Nigerian-Ghanaian actress and author, Juliet Ibrahim has frowned at being called a ‘half caste’ as she said it is a derogatory term used to describe people like herself.
As the conversation around racism continues to take the forefront globally, Juliet Ibrahim has lended her voice to the topic.
The actress was born in Liberia to a Lebanese father and a Liberian mother making her mixed raced, which people also called half-cast.
The 34 year old said people like her are known as mixed race or multi-racial instead of a derogatory word like Half-Caste.
The actress talked about the experience with colorism while talking about racism which has been a dominant conversation in recent weeks. She wrote;
“I had a random conversation the other day with someone and it was appalling when he mentioned passively to me that he doesn’t see me as a #Blackwoman! He argued, you are not “black enough” your skin isn’t dark enough, your hair not kinky enough. And thus my siblings and I do not “count” as Black.”
“Now this is Exactly, what we are fighting to correct amongst ourselves and the world at large. I am a black woman! When I’m abroad amongst the whites, I am classified and recognized as a black woman, however, right amongst us Africans, I’ll be referred to as a Half-Caste! This is the most derogatory term to describe a person of mixed race or mixed ethnicity.”
“We are referred to as mixed-race or multi-racial! Mixed race people are no less black than their dark-skinned counterparts. So, let’s all say NO to RACISM, TRIBALISM, COLORISM, and SEGREGATION. Let’s teach and train our children to grow up and accept people for who they are and not by the color of their skin.”
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