Join "TonyTidbit: A Black Executive Perspective " as we delve into biracial identity, featuring the stories of teenagers grappling with their complex identities. We explore family influences, societal perspectives, and the quest for belonging in a diverse society.

Featured Guests: Engage with four remarkable biracial teens sharing their personal journeys, offering insights into the mixed-race experience.

Why This Episode Matters:

• Varied Perspectives: Deepen understanding of biracial experiences.
• dentity Challenges: Learn about the triumphs and obstacles faced by biracial individuals.
• Educational & Enlightening: Enhance knowledge on identity dynamics in race relations.

Key Insights: Essential for those seeking to understand biracial identity nuances and foster inclusivity.

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Podcast: TonyTidbit: A Black Executive Perspective

Season (Not in a season) Episode 117

Episode Title: ep 117. Too White to Be Black: Navigating Biracial Identity

Author: TonyTidbit™

Link to Episode https://podcast.ablackexec.com/episode/too-white-to-be-black-navigating-biracial-identity

a black executive perspective whether you're aware 

of it or not it's a topic that is often avoided

we'll discuss race and how it plays a factor 

and how we didn't even talk about this topic

cuz we were afraid a black executive perspective 

definitely say it didn't make me feel like I

belonged because growing up the elementary schools 

I went to the people I was around they were all

only one racial identity and so it felt very much 

like I just wasn't enough of my black side or I

was too much of my white side so it was always 

like I felt like I belonged but not completely

welcome to a black executive perspective podcast 

a safe space where we discuss all matters related

to race especially race and Corporate America 

and my wife were blessed to have our first girl 

and like most parents we were excited we had her

room all set up we had little clothes for her we 

had visions of grandeur in terms of you know how

we're going to set up things for her so she could 

be anything that she wanted to be now some of you

may know and some of you may not know my wife 

is white so did we really understand what our

daughter or daughters would go through since they 

were going to be biracial kids listen I know when

I grew up I went through a lot just being you 

know black right but now my daughter was going

to be mixed she's going to be part black and part 

white did we understand the implications of how

she would see the world how the world would see 

her and the things that she would have to deal

with well today we have four Brave teenagers who's 

going to come on a black executive perspective to

tell their stories about what they go through 

how they see the world and more importantly how

the world sees them so let's meet these teenagers 

can do me a favor each one of you guys and we'll

start with you Marcus tell me your first name how 

old you are and your racial makeup of your mother

and your father so my name is Marcus I'm 15 years 

old my mom is white and my dad is black great uh

my name is Cameron I'm 16 years old my mom is 

also white and my dad's also black hi I'm Maya

I'm 16 my mother is black and my father's white 

hi I'm Michaela I'm 16 and my father is black

and my mother is white well Marcus Cameron Maya 

Michaela thank you for coming on a black executive

perspective to talk about this topic obviously you 

know we we're excited to hear your stories awesome

so why don't we start like this right you know 

Maya your father is white your mother is black

Cameron your F your mother is white your father 

is black right same thing for you Marcus right and

then Michaela your father's black and your mother 

is white so and any one of you guys can start off

with this so tell tell us a little bit how does it 

feel to be a biracial kid so growing up I wasn't

really comfortable in being biracial m i remember 

one of my like EST feelings when I was like three

or four is I was watching a Disney Channel show 

and I just really didn't like the way I looked

comparatively I wanted to look like my father 

growing up he is the epitome of white he is blonde

with blue eyes very pale skin and when you're 

growing up biracial that's what's presented to

you so I didn't really see myself as pretty when 

I was younger and I recently learned how to grow

into that and be more comfortable with my skin 

but most of my life I did not like how I looked or

anything about myself racially right and so when 

you were saying number one thank you for sharing

that right so when you said you know when you were 

three you were younger you really didn't like the

way you look and and what was the part that you 

didn't like about um I think the biggest thing

for me was I didn't like that I didn't look like 

anyone else in my family or anyone else around me

really like even my sister I don't look exactly 

like her we have like similar facial structures

but our curl patterns are different our skin tones 

are slightly different so I just didn't feel like

I belonged anywhere I wanted to look like my dad 

he was I thought he was very handsome when I was

little I was like he looks really good I don't 

look anything like that in my opinion and I think

the thing that made me the most insecure when I 

was younger were my eyes I didn't like how dark

they were I didn't like it that they didn't really 

have a color okay thanks for sharing anybody else

I can build off of what Maya said like growing up 

by racial when you're little there wasn't a lot of

representation for mixed kids like I remember 

we used to get American Girl dolls every year

and when we go to New York and get the American 

Girl dolls there wasn't one biracial American

Girl doll there are tons of white American Girl 

dolls one or two like dark skinned black American

Girl dolls but there wasn't one that looked like 

us and I feel like for a while when I was really

little I didn't realize I was black because going 

