I'm a Black Man
And I was Born in Britain With Jamaican Parents That Immigrated To Britain in the early 1960s and Made it Their New Home.
It Wasn't Long Before I Became Aware Of Let's Say...Issues Between Black and White People.
I Didn't personally Experience Any Ill Treatment From White People In My early years and So I became Aware of Problems based on Racism From My Parents, Mainly from My Mum Who Often Felt The Need To Warn Me about Mixing With White People.
She Would Tell Me That I Would Be Betrayed By White People and Lead Into all kinds Of Bad Situations,
And I Would Be Physically attacked by them.
And So I was Expected To Stick to my Own Race Who I was Told Would Treat Me Better.
My Parents Were Very Strict and So I was Expected To Be Obedient and If I failed To Obey I would Be Punished severely
Mainly By My Dad Who Would use Things Like a Television Wire To Beat Me With.
And In The Absence of One Of Those I would Be Beaten With A Belt.
So You Can Imagine How scared I was As I grew Up Living With Parents Who Didn't spare the rod at all when Their Children Stepped out of Line.
But I refused To "stick to my so called own" and despite being a Shy and quiet child, I Managed To Make friends With White Children as well as Black Children.
And I found That What My Mum Had Warned Me About Wasn't True.
I Found That My Own Race Were Just As Capable Of Betraying Each Other and Beating them Up as Well
Which Happened To Me Many Times as I grew Up.
I Also Had Closer Relationships With White People Than Black people.
Most of My Closest Friends At that Time Were White.
And Although By That Time I was Fully Aware of The Damaging Effects Of Racism in Britain, I Refused To Give Up My White Friends.
I Also Found That I was Attracted To White Females As I grew Up and I felt Frustrated By The Idea That I Would Never Be Able To Develop A Relationship With A White Female Simply Cause This Belief That I Had Been Taught About
That Basically Black and White People Are Like Fire And Paper.
One Always reduces the Other To ashes in a Sense.
And So I could only Look But Never be Able To Have.
And because My Parents Mistrusted White People I would Never Be Able To Bring a White Female Home To Meet My Parents Knowing How They Felt About White People.
And So As I Grew Up I Pondered over Whether I should Obey My Mum and Look for Relationship with a Black Female?
Or Do The Unthinkable and Look for a White Girlfriend and risk being disowned by my mum?
Well, I chose the Latter and though I never married, I don't regret any of my relationships with White Females.
And I'm so Glad I Didn't Let What I was Taught Influence My Decisions Later in My Life.
I Can See Now How Racism causes people to mistrust and fear one another without Just reason.
And If We Let It, That Fear Can Stop Us From Reaching Out and Developing Relationships with one another.
So I Am Against Racism Despite Being Raised To Mistrust White People.
Racism Has Had a Damaging Affect on Society And Therefore Should Be Rejected at All Costs.
But I Am Aware That Sadly There Will Continue To Be People Like My Mum That For Various Reasons, Mistrust People Of A Different Race
and Will Likely Attempt To Teach Their Children To Fear Them and Avoid Contact With Them Like I was Taught.
No Doubt The Parents Believe they are Right in doing That
But The Reality Is It Does More Harm Than Good To Everyone.
And It Is Far Better To Encourage One's Children To Try To Be Friends With All People Even Though That Isn't Always Possible Of Course.
But Surely It Is Better Than Teaching Them To Mistrust People of Another Race?
Anyway What Do You Think?
What Was Your Experience Like Growing in Britain as a Black or White Child?
And Did you End Up Marrying a Person of Another Race
and If So How Did your Relatives React?
And Do Agree With Interracial Relationships or Not?
If Not Why?
Thanks.
