Upon reflection of the year 2020 so far, one of the saddest realisations to emerge is the inescapable nature of being black, regardless of your country of residence. In the midst’s of a global pandemic, which has snatched over 40,000 lives, hospitalised parents, grandparents and their children, one of the harshest realities black people across the globe have had to reconcile with is the loaded nature of their very existence.
Bound by a collective weight on our shoulders, what do we ask of our non-black counterparts? The answer is simple, allyship. An allyship born out of genuine concern and compassion, one which does not perform for social media but instead advocates for equality without conditions.
Alas, a quick peruse of Twitter produces divergent realities. Among the thousands of allies who continue to advocate for the equal treatment of black and brown lives, there is also a darker side. One filled with white women who fail to understand and subsequently question the correlation between their romantic preferences for black men and caring about issues which affect the black community.
There is a disconnect between some white women and the issues which adversely affect black communities and identities. The thralls of having a mixed race child with curly hair and caramel skin cloud their cognisance of the negatives which come with the black experience. As the cloak of whiteness enables many of them to remain ignorant to the pressures which may one day affect the very children they want to have in the future.
So, my message is clear, to those that ‘do not see colour,’ that premise is intrinsically problematic. Do not wait until the pressures of the pan-black experience infiltrate the lives of your future children.
I urge you to see colour, learn from the experiences of black people and actively denounce and advocate for those who suffer injustice. Fore, this is not a race issue but rather a human one, which should not be characterised by your romantic preferences.
Connected by a lineage of pain, systemic racism and institutionalised murder, 2020 continues to reveal that for some non-black people the threat of Covid-19 pales in comparison to the prospect of black men and women moving freely in the world.
Instances of African expatriates living in China being forced out of hotels and being denied entrance to shopping malls and well known restaurants, to the Saudi Arabian government deporting Ethiopian migrants. Not to mention the unlawful murders of black people in the United Kingdom and America by the police have proven that to be rich in melanin is as deadly as the virus which has plagued the best part of this year so far.
As much of history reveals, white women have traditionally had a deleterious effect on black men in particular, from false tales which have resulted in the wicked killings of children such as Emmett Till to the racial gaslighting and false allegations of public disorder we see daily on social media in the contemporary form of ‘Karen’s.’ Thus, one must ask what do we want?
Bound by a collective weight on our shoulders, what do we ask of our non-black counterparts? The answer is simple, allyship. An allyship born out of genuine concern and compassion, one which does not perform for social media but instead advocates for equality without conditions.
Alas, a quick peruse of Twitter produces divergent realities. Among the thousands of allies who continue to advocate for the equal treatment of black and brown lives, there is also a darker side. One filled with white women who fail to understand and subsequently question the correlation between their romantic preferences for black men and caring about issues which affect the black community.
There is a disconnect between some white women and the issues which adversely affect black communities and identities. The thralls of having a mixed race child with curly hair and caramel skin cloud their cognisance of the negatives which come with the black experience. As the cloak of whiteness enables many of them to remain ignorant to the pressures which may one day affect the very children they want to have in the future.
So, my message is clear, to those that ‘do not see colour,’ that premise is intrinsically problematic. Do not wait until the pressures of the pan-black experience infiltrate the lives of your future children.
I urge you to see colour, learn from the experiences of black people and actively denounce and advocate for those who suffer injustice. Fore, this is not a race issue but rather a human one, which should not be characterised by your romantic preferences.
Be informed. Be Entertained. Be You. 
Destiny,
I hear you here as a mixed race child from an Irish mother , whose sisters also followed suit & so I have mixed race cousins.
However, unless the black men they choose to lie down with, educate them, embrace them into their families mothers , sisters & culture how do know or feel the black experience?
I’m fortunate I had my dad but for many of us like black children absent fathers!
So these brown children are .raised by these white women who have no understanding of what it means to be black except for finding another man ….. then when it goes pair shaped he’s a black bastard ….. do what’s the impact or solution
I completely understand that! Children raised by the family of only one side of their identity have to learn about their culture from outside influences unless they are fortunate to live with a parent/ family members who are knowledgable about both sides of their children’s identities.
Aside from that, I think white men who choose to have children with black men (hence raising black children) have a duty to educate themselves on the culture/ community their children are apart of (and vice versa, so if a black mother was raising a mixed child who is half white).
My issue is with white women who choose to remain ignorant to issues which adversely affect black people in general and question why they should care about these issues, particularly those who have mixed children. I think people should care about the injustices different communities face regardless of your child’s ethnicity because we’re all human but even more so if you’re child is apart of the very community that is being systematically abused/ oppressed or negatively treated.
I think the solution is to create more spaces which educate and uplift the black experience and cultures. If the father is absent it’s up to the mother to look elsewhere and take it upon herself to learn how to cook cultural dishes, read books on their history and actively surround themselves with others from that culture (and vice versa fathers instead of mothers).
I completely understand that! Children raised by the family of only one side of their identity have to learn about their culture from outside influences unless they are fortunate to live with a parent/ family members who are knowledgable about both sides of their children’s identities.
Aside from that, I think white women who choose to have children with black men (hence raising black children) have a duty to educate themselves on the culture/ community their children are apart of (and vice versa, so if a black mother was raising a mixed child who is half white).
My issue is with white women who choose to remain ignorant to issues which adversely affect black people in general and question why they should care about these issues, particularly those who have mixed children. I think people should care about the injustices different communities face regardless of their child’s ethnicity because we’re all human but even more so if you’re child is apart of the very community that is being systematically abused/ oppressed or negatively treated.
I think the solution is to create more spaces which educate and uplift the black experience and cultures. If the father is absent it’s up to the mother to look elsewhere and take it upon herself to learn how to cook cultural dishes, read books on their history and actively surround themselves with others from that culture (and vice versa fathers instead of mothers).