to a white school being one of like five black

kids in the whole Elementary School being around 

that Community I don't think like it settled into

me but then there was one day where I was looking 

through like the American grll Magazine cuz that

was my thing when I was little and I saw all of 

these white girls in there and I didn't see myself

and I think that's when it clicked when I realized 

oh I am different than the majority and there

wasn't really anyone for me to like look up to 

or base myself off of and even still now there's

not very there's not very many mixed people in the 

media you know you have zanda who else like she's

like a mainstream one that a lot of girls can look 

up to but people have talked about this Rihanna

and DEA saying that like they're needs to be more 

representation of bir biracial kids in the media

so like when we're little we can see ourselves um 

as real people in the world instead of looking to

a different race or different demographic and 

so even though let me just uh I want to back

up because because I want to because you B guys 

both said something and I just want to back up a

little bit so you said Michaela you said hey you 

thought you were white right when you were younger

and until you got the American Girl doll and and 

then you found that you were like hey there's

nobody that looks like me and then Maya you said 

hey you know I wanted to look like my father you

know he's handsome and you know I don't like my 

eyes because they're dark and stuff that nature

so let me ask you guys this question your F your 

mother is black and your father is black so and

I'll start with you Michaela so when you thought 

you were white when you're young but you had a

a black father that was there all the time did 

that ever resonate at all did that was that a

negativity tell me a little bit about that I don't 

think it was a negativity I just don't think like

I connected the dots I don't know why or how maybe 

it was because of the school I went to like not

seeing many many other black kids or biracial kids 

I was always with like the white crowd and like um

you used to work in the city a lot so we would 

be with Mom like during the day going to school

so when our mom's bringing us everywhere people 

see her as white and so it like kind of reflects

on the kids if that makes sense no that makes 

perfect sense by anything you want to add to that

um I think when I was younger I loved the way my 

mother looks I still do I think she's one of the

prettiest people I know but I saw my dad's look 

as more achievable because we are closer in skin

tone so why I thought my mother was beautiful 

I just thought I would never be that pretty so

I was always like I just need to find a moderate 

where I can like be okay with how I look but still

I wouldn't feel exactly comfortable got it got it 

guys jump in here what do you guys think Cameron

what's your thoughts I feel like I had like a 

little bit of a different perspective on that

because like growing up I lived in Bridgeport like 

I shing with my black cousins and like also my

white cousin I was really close to me but like I 

know it was different from both them but I didn't

feel like because I was different like it was like 

negativity like negatively affected me then like

positively benefit me but like I just didn't feel 

like a negative feeling about it and I felt like

being different like wasn't like the name the main 

issue for me and like one thing I liked is I have

like color eyes and like every time I go out like 

people like like they'll like compliment that and

I like I like boost my comments but like it just 

makes me like feel like nice to have like someone

say something like that just like it makes 

me feel better about myself got it so it's

just hear hearing somebody give you affirmations 

in terms of how you look is what's key for you

right um growing up because typically you didn't 

look like 100% your mother and 100% your father is

that correct yeah got it got it Marcus what's your 

thoughts so for me I'm sort of more like Cameron

I've never had really any problems or negativity 

about my skin color um I think it helps that I

have a younger sister who looks so somewhat like 

me and she's like 2 years younger than me so I've

been around with her all my life and I've also 

being an athlete there's a lot of people who may

not exactly be biracial but they'll be a lighter 

tone and so I can have connections to them and

feel similar to them so um you grew up Marcus what 

was the in terms of the family Dynamics uh in the

neighborhoods you lived in was did you live in 

the neighborhood that was predominantly white

for the most part was it predominantly black 

did you was it a mixture um same cuz Cameron

you just said hey you grew up in Bridgeport right 

where there's probably a there's for our audience

who may not know Bridgeport Connecticut has 

a lot of diversity has a big black not big a

nice uh black uh uh population right so you will 

see more diversity um and then Maya you grew up

in Westville right so was it was it diverse was it 

so my neighbor neighborhood is predominantly black

okay and the family I interacted with growing up 

is my black of my family got it got it got it what

about you Michaela um the neighborhood that like 

we live in I grew up in is predominantly white

and we went to like predominantly white schools 

until I was in Middle School so that's when like

my community changed and where in middle school 

I was able to see a lot more diversity which I

still see now got it did that effect so did that 

have any effect in terms of where you grew up in

terms of people you saw people that you went to 

school did that have any effect in terms of how

you felt about yourself growing up I live in a 

predominantly white neighborhood MH but what my

family did is they made sure that I'd always be 

around my black side of my family as well and so

they live about 40 minutes away but we'd always 

be making trips there even later this week for

Thanksgiving we're going we always go there for 

