The way this resonated with me is crazy. I grew up as the only “black in the village”
Quite literally. My primary school consisted of three black children. Myself, my older brother ( who was sporty so everyone loved him) and another girl who was adopted by a white family and basically did not know she was black! 30+ years later and as someone who works in education I still often find myself being the token “ethnic”. Recently attending a annual SEND conference in London of over 300 delegates and the only other person of colour was serving the sandwiches.
Thank you for writing and sharing this with us, we hold it and stand with you, sister. I navigated white religious church and higher educational spaces for quite some time in Texas and Alabama and can resonate with much of what you wrote. I am still working in the fragments of what was broken and lost within me in those spaces. You are not alone, Shade.
I am so sorry that you still have to experience this. I think if and when you do decide to have children, they will be very lucky to have you as a parent!
I would never see your self as a token anything… we are beautiful human beings of many colours shapes and sizes.. be free to be all you are embrace your beauty inner and outer and be absolutely YOU. 💖
“No one around you understands your experience, and many of them are deeply invested in believing that your lived experience is a figment of your own imagination and victim complex.”
This is a heavy piece and I hesitated before reading. I see many similarities between our school stories, I was not the only Black girl in my case. No one talks about the aftermath of this, you don’t grow out of it, but the people doing the harming no awareness. I feel this even now,
Yes, even reading back I was like 'yikes that's a bit heavy!' .Thank you for engaging with it anyway. I feel like especially in the UK, it's an experience that isn't spoken about enough.
The way this resonated with me is crazy. I grew up as the only “black in the village”
Quite literally. My primary school consisted of three black children. Myself, my older brother ( who was sporty so everyone loved him) and another girl who was adopted by a white family and basically did not know she was black! 30+ years later and as someone who works in education I still often find myself being the token “ethnic”. Recently attending a annual SEND conference in London of over 300 delegates and the only other person of colour was serving the sandwiches.
Thank you for writing and sharing this with us, we hold it and stand with you, sister. I navigated white religious church and higher educational spaces for quite some time in Texas and Alabama and can resonate with much of what you wrote. I am still working in the fragments of what was broken and lost within me in those spaces. You are not alone, Shade.
Thank you so much Samuel, and thank you for reading ❤️❤️
I am so sorry that you still have to experience this. I think if and when you do decide to have children, they will be very lucky to have you as a parent!
Aaawww thanks Richard that's really sweet 💕💕
I would never see your self as a token anything… we are beautiful human beings of many colours shapes and sizes.. be free to be all you are embrace your beauty inner and outer and be absolutely YOU. 💖
“No one around you understands your experience, and many of them are deeply invested in believing that your lived experience is a figment of your own imagination and victim complex.”
This is a heavy piece and I hesitated before reading. I see many similarities between our school stories, I was not the only Black girl in my case. No one talks about the aftermath of this, you don’t grow out of it, but the people doing the harming no awareness. I feel this even now,
“Good times. Good times! “Fuck off!”
Yes, even reading back I was like 'yikes that's a bit heavy!' .Thank you for engaging with it anyway. I feel like especially in the UK, it's an experience that isn't spoken about enough.
I feel you, and I'm sorry 😢