JC
Tony gave us the heads up on a commercial that Spike TV is running to promote conversation around Martin Luther King day. It features a biracial woman who says that blacks do not accept her for black, whites do not accept her for white, and that she wishes that people would just accept her for what she is. I think it’s great that mixed identity is being included in *the* discussion — as mixed people are so rarely recognized as part of the racial landscape of our country. Unfortunately, though, it is represented by the tragic mulatta cliche with which we are so familiar.

Many of us have been socialized to talk about mixed identity in this way, and we need to start changing the way we conceptualize ourselves! I have heard so many mixed people say, “I wish I was accepted…” I have definitely said this at times. But why so passive? Why are we always looking for others to judge us and accept us? I know that we are used to asking for acceptance because we find ourselves in so many situations where we are challenged, questioned, and made to defend ourselves. These kinds of experiences are almost accepted as a *part* of being mixed — but it’s time to break out of these kinds of dynamics! We don’t need to ask for acceptance from anyone. We are who we are and people will recognize it eventually.