Thanksgiving and so being Incorporated with both

sides really helped and made me feel way better 

about it okay cool camam growing up in like uh

for like I moved to Milford in fifth grade but 

like before that I lived in bitor which was it

was diverse my neighborhood was diverse and I went 

to a magnet school which is also diverse and like

playing sports I like played sports with like 

more black people not I've Al play black people

like when I played like in Bridgeport like most 

of the people I was playing with are black so

like that made me like connections there and then 

when I moved to Milford it was different cuz I was

in a predominantly white neighborhood went to a 

school that was predominantly white that was like

different for me but I still like knew it made 

good connection with both made a connection with

people that were like minorities and stuff like 

that and I had a lot of white friends and going

to like high school most my friends are white now 

which is like different but I can make connections

with both I feel like it's a little bit different 

but I just know like a condition with both type

people got it go ahead Maya um I think while 

growing up surrounded by almost completely

people of color it was definitely an experience I 

think I learned a lot more than I would have if my

um Community was more diverse about what it's like 

to be a person of color but I would definitely say

it didn't make me feel like I belonged because 

growing up the elementary schools I went to the

people I was around they were all only one racial 

identity and so it felt very much like I just

wasn't enough of my black side or I was too much 

of my white side so it was always like I felt like

I belonged but not completely and that was kind 

of how it was like with friends too because when

you're a kid or a teenager people make comments 

and sometimes they're not meant to be offensive

but they are and you don't really know how to 

deal with that as a kid so it was a lot of just

like I knew who I was and I was comfortable in who 

I was but then there wouldd be small things people

said to me or small things that occurred that just 

made me feel insecure got it and let's let's let's

build on that for a little bit you know I think 

before we started recording I told you guys that

when I was a kid I was called all different type 

of names right and I was called these names I was

called blacka Tar baby I mean really dis usting 

stuff at 8 n years old right but these wasn't

white kids that called me these names these were 

black kids okay and the reason they called me that

name because I was dark skinned okay and at that 

you know and unfortunately in our history being

darker has always been a negative um in terms of 

black people right and you know if you're lighter

you're better you get more opportunities you're 

you're you're handsome if you're dark skinned um

you know you're the bottom of the bottom okay 

so picking up on you just got finished saying

Maya in terms of the things that people would 

say and I'm throwing this out for all you guys

and you guys can jump in and talk about have and 

you said you have tell us about any type of racial

discrimination or stuff that you dealt with or 

slights or things that people said to you and

then more importantly how did that make you feel 

go ahead Michaela um so building off what Maya

said like when Maya first came to eims um when 

Maya first came to eims which is the school we

go to um we became friends with really fast and 

we were friends before then because of zoom and

like online school and every single person who saw 

us together would ask if we were cousins like just

assuming that oh since we're both mixed we're a 

automatically related so we both thought that was

weird because we don't look anything alike just 

because we're mixed it does it like it's like

looping in racial demographics together saying 

like all black people look the same or all white

people look the same or all mixed people look the 

same which isn't the truth right okay thanks goad

similar experience to that cuz like when I when 

I first mov to Milford like my friend Michael

we're we're both mixed and we're like we're best 

friends we always hang out together like in public

and people always say like are guys brothers or 

stuff like that cousins all that stuff and I we

don't look alike at all like everybody that we 

know says that we don't really look alike but

it's always around public or we see new people 

they're always saying stuff like that like are

you guys cousins are you Brothers we just don't 

feel like we look alike it's just like they're's

like putting us together you just because you're 

mixed they immediately assume that you guys are

related because they don't see a lot of other 

mixed kids correct exactly anything for you

Marcus at all bu I mean even like a couple weeks 

ago I had a teacher ask if D was my brother and

so I didn't think that that was even like a close 

comparison but happened so how does that make you

guys feel when somebody assumes like Michaela and 

you guys all said you had the same experience how

does that make you feel like originally like I was 

like laughing off and be like now we're not like

whatever and then we just like joke about it later 

but like you think about it's just like it's kind

of like annoying eventually the first time it's 

like what whatever a couple times just like all

right but like it's like annoying people keep 

saying that and we just know it's not true and

I feel like they're just like saying that but like 

they don't like really mean that I don't know like

how to explain it but like they might like not 

see like look like brother just like assuming it

together just like putting it together yeah like 

there was one time where me and Maya went to her

mom's job like at the courthouse and this woman 

who her mom has worked with forever and has met

Maya and her sister Sophia um and I seen them 

multiple times when me and Maya went in to talk

