Last week, fashion and entertainment blog Rant Chic published a listicle of ‘15 Photos of Biracial People that will Blow Your Mind.’
Aside from the fact that this topic has little to do with fashion or entertainment, and that author of this piece assumed that every biracial person on the planet looks like Jasmine Sanders, the blog made a few other questionable remarks.
From claiming a Black person’s natural full lips would make a Kardashian jealous, to stating that dreadlocks “aren’t so dreadful anymore”, it seems as though the author has only ever come across bi/multi-racial individuals on Pinterest and not actually in real life.
Black Twitter was quick to put Rant Chic on blast shortly after the article was originally posted, and it all went up in flames from there.
Wow! RT @LesaMonroe: This isn’t offensive at all. @RantChic “@MissZindzi: RT @AmyraBrion: …. Excuse me? pic.twitter.com/jcmQ05M4nH
— Tah Tah Clinton-Dix (@Acquired_Taste) March 30, 2015
…. Excuse me? pic.twitter.com/flz3gNVzBi
— Alexis (@AmyraBrion) March 29, 2015
It was only after the blog felt the wrath of Black Twitter solidarity that they eventually made a halfway attempt to be a little less offensive.
It’s quite troubling that in 2015 editors are still clueless enough to actually publish these types of articles. It’s even more troubling that Black people almost have to force websites like Rant Chic to see the error of their ways.
The main issue with posts like these are that they create a singular notion of what bi/multi-racial looks like. Bi/multi-racial Blacks come in various shades, have a wide range of hair textures, eye colors and ethnic/racial backgrounds. They don’t always embody traditional features of other races, sometimes don’t appear to be “mixed” and sometimes they do. And there’s really nothing mind-blowing about it.
In a recent article published on Vox, journalist Jenée Desmond-Harris noted that in the last U.S. Census, nearly 9 million Americans identified as more than one race. Which makes us wonder why this demographic is still seen as so unusual and their unique experiences are often oversimplified.
In light of this hot mess, let’s take a look at 15 beautifully diverse bi/multi-racial Blacks who (hopefully) won’t blow your mind.
Kimora Lee Simmons
Former Supermodel, Entrepreneur
African-American, Korean & Japanese
Kamala Harris
Attorney General of California
Indian, Jamaican & African-American
James McBride
Author & Jazz Artist
African-American & Polish
Naomi Campbell
Supermodel
Jamaican & Chinese
Albert & Allen Hughes
Albert & Allen Hughes, Film Directors
Armenian & African-American
Malcolm Gladwell
Journalist & Author
Jamaican & Irish
The Aylmer Twins
Lucy Aylmer, Student at Cheltenham College
Maria Aylmer, Student at Gloucester College
English & Jamaican
Angela Yee
Radio Personality & Host
Afro-Monserrantian & Chinese
Ben Harper
Musician
Cherokee Native American, African-American & Russian
Carmen Ejogo
Actress & Singer
Nigerian & Scottish
Tatyana Ali
Actress & Producer
Panamanian & Indo-Trinidadian
Wentworth Miller
Actor
Afro-Jamaican, African-American, Dutch, French, Swedish, Lebanese, Austrian, Polish
Meghan Markle
Actress
African-American, Dutch & Irish
Tyson Beckford
Model
Panamanian, Jamaican & Chinese
Kelis
Singer
African-American, Chinese & Puerto Rican
Black is beautiful (and mixed) so share some of this beauty on the innanets and let the world see it!