How to Talk to Biracial Families: Learning to Live Multiculturally

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How to Talk to Biracial Families: Learning to Live Multiculturally

I’m generally a candid person, curious about the world in general, and I want my questions answered. But here’s one I’m sick of, getting asked if my daughter is adopted, or rather, some vague version of it.

I understand that children are curious. I don’t begrudge their curiosity. But I think it’s time that white parents spend some time educating their children about our multicultural world.

I share these stories, not to complain, but to give people a window into a world that I am a part of that I once was not. I share them to illuminate a life that may be different from your own. And I share for those who are interested in expanding their world views, as I once was, knowing that I was ignorant and wanting to address it in myself. I always appreciated my friends of color who cared enough to overlook my ignorance, see my quest for information and accept my roughness when asking them questions. I also appreciate and recognize my ignorant arguments with them when I’d had enough and felt attacked even though they were just sharing with me what I’d asked of them.

So if we, as liberal whites, want to live in a multicultural world and wish to raise culturally aware children, then we must take on the responsibility of becoming aware of how to address and ultimately befriend people and families of color.

We must become aware.

martha headshotABOUT MARTHA: I’m an idealistic, ranting, venting curmudgeon. Most of the time I’m pretty nice, but catch me on a day when I’ve had some time to think and boy howdy, you’ll get an earful. I have low tolerance for ignorance.

I’m a single, self-employed, writer mama, to a biracial daughter. My blog, Mom Soap,  is rarely funny, but when it is, it’s generally about poop jokes or farting noises. These days I mostly write about race, racism, and cultural topics. I live in Austin, Texas and I’m a raging liberal with a soft spot for gun-toting rednecks, having grown up in small town Texas. Ironic, considering my low tolerance for ignorance. But there you go.

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