to her she just assumed I was Sophia and thought 

I was Sophia the whole time thinking that me and

Maya were siblings even though she's met Sophia 

before she's seen Sophia before she saw two mixed

girls was like oh that's Maya's sister which was 

kind of weird the other thing that really annoyed

me about that particular situation is that my 

sister looks nothing like Michaela my sister's

tall and she has coils and this woman had met my 

sister multiple times I think she even came to

like one of my sisters like grad parties I don't 

remember if she came but she had met my sister

multiple times had met my family multiple times 

and just it felt ignorant it was like you know

you know my sister and you don't care enough to 

recognize her face you're just assuming because we

look remotely similar let me you know one of the 

things is and obviously that could make you feel

like you're just putting me in a box right you're 

not really you don't have no connection to me you

just see somebody that from a facial standpoint 

looks similar because they look mixed too and so

I can can see how that can be very annoying 

has anybody ever said anything that was you

know just outside of assuming that your cousins 

or brothers has anybody any said anything like

very derogatory or stuff to that nature um I've 

definitely experienced things where it just I one

of the moments I realized um I experienced racism 

for the first time was when I was 9 years old and

I went to this um 4 Camp up in Hartford mhm and 

the people that go to that camp are predominantly

white and they live in white communities they 

don't see people of color so I was 9 years old

this is the first time I ever left my house for 

a long period of time I was gone for a week and

at that camp we had like a camp store where you 

could stand in line and get snacks this is the

first time I ever got my hair cornrow I all of 

a sudden felt someone run their finger down my

cornrows and first of all why are you touching 

me and so I turned around expecting it to be

my sister cuz she was going to that camp with me 

I thought she was just messing with me I turned

around is a 16-year-old white girl and I look at 

her and she goes you're so exotic and that was the

first time I was like oh this is racist what did 

you say if anything I didn't know what to say cuz

the people there they weren't trying to be racist 

they were just unaware right so she meant it as a

compliment to me cuz she'd never seen me before 

I was exotic to her so I said Thank you and I

turned around and I remember the first thing I did 

when I went to my cabin was cry cuz I did not know

how to take that I'm sorry I'm sorry about that 

any anybody else I don't think I've ever like I

don't experienced like someone say like something 

like blatant like racist towards me but like like

people will say like like somebody else will say 

like the N word or something like that they'll be

like like am I going to do something about that 

like you know like and then I feel like like why

am I going to do something about that like so say 

that again so when you say somebody says so like

in school you know like people like some like 

somebody will say it and then somebody come to

me and be like someone said that and then they 

like am I going to do something about that like

that might be like offensive to me but like that's 

not like my thing to go do and something about you

know like I'm not going to go like so they came to 

they so somebody said the N word and then somebody

white came to you and said are you going to do 

something about it you going to let them get

away with that right yeah and I'm like like that's 

obviously offense they shouldn't be doing that but

I feel like it's not like I'm just not going to 

go like beat somebody up cuz they're like saying

that right right right anything Marcus have you 

dealt with anything like that yeah from time to

time people will say like you're not even black 

and like that's just weird to me because like I

am black and I am white and so just because I'm 

not fully black doesn't mean I'm not black like

I am black and sometimes I just don't know like 

how to respond to that because it's just like why

so if somebody asks you what your racial makeup 

is what would you say I would just say I'm mixed

michaa say she was which one would you say I 

would say mixed or black black it depends on

the situation because like I if we can't really 

say we're white like cuz of our skin color like

no matter what even if people perceive you as 

not being fully black we're never going to be

white if that makes sense oh that makes sense 

Mayo how do you identify um I definitely agree

with that so whenever someone asks me I normally 

say I'm mixed but when I have to fill out forums

and you can only check one box I mostly say black 

and it's also because I say I'm black more than I

say I'm white because people do not look at me 

and see a white girl they see someone of color

they may not know who I I am but they see somewhat 

of color so within the world we live in it's not

I have to address the fact I am black because 

that's what I'm seen as Marcus what about you

buddy so I agree I would say first thing I'd say 

is just like I'm mixed but if I had to pick one I

would say I'm black because I'm like if you were 

to draw a scale I mean I'm in the middle but I

feel like I'm closer connected to black than I 

am to White white and why is that because just

because my skin color is not white and I feel 

like once you get past white it's just kind of

like you're just not white anymore like people 

wouldn't see me as white so I just don't really

would wouldn't really say that I am white yeah I 

agree but I usually just say like someone ask me

I'll say like I'm mix and then like even like the 

other day somebody said like I wasn't black and I

was like but I am you know like and I be like and 

if they ask like I am yes I'm black I'm also white

you know like I'm not like not white I'm not not 

black I'm both so picking up on that though right

