What's up Goodhumans!
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I do use the n-word,
but I only say it when I'm around fellow black people, so my friends or my family who are black.
But at the same time i'm like, "I don't look black."
so when it comes out of my mouth, they're like, "woah."
-Music-
We invited six people of mixed race to see the range of their values and beliefs.
You're mixed race, correct?
Yes, sir.
I am mixed with African and Asian.
I am more Asian than Black.
My dad was from El Salvador and my mom is half-Japanese, half-Jewish.
My ethnicity is Filipino and Black.
I do feel more inclined to my Black side more than my Filipino side.
My mother is white and my dad is Iranian.
All throughout high school, I just pretended I was white because I looked very white.
I am half-Chinese, half-Russian-Jewish
I never really connected to either side, just somewhere in the middle.
My mom is Jamaican and my dad is Australian.
Being mixed race is a race so I don't feel like I want to have to pick.
Three, two, one, go.
-Giggles.-
As a mixed-Black person, a lot of people are like
Oh my God, like, you're like light-skinned. You look so nice.
Like, you don't look like all the other Ghetto girls.
And I'm like, what is that supposed to mean?
Exactly, exactly.
On first dates, most of the time people be like.
Oh, no wonder you're so attractive.
Or, like, no wonder you're so gorgeous.
I'm just like, -grimaces- I don't love that reaction.
I've always found like it's an awkward thing to bring up in conversation.
Cause there's all the memes were like
People like, Oh, did you know, like, I'm mixed or whatever
And it's like, bringing it up in like the natural flow of conversation is always kinda weird.
I need to see these memes.
-Laughs-
Have you not seen like the logic memes?
Where he's like, "Oh, I'm biracial."
And, it's like, you haven't seen those?
No!
He's just always bringing up how he's like half-Black and that's like what the meme is.
Three, two, one, go.
Me, personally, I do not say the n-word.
I just, I just don't, it doesn't flow out right
But, like, for my Asian side
Obviously I can call my fellow girlies, "Chinks." and stuff.
But like, obviously, if someone else said that
You get the fist.
I agree. I do use the n-word.
But I only say it when I'm around fellow Black people. So, my friends or my family who are Black.
But, at the same time, I'm like I don't look Black, so when it comes out of my mouth
They're like, woah
I try my best to only use the n-word around my Black friends
Just because it creates this weird air when I'm with White people
It's a slippery slope that I don't like to go down
Probably makes them really uncomfortable.
Actually, like, more than you think it's not even uncomfortable
A lot of them think it's really cool
And then some people will feel entitled to do it.
And you just don't want to have that conversation.
That was me with my Asian friends
It's like a lot of Asian people
Like to go into Black culture sometimes
Yes.
I did get into a little bit of an altercation in High School for calling
white people "colonists."
That was the thing.
People were like, "that's a racial slur."
I don't think it is.
That is not a racial slur.
Personally, I don't feel comfortable using any slurs
If I haven't heard those slurs towards me
Then maybe I'm not in a position to reclaim them.
Three, two, one, go.
In America today, walking down the street, it matters what you look like.
People are going to judge you based on the race that they perceive you to be.
When I walk down the street,
People aren't going to look at me the same way as they look at someone who's perceived as Black.
And so I just want to really acknowledge the reality of that.
I wouldn't disagree with you at all, but at the same time
I think the most important thing is just how you grew up.
Someone that has a Black parent that doesn't appear Black
They were still raised by a Black person.
They still, like, everything that their parents experienced is passed down to them
Whether it's through story or just through actions.
I'm actually going to move over to this line.
Which I guess is more a middle line just because-
I can't do that?
Then I'm here, never mind.
So I'm on "Somewhat Agree because, I'm an actor.
And when I go into casting calls it only matters what I look like.
And it only matters what race they think I am. Which is, a lot of times, White.
But sometimes, I'll get called in for things that are not my ethnicity.
And that's because of my career.
That's what's important with that.
Three, two, one, go.
Even throughout High School, I just pretended I was White completely.
And there was a time when my Dad picked me up from school.
It was a whole thing. People were saying, "Oh, your Dad's a terrorist."
I had never experienced anything like that
Or they'd asked me about it and make bomb jokes.
It hurt to hear people saying stuff like that about my Dad.
Similar thing happened to me. When I was in Elementary School my dad came and dropped me off at school
And he's a dark-skinned Black man
And he's from the hood on top of that.
So he has a certain aura to him.
And a lot of people look at me like, That's your dad? And I'm like, yeah, that's my Dad.
And they're like, he looks so scary
And I'm like, why does he look scary to you? Why should he look scary to you?
And the only thing that's keeping me away from this "Strongly Disagree"
Is because when I was younger, I just did not accept the Black part of myself. And now, I do.
I just want to say, "I'm really sorry," to both of you.
That you felt like you've been put in positions to feel
That is such a terrible thing to tell someone.
No, you can't be every part of who you are.
