Simply Sarah Jones

At least not in this blog post. Being biracial in America has always been a topic of interest for myself. If you’re wondering, it’s because I was born to a black father and a white mother. In 1993. When it should have been socially acceptable for interracial couples to have children together, right?

But all of you know this. What I am not going to do is sit here and identify everything that’s wrong in the world and how awful white people are. Because guess what, I am white people. I am also black people.

Biracial children in this country have bore the burden of playing mediators between whites and blacks for a long time. We silently straddle the middle of understanding everyone, but not knowing how to communicate to anyone. I have a hunch that if you did a study of children with mixed-race children, you would find them to be more empathetic then someone with a 100% homogeneous racial makeup. Don’t be proud of us for this…we have to be. It’s how we survive living in a black and white world.

And you know what, I couldn’t be more grateful for this burden. Each day something in my life reminds me of why I am grateful to have a black family who loves me and a white family who loves me. They’re both crazy in their own unique ways.

Here’s the bottom line:

White people are scared to admit all the things they don’t know that they should about black people. And black people are (rightfully) angry for years of systemic inequalities that worsen their situations.

My promise to the world, and ask of all other biracial children of this country:

Bear the burden of sharing your story and do it with pride. We are uniquely positioned to have not only perspective from both sides of the spectrum, but we ALSO come with a slightly higher level of respect when it comes to educating others. People can’t get mad at us for speaking our truths, since our truths come from both sides.

Let’s not forget that small change is better than no change at all. Anyone in business knows that the changing of mindsets and behaviors of an organization with a set culture and values is extremely difficult to do. That’s why there are literally people who get paid to come in and help implement a large shift in an organization.

Take that concept outside of a business and apply it to real life. White people aren’t going to suddenly wake up and join the NAACP and start marching on Washington. And you know what? I am okay with slow change, because I want it to stick. Just like a diet, I’d rather slowly implement change into my life and make it more of a “lifestyle change” than a “diet”. To all of my friends, we want this change to be permanent. So let’s do it right.

Remember – it has only been ~50 ish years since babies like me weren’t illegal to exist. That’s only a generation or two ago. What does that mean? As we move forward, there will continue to be more biracial babies like myself who can continue to mediate and keep the peace and promote change.

Sarah, you’re saying you don’t think racism exists or that we don’t need to act quickly….

No, you’re wrong. There needs to be immediate change like holding people accountable who commit these heinous crimes (thanks Law & Order: SVU for teaching me that phrase). That should definitely happen. But you can’t expect the white supremacist living next door to suddenly have a #blacklivesmatter sign in their front yard. Also, you don’t want that. It wouldn’t be genuine and it wouldn’t be real.

To my white friends and family: I am here as a resource if you ever have any questions about how to better support your friends and family of color. More specifically, your black friends and family. I don’t have all the answers, but you can rest assured that I will only chuckle slightly internally at your questions and then we will have a great conversation about perspective.

To my black friends and family: I am here as a resource if you ever need to understand why white people don’t understand you. It seems obvious to us, but it’s a bit more complicated. I don’t have all the answers, but it’s a safe space for you to share your emotions out loud. Your feelings are valid. Reach out to me and we will also have a great conversation about perspective.

At the end of the day, that’s all this is. A conversation about perspective, reframing old ways of thinking, and recognizing patterns. Implementing small changes that become habits. And in 50 years, I hope to write another post of all the progress we have made.

To everyone: Be kind to one another. Period.

Simply Sarah Jones

I don’t claim to have the answers to it all, this is just how I’m feeling after being inundated with social media hysteria the past few days. I wish everyone would just slow down and first, reflect.