Member-only story
A tale of four continents
Four conversations, with four cultural and generational perspectives, reflecting the experience and expectation of parents and grandparents to a mixed race child
With my wife and I being of Kenyan Gujarati and West Indian descent respectively, and both being first generation, British-born children of immigrants, my son’s background spans four continents. His heritage can be traced back to India, East Africa, the West Indies and of course the UK, all within merely a few generations. He’s a Nigel Farage, Jean-Marie Le Pen and Donald Trump nightmare.
I’m optimistic that he shouldn’t feel the need to caveat his own Britishness (as I did when growing up), while realising and embracing his heritage along with the fact that he is British. That said, being mixed race can still present tensions in some parts of society that haven’t experienced the integration that for so many of us is now commonplace.
I’m also conscious of achieving a cultural balance for my son, and in a way that isn’t contrived or foisted upon him. I want him to know and celebrate his background in a way that some children, mixed race or otherwise, are unable to due to ignorance.
When I do think about my son being mixed race, it’s often in the context of my…