These past couple of years, I've been trying to reconnect with that part
Because I shoved it down for so long and it's been really heart-breaking
The amount of Wudus I missed and the Ramadans I didn't celebrate
Because I felt so uncomfortable about that.
It's important to take the steps though.
Personally, I've never tried to hide any part of me.
That's always been the biggest thing for me.
Growing up, I was always proud to be White and I was always proud to be Black.
That's just how I was raised.
It's always how it was. I just wanted to be me. So, that's what it is.
The reason I'm on this line is because Western beauty standards suck.
They really, really got to me.
I would be really picky about how I would do my hair. And how I would part my hair.
And then when I would post YouTube videos or Instagram posts
I would color-correct everything to be really blue so that I wouldn't look "yellow."
And it was just, like I didn't want to post a photo of me outside
Because I thought my eyes looked too Asian.
A lot of internalized things that made me feel... made me hate myself and my appearance.
And now I feel much more accepting of being mixed and being everything that I am.
But I am here because I have felt like I wanted to hide a part of me.
Because it would have been easier for me.
I agree.
Like, when I was younger. I used to want to be lighter. I used to get made fun of.
I would always get the question, "Are you adopted?"
You're not Asian. And it just made me feel so bad about myself.
That I was so confused. I didn't fit into any single pocket of anybody and any friend groups.
I couldn't hang out with the Chinese kids because
They're like, "You don't look Chinese."
I don't hang out with the Black kids because I don't sound Black and they say I am White-washed.
So my whole entire life, I've literally battled within. Like, what the hell am I?
Three, two, one, go.
So I feel like I just have to say that when writing college essays
Every single one of my essays was about being half-Iranian and half-White.
Like, when I was applying for scholarships. That's what I would talk about.
Because it was something that I really felt passionate about.
But also, something that I knew would catch people's interest.
And I think, I... I don't feel guilty about using that because I think it's a double-edged sword
And there's lots of repercussions for being mixed-race too.
Well, I kind of interpreted it differently.
Like, I haven't really abused my power like that.
Like, sure, that is a way like that.
But I haven't done anything else besides that on, like, my college apps.
So I don't know if I can do this but maybe I'm going to straddle these two
You can't do that.
Okay. Then I'll like daintily pose over here.
But, like, my grandma was Jewish and
I did go on birthright, which is a free trip for people of Jewish descent.
And even though I don't, like identify a lot with the Jewish religion.
I did get a free trip to Israel out of being part-Jewish.
So I guess that's like kind of something to my advantage.
But I really loved my time there.
-Laughs-
Yeah, free trip.
But, you know.
I've like gotten like jobs for being half-Asian.
For like, I worked at the most predominately Asian businesses.
And as soon as I say "I speak fluent Cantonese," I got the job.
That's like a skill.
I know it is.
You can be proud of it. It's a skill you have.
No, I love it. No, trust me but t does get me job opportunities.
Better than other people who are like, you know, White or Black.
Who get the same positions. But they would hire me because I'm half-Asian.
And, like, I speak the language and stuff.
Okay, I moved because I was thinking more about the question.
When I first heard the question, I was thinking, like,
Do I have any kind of advantage?
And then I was thinking about, how being part-White
does give me some privilege and like some advantages.
But I don't think I've used that for like scholarships or any of that
And I try to really stay conscious when I'm like in an Asian space
To not take up too much of the space because of my Whiteness, you know?
It's like a fine line.
It's still your space. Like, you're still Asian.
Yeah.
I guess I've always been kind of cautious about that.
Umm, but thinking more about the question, I was like,
No, I should be on this side.
Three, two, one, go.
Is this from the audience?
There are way too many articles about an interracial couple
Where it's later find out that the white part is saying a racial slur about their child.
Just to boil it down to like love?
It can't, it really can't be done.
First of all, that.
Second of all, there's a lot of, sorry to name names,
But like a lot of White women who want to get with Black men
Trying to achieve their light-skinned baby who's like just the perfect amount of tan
With the perfect amount of curls.
Yeah, like, raise your hand if you've heard someone be like
Oh my gosh, I would have such gorgeous mixed babies.
Like, definitely heard that. And we're all gorgeous.
Don't get me wrong.
But that's problematic to say, one.
And two, I'm over here because there's like no one solution to racism.
I want to make it really clear that a White person
having a kid with a Black person does not mean that that person
does not have racist tendencies or is not discriminatory at all.
I love my Dad to death but sometimes he just says things where it's like
You shouldn't be saying that.
Plus like, even in a future if America becomes super mixed
Like if everyone is mixed. If not racism, it will still have like colorism.
And different nuances within racism. It's not going to go away just because people are more mixed.
Like, you can say, mixed people are the future or whatever but it's not going to solve racism.
Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed that episode.
Don't forget to check out our new humangood collection: Surface Level.
This whole collection is about how we make judgments and how frequently we make them on a Surface Level.
So go to humangoodLA.com to check out the rest of the items in the collection.
But hurry up, because we're selling out really fast.
You can also follow us on Instagram at @humangoodla
And we'll see you next time.