Reading Maggie’s comment, I wonder if my Swedish and German ancestry would once have been considered mixed. If so, we have made progress, but as you point out, there is more to be made. Thank you for an excellent article.
Thanks Judy. I think back on the turn-of-the-century New York City and the countless neighborhoods where specific European groups lived - Jewish, Polish, Italian, Irish, etc. At that time, it definitely would have been considered taboo to mix, but only to their own cultural groups, not to society as a whole.
Thanks Marcia. I'm so glad you found this helpful. Grateful for the work you do as well. We can't change the past, but we can break the chain and move toward a better tomorrow.
Torrie, I am learning so much from your posts. Racial constructs are fascinating and complicated. Three of my four grandparents were Norwegian, so I grew up in a culture in which having a Swedish ancestor would have been considered being “mixed”! That would be a joke to most, but not all. I’ve never really understood why those who have a biracial background needed to identify as one race or the other and in one paragraph you explained that so well. I so appreciate your writing.
Wow! Thank you so much Maggie. It's my prayer that maybe I can help some people feel seen and valued and help others connect the dots. I'm so glad this piece helped connect some dots for you today.
And while I understand your sentiment, I don't think European mixes are a joke at all. They are rooted in the same generational constructs. The only difference is they were based on culture instead of race. Thank you for sharing a bit of your family history.
Reading Maggie’s comment, I wonder if my Swedish and German ancestry would once have been considered mixed. If so, we have made progress, but as you point out, there is more to be made. Thank you for an excellent article.
Thanks Judy. I think back on the turn-of-the-century New York City and the countless neighborhoods where specific European groups lived - Jewish, Polish, Italian, Irish, etc. At that time, it definitely would have been considered taboo to mix, but only to their own cultural groups, not to society as a whole.
This is so good, Torrie! I'm learning a lot from you. Thank you for the important work you are doing!
Thanks Marcia. I'm so glad you found this helpful. Grateful for the work you do as well. We can't change the past, but we can break the chain and move toward a better tomorrow.
Torrie, I am learning so much from your posts. Racial constructs are fascinating and complicated. Three of my four grandparents were Norwegian, so I grew up in a culture in which having a Swedish ancestor would have been considered being “mixed”! That would be a joke to most, but not all. I’ve never really understood why those who have a biracial background needed to identify as one race or the other and in one paragraph you explained that so well. I so appreciate your writing.
Wow! Thank you so much Maggie. It's my prayer that maybe I can help some people feel seen and valued and help others connect the dots. I'm so glad this piece helped connect some dots for you today.
And while I understand your sentiment, I don't think European mixes are a joke at all. They are rooted in the same generational constructs. The only difference is they were based on culture instead of race. Thank you for sharing a bit of your family history.