Adler, Benjamin, Shanti: Mixed Family Archives
Mixed Family Archives is an ongoing social media series where mixed identifying people of color comment on their family dynamics and how it has impacted their identity. We think that exploring the beauty and challenges of our community members families is important because it is something many of us have never shared or talked about before. And of course, that is what Mixed life is about; exploring, learning, creating, and sharing your mixed voices. To create these posts we asked our community members to send in the following:
A photo of any of your family members. For example, your parents or a really dope Aunt (old photos are encouraged).
Write a short description or story about how your family has shaped, influenced, or impacted your mixed identity in any way.
ADLER
Photos and statement provided by Norah Adler- My dad is Japanese American and my mom is white. Growing up, it has been hard to come to terms with my own identity because I look white, and my dad has his own conflicts with his Japanese American identity. His mom immigrated to the US from Japan after World War II, so his family did not experience internment camps like many Japanese Americans. In my own childhood, I grew up going to a predominantly white school, so I ignored the Japanese side of me. I was always embarrassed of my Japanese food or Japanese grandmother with a heavy accent. At the same time, I never felt completely white because half of my family was Japanese and I, unlike most of my peers, knew Japanese culture. Everyone perceived me as white, so I accepted that identity. It wasn't until recently where I began appreciating my differences.
BENJAMIN
Photos and statement provided by Naiobi Benjamin - My mom learned to do me and my sisters hair because she knew her black kids would look different than her. And my parents admired our beauty and differences with such confidence that we didn’t notice or think about how the world would look at us. So we grew up in homes filled with different languages, cultures, and stories which only made us more educated individuals of the world. So me and my sister remember Venice beach where the memories of our family live. And when I think of my mixed identity, I smell salt water, I hear mexican music, and the beauty of it all, is that my parents who are not mixed were able to raise proud mixed children as if it wasn’t a big deal and the truth is, it shouldn’t be. (My Mexican mama and my afro-latino dad)
SHANTI
Photos and Statement provided by Shanti - I grew up never knowing any other Latinx/Asian people in my life other than my sisters and me. It almost felt like I was lying to others and my self every time I mentioned what I was because of the disbelief or shocked faces we'd get of such a mixed person existing. They always knew there was something off, I didn't look or act quite like them. Once they saw my mom it was always "aah it all makes sense, you're not really Puerto Rican." Yet the reality is, I am. I am all together Latina, Asian and more. Your opinions don't change facts and my genetic makeup. (Left is my mother, the right is my biological father and I’m in the middle)