because at the end of the day you guys are both 

right you know you you you have a white side to

you and I hate to say it that at the end of the 

day your parents one of your parents is white one

of the other parents is black right so at the 

end of the day there is that part of you right

but you identify with one side or you identify in 

terms of saying I'm mix correct in terms of spend

spending time with your so Marcus you were saying 

you know your family makees sure that you spend

time with your black relatives right do you spend 

time with your white relatives and when you do is

there any you know does does it do do you hear any 

push back or do they you know you know call your

names or say some things or stuff to that nature 

so my white family lives in Milford so I see them

all the time and so they're great I mean they 

don't they're never like saying anything bad or

anything like that they're very accepting they're 

very loving and so my black family lives further

away and they're more spread out some of them live 

in Virginia North Carolina and so it's harder to

see them because they're not down the street 

or just 5 minutes away and so when we make sure

that we go to see our black family we make sure 

that we're really there we're in the moment and

we're just taking in everything that we can okay 

Michaela um I feel like it's the same situation

as Marcus like my white family has always lived 

closer to us since we were little we never really

saw like our black family a lot and it wasn't 

that there was like ill intent or malice coming

from our white family they're very accepting but 

it's just like some situations like if we'll go

somewhere and me and my sister be the only black 

people like in that area and so like we notice

it but they don't it's like oh it's fine we're 

just at a store or at a restaurant but you don't

see anyone who looks like around you so it can 

make you feel like uncomfortable or unwanted or

like walking around like with my aunt who's white 

when I was little going around her town which is

predominantly white seeing people like the looks 

they would give like oh like is she adopted or

like when and my aunt would explain she's my niece 

and he like okay like they don't understand the

connection of like mixed families so like being 

in public with your white family versus your black

family it's a whole different Dynamic right and 

and then piggy back in on that so when you were

with your aunt Simone or you're around your black 

family how did you feel we weren't like we didn't

have as spend as much time with our black as 

our white family I felt like more included like

I don't know it was they were more I wouldn't 

say more accepting but like I felt like I was

finally like embracing the black side of myself 

that I wasn't able to in my town in my school or

with my other family and like I still always ask 

to see them and do stuff with them cuz it's like

a different culture that I didn't really grow up 

in but one that like I want to be more in now yeah

Maya um so I personally my father does not talk 

to his side of the family and if I'm remembering

correctly he told me this is because the first 

time he brought my mother to meet them they were

incredibly racist but even just going out with 

one parent versus another I experience different

things just around people like I remember this 

is a story my mother told me she told me when I

was born she was holding me in the hospital and 

I have an aunt who aunt who's um white she's my

mother's friend since like law school and she had 

been holding me and my mom came back she gave me

to my mom and this older white woman came up to 

her and she was like do you know this baby's name

as if I was not my mother's child and even now if 

I go out with my mom or when I was little when I

would go out with my Mom I'd get looks from people 

because they knew I was someone of color but they

did not think I was my mother's child and when I 

would go out with my dad I would get less looks

but I I think I remember when I was like five I 

was in a store with my dad and he was walking a

little bit ahead of me and I was with like looking 

at the toys or whatever and this lady tapped me on

the shoulder and I turned around and she's like 

do you know this man I went that's my dad and she

just walked away from me like nothing happened and 

when I was little it didn't like click to me that

this was a weird situation cuz I thought she would 

just ask me if I knew that guy cuz he was walking

away from me but she genuinely thought I was being 

kidnapped by my own father right like it just did

not click in her brain that I could be a white 

man's daughter so let me ask you guys this you're

15 16 years old you're still trying to figure out 

what you want to do the rest of your lives I know

Maya and Michaela you guys you know have you know 

more some more more concrete ideas you guys you

know cam uh uh uh Marcus you guys play sports 

you're on a high school team um you should just

be just having fun and dealing with the everyday 

life so how does it you know how does it feel

to have to deal with race being at your age when 

there's a million other things that you be trying

to navigate just the world in terms of how just to 

feel like a burden do tell us a little bit about 

that um I personally feel dealing with race at

this age is exhausting um so before I came to eams 

I was at a middle school that was entirely black I

was the only person who wasn't like completely One 

race so we had this girl who's South African but

they accepted her because she was South African 

so although she was paler than me it was okay

cuz she was completely one thing so at that age 

I would constantly be asked by my peers oh why

don't you say the NW are you going to say the NW 

they would call me half breed they would call me

happy they would meet my mother and then ask me 

after meetting my mother if I was Puerto Rican and

things like that they just completely separated 

me from my race and it felt strange at that time

