I love to see multiracial families in my community. Growing up in NYC seeing a multiracial family is something I took for granted. Here in the south, it’s another story. Therefore, when I see others that look like us I am excited. I want to run up to them and hug them. Do worry, I don’t. I don’t stare or linger as many do when they see my little family but it warms my heart. It helps us feel not so alone on this journey.
“Unicorn: a mythical animal typically represented as a horse with a single straight horn projecting from its forehead.”
Seeing other multiracial families solidifies my thought that we are not unicorns. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Twilight Sparkle as much as the next fairy princess! However, seeing other multiracial families in the South forces a new conversation. A new narrative if you will.
“Like many families in America, we want our son to grow up with a strong sense of family ”
The new narrative is one that shows the world that multiracial families are strong and full of love. That we are thriving and happy and that its ok. One in which multiracial marriages are not fetishsized but rather welcomed into the fold. Staring at us while we are eating dinner or shopping at target only makes you look ignorant and makes or family feel isolated. We are not mystical beings, we are flesh and bone just like you.
I want people to know that yes I am Afro-Latina, my husband is white, and we are raising our multiracial (adopted) son in a small farming town in North Carolina with the same hopes and dreams that they have for their families. Like many families in America, we want our son to grow up with a strong sense of family and hope our relationship provides him with a model for what a healthy, loving, partnership looks like. Like any family, we celebrate the ups and work through the downs together. Like all families in America, we are not unicorns.