disharmony.
We all know the popular calls to double the nation or make mixed babies to end racism today. You have probably been one of the trumpeters for mixed relationships as you consider them to be revolutionary in times of such uneasiness. Coming out of a history of illegitimacy and rejection, the campaign for the Black mixed child is steadily rising. People believe that by combining different lives and cultures, they can play a role in achieving the blind future they have long envisioned; a future where racial lines are so vague and vague that they have no influence on their children’s lives. It’s a nice thought but not a thought based entirely on reality. Mixed children will not rid us of ethnic concerns towards each other just as centuries of captive and birthed mirtto birthed children did not change the anti-Blackness in our society, but rather solidified other anti-Blackness systems like colorism.
White supremacy is subversive and manifests itself in dangerous ways. All the push for the blended Black kid to buy in is white ideals of perceived beauty and respectability. Although these children can often fit into the accepted standard of beauty and can benefit from this, they are not free to experience the structural racism that comes with their Blackness. The idea is that the more it is further removed from Blackness, the better chance they have of getting proper education, jobs and benefiting from white power systems. This is certainly the case as those who adhere more closely to white ideals are more able to secure high paying jobs, higher education, access loans etc but the complexity of the Black dynasty is not always make it so dry and dry.
We band past the struggles of identity these children have to contend with and the dynamics of a hostile mixed-race family and the social environment in which they are raised. Rather than overturn racism, the portrayal of the blended Black child as having powers for racial healing plays directly into racism and anti-Blackness. This campaign about the blended child never happened outside the scope of our fierce race and class-conscious society. There are many moving parts and logic behind the mixed kids campaign and there is certainly love among them, but often that is not the obvious reason.
Black people with internalized anti-Blackness can often be encountered so much that they do not want to have relationships with fellow Black people because they do not want their children to have “Black skin, hair black, black nose. ” They are looking for partners they believe will reward them with a child who deviates from perceived standard Blackness. Driving it all is the standard image of what a mixed Black kid should look like. They have Eurocentric features; light skin, light eyes and curly hair. But not all mixed children fit this narrow standard and often face rejection by their families. This is because the whole idea of the mixed Black child is to draw them further from Blackness and towards a racially ambiguous look. On the flip side, there are white and non-Black people of color who see in Black partners, an opportunity to create “exotic” children who will bring them closer to Blackness and protect them from accusations of being is anti-Black.
Many resort to arming their proximity to Godhead as an excuse for not being racist. We often see how people would use their friends, family members and partners to suggest they are Black allies or equipped to speak on behalf of the Black experience. They believe that their proximity to Blackness somehow means that they are excluded from racism. It would be a much simpler world if people could truly share their lives in such a way that they would never have friends, family or partners of other races or classes – simple in the sense that it would eliminate much of the excuse. we continue to see today. But people do not live non-binary lives and many can work with, befriend and even love those of different ethnicities while harboring anti-Black stereotypes, thoughts and actions against them and others.
Although the appearance of our population is constantly changing, the ethnic fears and disquiet still dominate our society. The unions we form should be based on mutual respect and understanding of different cultures rather than face-level tolerance. We must also be self-aware of the white ideals we continue to impose on ourselves, others and the children of the future.