Conversation Series: Black Women with White Mothers
On Saturday, April 11, in response to specific requests from multiple members of our growing community, BlackFemaleProject hosted our second conversation specifically for Black-identified women with white mothers. As someone who falls into this demographic, I was grateful and humbled to hold space for other sisters who can relate to the complexities of moving through the world as Black women who were raised by white mothers.
While the main focus of our general body of work is Black women’s professional journeys, our time together in this conversation touched on our work lives, but was mostly spent sharing stories, asking questions of one another, and generally finding solace and comfort in the reflection we found in the space we co-created. Our sisters were grateful to know—for the first time in some cases—that they aren’t alone in the feelings and experiences they encounter in relating to their mothers, their mother wounds, and their Black identities.
“Occupying the peculiar liminal space between the fiction of race and the realities of its imposition has presented me a strange reality as a multiracial Black adult of the African diaspora: Black to some, mixed race to others, generally confusing to many; white women touching my hair without permission; South Asian old ladies looking at me with suspicion; sideways looks from cops who presume I’m up to no good. If you’re a Black-coded mixed-race person, the cops don’t care who your parents are. I identify as Black because that’s how the world interacts with me. I am also mixed race. The language of halves and quarters does not serve us. We are whole, complex human beings.”
*This piece was authored by dana e. fitchett
dana e. fitchett (she/they), founder of Movement for Liberation, is an interdisciplinary artist with a self-directed Masters of Fine Art in Interdisciplinary Art and a bachelors degree in Urban Studies. dana works in conversation with the expressive legacy of the African diaspora; she makes visual art, dances, teaches movement classes, choreographs, and provides communications support to individuals and community organizations working for transformation and justice.
Click here to read dana’s BlackFemaleProject member spotlight. And, follow dana at @mvmt4liberation and connect with her on LinkedIn.