because I knew I was black but I wasn't treated as 

if I was m and so I remember one of like my most

distinctive memories from that time was that there 

was this guy and he was asking me out and the

first thing he said before asking me you out was 

I had put my hair in a bun that day he's like you

didn't do your edges you didn't feel like being 

black today and it was always I felt less than

them they didn't treat me equally they didn't like 

me because of that fact they would call me white

girl occasionally it was just very much I was 

different from them and they wanted me to know I

was different from them and even now with friends 

it sometimes gets like they don't get it and it's

of course it's hard to understand something 

you're not a part of but like even last year

I had a friend who would call me half breed as a 

joke and I didn't know how to tell him it wasn't

funny yeah I mean this is uh number one thanks for 

Sharon um and and and nobody should have to deal

with that nobody right so when you go through that 

do you guys talk to your parents about race at

all I talk to my mom about it like a lot I I live 

with my mom live with my dad like we talk about it

and sometimes she'll ask me like I like different 

friends you know she ask me like do you feel like

more white or more black like like why is that 

and I feel like like it depend on like who I'm

with kind of like the group that I'm surrounded 

with like I'm around like a bunch of predominately

white people I feel like I might act like a 

little bit different than when I'm like around

like a bunch of black people it's just like the 

way like it is it's like a different like culture

different environment so like I'm acting a little 

bit different both times you know she do you feel

conflicted do you feel pressure at all Cameron not 

not that much and I really don't think I feel that

way but I don't really think okay you Marcus so 

I mainly like when I talk about race I talk with

my dad so my dad like we said is black and so he 

just always will remind me when I'm going out like

if you're in a crowd of people and something goes 

wrong they'll look for you f like they'll look and

they'll find you first cuz if there's a bunch of 

people running away from something that happened

and they can only pick a few out I would be one of 

the people that they pick out just because people

can like more see black people as like trouble 

and seeing as like they did something wrong like

just no matter what that's just the first thing 

that they'll think subconsciously how does that

so how does that make you feel though when your 

father tells you stuff like that so I just like

make sure that I'm truly listening to him and 

understanding what he's saying because it is true

in this world that that would be what would happen 

and so he always tells me that like if something's

going down and you don't feel comfortable to be 

around it just leave just in case just make sure

nothing's going to happen and there punishment 

is going to come for you first thanks for sharing

buddy um I definitely agree with that so my family 

is very open about talking with about race because

we're biracial family and I definitely don't 

tell my parents everything I experienced as a

biracial person because my dad is protective 

but I remember some of the first things my

mother told me when I was little was that I would 

be watched um when I was little I was not told to

go up to a police officer if something was wrong 

I was told to go up to a mother with a child um I

was told that I'd be following stores it's just 

my parents have always been very open about the

fact I would be discriminated against and it's 

been helpful because it makes me understand the

world more but it's definitely tiring to know 

that you are always going to be viewed as the

problem well thanks for sharing guys I mean 

that's a lot it's a it's a heavy burden huh

and and dealing with the things in terms of just 

being a a boy and a girl just regular and then

you got to add the component of race on it so if 

you could change stuff if you had an opportunity

right now to to talk and tell the world um about 

your experiences but more importantly what they

should learn and how they can make Corrections 

in terms of how they see you how they should

deal with people of color just in general and 

just overall overarching just race in general

where we all can basically you know drop this 

you know hopefully uh eventually Drop It where

everyone could be just treated based on their 

character their content versus what they look

like what would you want to tell everybody 

Michaela I feel like you have to start with

education like at a young age um because ignorance 

is really the biggest like fueler of racism cuz

not everyone who's being racist intends to be 

racist they just don't know if you grow up in

a predominantly white Community where you don't 

see diversity where you're not being educated

about diversity how are you supposed to know like 

these things and like when you say something you

might not mean it with Mal intent but the way 

that someone perceives it and like receives

that it can be hurtful and you just don't know so 

I feel like when you educate people starting from

when they're really young like the importance 

of diversity and integrating people of color

into communities and like educating them on um 

the history of people of color as well because

you see in like the education system a lot of 

history textbooks they cater to like the white

side or like the the white view of what happened 

they don't shine light on black people or people

of color in general only time you hear about black 

people is slavery Civil Rights Movement they don't

talk talk about anything else but if you start 

to educate people when they're young they get

rid of that ignorance and that inherent bias and 

that way when they're older they'll be able to

accept everyone as they are got it so educating 

putting it out there history sharing history the

