Are Mixed People Better?

Me: Sis, what do you think life would have been like if we were half English?

Sister: *Doesn't even hesitate* - dunno, we would probably just have been even more confused.

Would we have been?

Everyone knows that being mixed is combining two separate races - genetically you would be stronger than both your parents, with stronger in this context meaning healthier and more able to survive as an offspring. You are genetically from two separate geographical locations, and most of the time, you are more attractive than both of those races and well equipped to deal with both the climates of your parents.

But what is it really like to live not belonging to either race? Or what is it like to belong to two races and look like neither?

I am fully North Sudanese which to most people is considered an oxymoron. Being 'Fully North Sudanese' is like saying I'm 'Fully Arab and African mixed' but because the mixture occurred such a long time ago and there are so many of us it's just silly to say we are mixed. However that's not to say that Sudanese from all over Sudan are not aware of this mixture.

Being raised in the UK played a huge role in my personality formation no doubt, I feel it everyday when I am in Sudan, I know that I am different and so does everyone else but that's more the effects of 'mixed culture' than 'mixed race' and I will post about that at some point - but for now let's keep it about race.

In Sudan people are aware that they are Arab and African - however many shy away from identifying themselves as African. Our names are Arabic and our culture has morphed to suit Arab values and beliefs and embedded within Arab beliefs is 'misogyny' - therefore you find that those with Male Arab ancestors identify themselves more Arab than they do African whereas those whose mother is Arab identify themselves as African.

It's interesting to say the least and at first sight seems harmless, but as I searched deeper I realized that there was much more to this self attributed separatism than just differences in geographical regions. With any mixed child we realize the difference between one race and the other - although your parents might not come from this school of thought, a large portion of the world still attributes one race to be in some way superior to the other. In Sudan Arabs are considered superior to Africans - a prime example of how this is portrayed in the culture is demonstrated by the beauty standards and marriage norms.

A beautiful women is 'White, and has long straight soft hair'. By 'White' they mean of light skinned olive complexion (ranges from Rihanna's to Kim Kardashian's tone) - this standard is more suitable when describing an Arab woman from the UAE or Kuwait - not a Sudanese women who is born with brown short hair of curly/rough texture and a chocolate complexion.

Also,  when an 'Arab' Sudanese wishes to marry, they are faced with great family/societal difficulties if their chosen spouse is more African than Arab - Now, this is where the confusion kicks in.

Aren't we a mixture of Arab and African? So why is it a problem in society for us to re-mix? What on earth has made these people not able to see their African heritage when they look in the mirror? And why do they shy away from it?

What I find interesting is that Sudanese people who were raised in Western society tend to feel more comfortable identifying themselves as black more-so than Arab - whereas the ones raised in Sudan or the Middle East tend to identify themselves as Arabs. It's very interesting to me why the need to choose sides is prevalent.

Perhaps it's time for a dual identity? I am very comfortable being both - and on top of that, I enjoy that I have a mixed personality and some conflicting beliefs. I think that being from both races, and both schools of thought (western and eastern) I am able to identify complexes within both cultures/races without needing to prove one wrong or pick a side because I truly am both.

As dark as my complexion is, I am still Arab.

As light as my complexion is, I am still African.


      

Is 'Black Face' Racist?

I'm late posting. I know. I apologize.

My life has been very busy... *coughs*

Moving on to the topic... unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks chances are your life has somehow been enhanced or on the contrary, inconvenienced by the antics of The World Cup 2014. Although I am neither a football fan nor a hater, the nature of my job means I have to discuss all topics which people like - and this is a particularly hot one.

But recently the discussions turned from amazing football strikers, excellent goal keepers and the best player being injured to racism in the stadium - and it wasn't your regular black and white racism (pun unintended but welcomed nonetheless) where something is racist and punishable... The situation involved an act depicted by one culture as extremely racist, while to another it was playful and innocent.

It all began when Germany was playing Ghana and two men, then, identified as Germans supporting the German team painted their faces black and had 'Ghana' written on their T-Shirts. This caused total offence to an African American lawyer from Alabama who expressed it to the men, but to his utter surprise, their response was not one of mockery, but bewilderment.

They did not see why he was upset or offended. From the viewpoint of the American, 'Black Face' is associated with minstrel shows which existed in America in the 1930's. They depicted white people, who painted their faces black mocking blacks by portraying them with negative characteristics attributed to them by the white community at the time.

In Germany however, black face is not at all a big deal... in fact Angela Merkel was recently photographed with a young boy dressed in black face to depict the black king from the three kings who famously visit Jesus at his birth in the nativity play which children portray at school in christian western society. Black face is merely face paint to indicate the racial origin of a person - not to mock it.

The two men turned out to be Dutch, and were actually supporting Ghana - but the American argued that they should have just worn the T-shirts, instead of using 'racist' connotations to depict their support for Ghana.

Which then begs the question - Who decides what is meant by 'Black Face'? Is it the case that because the use of it in the 1930's in America was negative that any white person painting their face black is racist? What about people who do it without thinking being black is bad? - Does that mean it is racist to not think being black is bad? Should 'White Face' be made racist too? Or should we use the positive stereotype of black face to destroy the negative association?

A very strong part of me feels that the best way to combat racism is by reducing the power that racist words or actions have. An example is that of Dani Alves, when a banana was thrown at him on the football pitch, instead of taking it as an insult attributing his race to a monkey - he simply ate it. This immediately made the racist gesture lose its power. Although I feel that this was a very powerful statement I am unsure whether or not this would work with words like ni***r - Would not taking offence eradicate a word's negative power? And if so, would this be a good thing or would it lead to us deleting parts of the word's history?