My beautiful family is of mixed race.
I am Chinese and my husband is African American.
We have a young adult son and a teenage daughter.
We are so proud of how they have learned to embrace their ethnicity and race, however, embracing who they are has been a work in progress.
Growing up, they each experienced a lack of belonging by schoolmates or peers. Both never had a large group of friends they could connect with. Their closest friendships were with their cousins and still are to this day.
But strangely, embracing their ethnicity and race was strengthened by the events that took place in 2020.
The rise of racial injustice and discrimination came to the forefront for both African Americans and Asian Americans. My daughter began to write poetry about the Black Lives Matter movement and attended her first march. And my son wrote a paper on AAPI hate crimes for his communication class. They were fighting against discrimination for both races.
The advocacy for their ethnicity and race intensified their acceptance of who they are.
And now incredibly proud of being of both African American and Asian American descent.
Do you have a story of your mixed heritage to share? Let us know your story here
Mixed Heritage Day 