full history of everybody's contributions right 

not just a narrative of one group and start off

when they're young okay that's awesome Maya what 

do you think um what do you want everybody to know

I feel like I agree with Michaela education is 

really important I feel Shing stories is crucial

to understanding people and recently I felt that 

race should be viewed as something that we are not

something that divides us we're all just people 

and the problem is we don't provide people with

information on what it's like from the other side 

so sharing stories and learning the history of

what it's like to be black is important because 

it's not done commonly like as Michaela says most

textbooks are written from the white point of view 

okay education but I love what you said too right

sharing stories and experiences based on that do 

you talk to your white friends about race at all

um I do okay so I remember one of the first times 

I ever brought race up to one of my right friends

was this girl who I used to be very close friends 

with and we were at a mall one day and I noticed

I was being followed and I'm used to this and I 

looked at her and I told her I want to leave and

she was like why I was like I'm being followed 

she's like you're delusional you're not being

followed I'm like listen you're not like me I 

being followed right now because I'm a 12-year-old

walking in the store alone without a parent I'm 

being followed you're not being followed I'm being

followed she's like Maya I don't want to leave 

so I left and she came out of the store and she

was pissed at me and I was like I don't feel like 

being followed right now I don't have the energy

to be watched right now like I'm a criminal and 

we had this really long argument where she just

couldn't understand why I was upset and so I do 

try to educate people when they ask me questions

like that about like why I'm acting this way or 

why I do something like that but it definitely

gets tiring trying to explain it to someone who's 

never experienced this kind of thing before right

right well at least you tried though right because 

to you guys's point is about education they're not

aware she is wasn't aware because she nobody was 

following her she's nobody her parents probably

didn't sit down and say when you 10 11 people 

going to follow you stuff to that nature so it

it's important that at least you tried to try to 

explain the situation cam tell tell everybody what

you want them how you going to change everything 

buddy tell tell us like Buddhists don't have to

like they just don't shouldn't assume like right 

away about anything like even not just about being

black just like anybody about anything about 

the mission just assume that there's something

or they would white or they're black or they're 

not black you know like when someone asks like if

you're black and then you say that and they just 

assume like you're not or they assume like you're

Puerto Rican or something like that that's like 

the root of it like if they just don't assume from

the beginning there won't be a problem MH so in 

other words no assum assumptions just deal with

the per don't immediately assume that they're 

of any ethnicity or sub just deal with them on

a onetoone basis right so guys you know C I mean 

Marcus I definitely want to hear from you what do

you want to tell the world Cameron had to leave 

he had a uh get another appointment so I'm really

excited that he came and really happy that he came 

and shared his story but we're going to finish up

so Marcus what do you want to tell the world 

when it comes to race I mean just like we're

all just normal kids we all wake up go to school 

do our after school activities like we're not any

different from anyone else we all live the same 

basic Lifestyles and I just feel we should all

be just treated the same we're all just growing up 

going through our own struggles through everything

else that we have to do and so we shouldn't be 

having to worry about race on top of all of that

so true my friend so true right that at the end 

of the day if everybody just treated everybody

equally without race being a part of anything you 

know I just think to your point that as kids you

shouldn't have to deal with any of this right you 

should just be meeting people you either like them

or they don't like you or you don't like them 

just based on their personality their character

not based on what they look like right and for 

you guys to come on and share these stories this

is not easy to talk about I really appreciate it 

because you're educating a lot of people who are

not aware of this and then there's people who 

are dealing with the exact same thing that you

guys are dealing with so you're even though 

they're not here to tell their stories there

I can definitely tell you that they can relate to 

what you're saying you guys are our future leaders

of this country of this world you guys have 

the opportunity to help change this world and

you started that not just here today in in your 

daily walk but if we can get everyone to listen

to you and really take to heart what you guys are 

going through right you're 15 16 years old right

our audience they have daughters and sons that 

are 15 16 14 17 would they want their kids to be

ridiculed followed called names are you adopted 

you must be cousins are you know uh are you a

half breed are you this are you that who would 

want that for their kids every human being wants

their kids to grow up and have an opportunity to 

be the best that they can be and and Thrive and

grow and be successful in any Endeavor that they 

want so if you want that for your kids and you

want your kids to build up their self-esteem their 

confidence and you want the world to treat them

based on their character their content not based 

on their religion or their racial makeup or their

ethnicity or their sexual sexuality right just as 

a human being so these these teenagers today gave

us all an opportunity to learn because these are 

our future leaders and if anything that you got

