Location, Location, Location
Recently my son’s school held an International Day where they could dress to show their heritage/culture. As my three children sat at the table and discussed the best way for my son to accomplish this I observed how “comfortable” they were with being part of two cultures. They were equally excited to help my son capture both their Black American heritage as well as their Puerto Rican heritage. They do not claim one more than the other and they identify with both.
I often hear about biracial and multicultural children who only identify with one culture, have a hard time “fitting in” to either of their cultural backgrounds, or just struggle socially all together. I thought about how my children’s experience may be different from these children . I came up with lots of possible reasons. There are the obvious things like, they are being raised by parents who encourage them to be proud of both of their cultures, they are loved and embraced by both sides of their families and they are taught that all people are the same regardless of their heritage or culture. However, there was another reason that I kept coming to and that is where we live. We live in a city where there is an abundance of multicultural/multiracial families and children. So for my children to be “multi” is just no big deal, because they are surrounded by so many other kids like them and families like ours. This is very evident when we attend school and in town sporting events.
Although I find comfort in the fact that my children are growing up in such a community I can’t help wondering if it will cause them to be naive. When they get older and perhaps move away from the comforts of their hometown will it be a rude awakening to them that not everyone is so accepting of their mixed background. Even more surprising to them may be that some of the critics may be a member of one of the heritages they share.
It’s no secret that when you are setting up a storefront and you want your business to thrive or you want to buy a new home that maintains its value and then some, one key factor is location, location, location. Does this same factor come into play for multiracial families who are looking for a place for their children and family to thrive? Do you think where you live makes a difference when you are a multiracial/multicultural family?
