Being biracial does not mean belonging to one race or the other, but rather belonging to both, said Trevor Brown during a panel discussion last night.
"If people say I'm white, I say, 'Yes, I am.' If people say I'm black, I say, 'Yes, I am,' " said Brown (graduate-chemical biology).
Brown was one of five student panelists to speak to a small group of people during the final discussion of a series called "Crossing the Line." Last night, panelists shared their experiences and thoughts about multiple identities and what it means to be biracial or bisexual.
Mia Jackson (senior-journalism) said she was put in remedial classes in elementary school because of her Hispanic and black backgrounds. Teachers thought she had to be taught with different techniques.
The panelists all said that being a member of two racial communities makes it difficult to be accepted completely in either one. Brown grew up in a predominantly white area, but later lived with other black students in college.
"Whether I had characteristically black behavior or characteristically white behavior, I couldn't win out. No community would accept me as biracial," he said.
Sherrie Hildreth (graduate-music education) said she was expected to limit her background to one race or ethnicity. "I filled out more than one bubble [for ethnicity] on one of those standardized achievement tests, and I got pulled into the principal's office. They told me to choose one," she said.
Amy Stipe (senior-African and African-American studies) said she often felt she did not fit into any single community, in both race and sexuality. "Being bisexual, you never feel like you're gay enough, just like with race, where you're never quite black enough or quite white enough."
The panelists said they have found people immediately make assumptions about them based on their appearances.
"I don't want people to automatically think I'm straight, just like I don't want people to automatically think I'm white," Stipe said.
Hildreth told the group about an experience she had at Wal-Mart when a white woman approached her and said, "If you're looking for the refried beans, they're in aisle 6A."
"Things like that make me realize that race is still an issue," Hildreth said. "Maybe I've dealt with these race issues, but other people haven't."
Lawrence Young, director of the Paul Robeson Cultural Center, asked the panelists if people accepted their identities after knowing them for awhile.
"Race is always an issue, no matter how well you know a person," Jackson said.
Ignorance is one of the biggest causes of prejudiced sentiments, Brown said.
"When people don't know who you are, it's harder for people to accept you and be friends with you because they're afraid of what they don't know," said Annette Fuller (senior-rehabilitation services).
Brown said he thinks being open about these issues will help society become more accepting.
"I feel like by being out, biracially and bisexually, I can start to dissipate the ignorance," he said.