out of this podcast today is that yes there's a 

lot of ignorance Michaela Maya Cameron and Marcus

gave you guys not only the stories the stuff that 

they go through but they gave you Solutions in

terms of how to make not just only your family a 

better place but also anybody that you encounter

that just looks different than you right and 

it's important to have these conversations it's

important to talk to people your family I didn't 

talk to my family about race when I was a kid I

just didn't right it's important to have those 

conversations it's important when you felt that

you didn't fit in to have have that conversation 

with your parents right but more importantly I

love each and every one of you for coming on and 

joining a black executive perspective and sharing

your stories final thoughts I think like with what 

Cameron mentioned before about like ignorance and

um assuming things like um on top of Education 

I remember there was one time that I was at my

elementary school which was predominantly white 

and we were there for an assembly and now my mom

used to be at the school all the time she ran the 

PTO she would pick me and my sister up she'd help

out with things people knew her at the school 

and my mom was white and there was this one

time there was a Veterans Day assembly and my dad 

came in to speak and so people only Associated me

with my white mom so when they saw my dad walk in 

the first thing someone said to me is is your dad

LeBron James like being like 100% serious so like 

it didn't really resonate with me at that moment

I was like no he's my dad but the ignorance like 

them not knowing they didn't mean to be rude but

that's probably one of the only black figures 

they saw they had seen in their life so like I

feel like if you start education at that younger 

age that wouldn't happen to Future Kids of any

race thanks for sharing that um I think just be 

kind to people and don't assume one of the most

distinctive memories I have regarding race was 

when I was little I was a Girl Scout and we were

standing outside this grocery store and I was told 

to go ask this woman who was coming out if she

wanted to buy Girl Scout cookies and so I walk 

over to her she's on the phone I wait till she

gets off the phone I'm like excuse me man would 

you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies and she

calls me a racial slur that wasn't even for my own 

race and she was black so to me that was confusing

because one you were supposed to understand this 

in my opinion like the race thing what is this

hatred that's coming towards me for no reason two 

I'm a child and three that's not even my race so

the assumptions and just the unnecessary hate that 

people expel towards each other is unnecessary

and it's just overwhelming sometimes to think 

about the different aspects of what it is to

be biracial but just treat people kindness and 

you know just don't be scared to ask questions

that aren't harmful obviously some people phrase 

questions in ways that they don't understand are

harmful but there are times where you can have 

genuine conversations with people about race in

a benificial way like I had one when I was little 

with this girl who asked me about my hair and she

learned a lot about what it is to have black 

hair and how to take care of it and she was

very interested and she was respectful about it so 

don't be scared to ask questions it definitely can

work out okay awesome final thought buddy um so 

just the world is just filled with hatred and we

just need to get to a point where everyone could 

just love each other for who they are and not what

they are and just thinking about like the person 

themselves instead of what they look like or what

like where they come from and all those things 

and that is a final thought and that is a good

thought so Marcus Maya Michaela Cameron who's 

not here thank you guys really appreciate for

your courage for your stories and more importantly 

Your Love of your fellow human being so as you can

see I hope you enjoyed this episode of a black 

Executives perspective podcast we had four Brave

teenagers that come on came on and talked about 

about their stories talked about how it is to

be a biracial kid and they shared a lot of things 

and a lot and to be fair a lot of it was upsetting

to me um but we learned a lot as well right is 

that even though they have mothers and fathers

and they're different races they identify on one 

side more importantly even though they have a

lot of Love sometimes they don't feel that they 

belong because they don't they don't see where

they fit in and then the other multiple things of 

all the micro aggressions and things that they've

dealt with so we need to do better we have to 

do better as a society this is there's no more

excuses there's no more oh I can't you know I 

didn't know you have to know this is affecting

the Future Leaders of our country and of the world 

we have to make sure that they are grow they grow

up in a very nurturing area in all aspects of 

their life they should never feel a by product of

anything so it's time now for me to give Tony's 

tidbit and Tony's tidbit is this every child

is a masterpiece and interracial children are 

brushstrokes of Love on the canvas of a diverse

and inclusive World therefore the truest Color 

of Love is found in the hearts of interracial

children where acceptance understanding and 

unity Thrive and you got a lot of that today

on this episode with our brave teenagers so 

thank you for tuning in to a black executive

perspective please follow us give us a rating 

let us know how you like this episode did you

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executive producer double A to the outstanding 

young men and women Marcus Cameron Maya and

Michaela I'm Tony tidbit we talked about it and 

we're out thank you for tuning in to this episode

of Tony tidbit a black executive perspective 

and for joining in today's conversation with

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