Question:
I know it sounds weird but I’m struggling to know what race i am.
Well I’m 16 years old, I have very light brown skin, and have straight dark brown hair. But now both my parents are white…my dad has green eyes, white skin, and light brown hair. My mom has dark eyes, dark hair, and white skin.
However, my great granddad was dark-skinned like me, and he’s the only one I look like. My whole family is from Portugal and I was born there as well, but I’m currently living in England.
Please, can you tell me what race I am? I’m so confused.
Well I’m 16 years old, I have very light brown skin, and have straight dark brown hair. But now both my parents are white…my dad has green eyes, white skin, and light brown hair. My mom has dark eyes, dark hair, and white skin.
However, my great granddad was dark-skinned like me, and he’s the only one I look like. My whole family is from Portugal and I was born there as well, but I’m currently living in England.
Please, can you tell me what race I am? I’m so confused.
My Reply:
I had a friend in a similar situation as you. Both of her parents were white, but she was black...when you looked at her, you'd consider her African-American. She said it was because there was African blood somewhere down the line in her family, and sometimes it skips a generation, sometimes it surfaces, as it did with her. Funny thing was she looked a lot like her mom, minus the skin color.
If you're Granddad's still alive, I'd suggest asking him about from where he gets his dark complexion. If he's not, then this may be a good initiative to begin doing some ancestral research. You may find some really neat things about your family, as well as yourself.
As for the race question:
If you're Granddad's still alive, I'd suggest asking him about from where he gets his dark complexion. If he's not, then this may be a good initiative to begin doing some ancestral research. You may find some really neat things about your family, as well as yourself.
As for the race question:
- A wise man once told me to not be bound by labels. Why? Because they put you into a box of who you're supposed to be. If you're Black, you're supposed to be this; white, this; Asian, this...ya know? Don't be boxed up by labels. And on applications, just put "Other".
- If you're a Christian, then your race is Christian. Paul reminds us that in Baptism, we died to our old self and were born anew...a new creation...a new race. Check out Romans 6:4, 2Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 6:15, Ephesians 4:24, Colossians 3:10 for more on this.
- Answers in Genesis did an article on this that you may find interesting.
---Pastor Andy
