Race & Gender Journalist of the Year: Runner-up

Marginalised, isolated, and alienated: are mixed race people truly accepted in today’s society?  Biracial people are often forced to align themselves with just one of the two racial groups  they share. Yet when they choose, they seem like outsiders and not fully welcome in the  community in which they reside. They are not black enough or they are not white enough. So,  why aren’t biracial individuals appreciated for what they really are? Both black and white and  richer for it. 

When someone plays the piano, I do not listen to the sound of the angelic notes. I find myself  trapped between the black and white keys, lost, as I seek the intermediate space in which I  belong. I am a mixed race girl: half black, half white. According to the 2011 census, in the  whole of England and Wales there were only 165,974 mixed white/black African people.  This makes up 0.3 percent of the population. How are the individuals that make up the  statistic expected to feel a sense of belonging, comfort and contentment with a number so  small? The simple answer is we are not. Instead society expects us to ‘blend in’, a term I  despise. I believe we should be safe to express our unique qualities, in the hopes that  someone cherishes and learns to love each unique trait. There is no justification for judging  and categorising someone into a group by looking at their skin colour alone. Segregation  legally ended in Britain in 1965; however, it still prevails in today. 

Whether it is something as ‘harmless’ as ‘British people drink lots of tea’, stereotyping is a  disgraceful act of prejudgment. Nathan Bryon (a British mixed black/white actor) filmed an  interview for BBC Three talking about uncomfortable and discriminatory phrases he has  endured, one being that he is a “rare, exotic creature”. As written by Jasmine Thompson and  many others, the adjective “exotic” is unfortunately a common one attributed with supposed  good intentions to those of mixed heritage. Whilst it may be viewed as a form of flattery, the  term always provokes a peculiar feeling to arise when directed at me. Perhaps it is because  the uncanny word is coming usually from a non-biracial voice. However, such a distinct word  makes me feel as though I am an outsider. I feel like a “rare” treasure, awaiting discovery. These acts of objectification are ones dual heritage people face on a regular basis. 

Society needs to accept mixed race people for who they are instead of categorising and  declaring one’s race based on what they appear to be. If an individual has parents of two  different nationalities and their skin colour is white, nobody questions their identity, yet my  parents are both British and people question mine. Until people can see beyond black and  white, I am eternally trapped in the malicious melodies of the keys.