Color, Race, Ethnicity, What is That? (Living in a Multicolored family)

Did you know that I come from what is called a multicultural/multi-race home?

And I have something to say.

My brother and my grandson.

Growing up I did not know that skin color mattered until about the time I went to middle school, and then I got called names for having friends that were a different skin color than my own.  I had no idea this mattered.  My parents had children of all colors and national backgrounds.  It didn’t seem like they loved any of us differently.  It wasn’t until I went to High school that I truly learned about racial division.  I was a freshmen in high school, and I had become close friends with a boy in my same grade.  His mother was white and his father was black.  I didn’t think anything of this fact, I thought he was a very nice guy, and good looking too.  As the school year went on, he and I found we had a lot in common, and we loved to talk about church and the Bible.  So, one day, I asked my parents if it would be ok for he and I to go on a date.  He was interested, and so was I.  My mom sadly wrote me a long letter, which I still have to this day.  She lovingly told me that she wanted me to really consider what it would be like to date and marry this boy, that was not white.   My mom is not racist at all, but she is very aware of the hate in others.  She wanted me to be aware what it would be like to raise biracial children, in a community like the one we lived in.  I lived in a town in Indiana, at that time, that was full of riots and fighting day after day.  I saw students stabbed, and beaten with ball bats at my school, just because of the color of their skin.  My mom wanted me to really consider the cost of dating a man that was black.  This was the moment that I realized that skin color truly mattered to people.

To this very day, I don’t know why it matters so much.  I didn’t end up marrying that boy, but I did learn many valuable lessons from him, and our mothers.  Our moms knew the cost, because they had made the tough decisions themselves.  My mom is Mexican American, and she also knew what it was like to be treated poorly because of your biological heritage.  Black, white, yellow, brown, Hispanic, Asian, African, European, etc.  These are BIOLOGICAL characteristics.  They have nothing to do with a person’s character.

Why, oh, why do we divide over skin tone?

Two of my brothers with our parents.

There are a lot of lies out there.

But there is truth too.  You see my darker skinned brothers, nephews, cousins, and sons get pulled over for no reason more often than you might think.  They get stopped even when they are just walking down their own street from a friend’s  home.  They get searched even though they have no record.  Racial profiling is a fact.

But why does it exist?

Because we allow it.  Because we create it.  Because we encourage it.  Because we as a people, all, believe it.

Stop believing you are less than someone else.  Stop believing you are better than someone else.  Stop believing they asked for it.  Stop believing you deserve it.  JUST STOP.

Start showing love to all people.  Start looking for Truth.  Start being the answer.

My dad and sister.

For my family for generations, we have adopted children in need of a home no matter the color of their skin.  We have loved all children no matter their biological background.

Two of my daughters.

My parents are very private people, but I think it is important to share with you some pictures of our family.  I was not able to get pictures of all our family.  But here is a few of our beautifully multicolored family.

My oldest sister, her husband, and five of their six children.

One of my other sisters, with her husband and their eight children.

My parents with 12 of 17.

Two of my daughters.

Daughters, nieces, and nephews.

My mom and brother.

My oldest and youngest sons.

My parents with most of their grandchildren so far.

Written by Katie