Dear Editor,
THE arrival of a new royal baby in the United Kingdom reminds us all that not only mixed-race people are the United Kingdom’s fastest-growing ethnic group; it also underscores that what it means to be mixed race is changing. Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor will join the ranks of those second-generation mixed-race people who challenge our very perceptions of ethnicity and black identity.

In fact, the changing face of mixed-race Britain is something we barely notice even as we are looking directly at it. Perhaps that is the point. Back in the early 2000s, we were vaguely aware that young celebrities such as the late reality TV star Jade Goody or footballer Ryan Giggs, had a black grandparent. But they rarely discussed it, or talked of how they perceived themselves.

Our current view of mixed-race, particularly in the context of the black African/Caribbean community, has become so familiar that it is now almost a cliche. I know it, because I have lived it. My four boys are mixed-race too!

Of course, African people in the UK have a long history of integrating and inter-marrying into wider society. Furthermore, mixed-race people span all ethnic groups; not just those with black and white parents. But it is important to recognise that this phenomenon has a particular new significance to black Britain, for two key reasons. First, interracial relationships and the growing mixed-race population is something the British black community is experiencing in exceptionally higher numbers compared with other groups. This likelihood also increases with each new generation: The chances of people of mixed black/white heritage having a white partner are about 80%. The demographic implications of this for the future of black Caribbean in Britain are obvious.

For some Africans, the increasing dominance of interracial relationships can feel like a devaluing of relationships between two black people. More pointedly, in a society where the stereotypical appearance of mixed-race people with light- brown skin and curly hair is held up as the perfect symbol of Britain’s exciting multicultural future. How does that make you feel if you are a dark-skinned black person with Afro hair?

A black perspective in these discussions is so important. The country has been fascinated by how it might feel to have the Queen’s great-grandson recognised for his African-American heritage. Few have stopped to think about how the Duchess of Sussex, or her mother, Doria Ragland, would feel if he were not. Perhaps the least discussed aspect of second-generation mixed-race Britons is how it feels to be their mixed-race parent.
Many parents these days are brining up children to believe that racial integration, including interracial marriage, is not only a good thing but is the natural progression of a healthy society. Many still believe that. Children are also taught by example that “race” is largely a “social construct” that limits us, and we should strive to see it as irrelevant. Editor! There is only one race; and that is the human race! And we are all leaves and flowers of one garden, and fruits of one tree!

Regards,
Rooplall Dudhnath