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Jonelle Unfiltered

You are here: Home / Reflections on Life / Being Resilient / What race are you? Oh how much I love that question.

What race are you? Oh how much I love that question.

24th April 2019 By Jonelle

I recently went on a training course; it involved meeting a whole bunch of new people. I spent time working CLOSELY with a bunch a strangers – not my favourite way to spend the day.

Anyone at one point, a lady sitting next to me asked me;

“What’s your background?” (translation – what RACE are you?)

I said “I’m South African”

To which she responded; “No but what’s your background?”

I said “Well, I’m South African but I was born in Swaziland. My dad is Swazi and my mom South African”

and then she said…

“No but why do you have such lovely brown skin” – WHAT RACE ARE YO she wanted to say!

AH HA! I knew this is where we were headed from the beginning… and I purposefully avoided it because it’s NOT okay. It’s not okay to covertly ask people their race. And let’s face facts. That is literally what she was asking about me. People do this all the time because my LOVELY brown skin is a weird middle of the road colour that they usually can’t place and I bloody hate it.

Stop putting me into your little boxes!

If you’re wondering how I responded, I said “oh you mean what RACE am I?, well I’m mixed race. My mom is white and my dad is brown” and she got kinda awkward because we all know we shouldn’t ask questions that make us sound racist right?


“Well, what’s your background?” does exactly that.

Don’t be that woman!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWynJkN5HbQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWynJkN5HbQ&t=18s

Filed Under: Being Resilient, Blog, Expat Adventures, Life, Reflections on Life, Social Issues Tagged With: dealing with racisim, racism

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Hello, I’m Jonelle and this is my story.

Wow! This was a moment. Turning 40 when I almost d Wow! This was a moment.
Turning 40 when I almost didn’t live past 32. 
Grateful for every day of every year since then! 
Life is so precious and life is everything you make it. 

Thankful for all the opportunities I’ve had along the way. Thankful for all the people I’ve met and the leaps I’ve taken! 

Grateful to live where we do. 
Grateful for my family and friends. 
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Thankful for my pets who drive me nuts and love me endlessly. 

I’m looking forward to the next decade. Stepping more into myself and knowing who I am and what my boundaries are. The things I will not tolerate or accept. 

Just grateful for my life. 
The end. #HBD to me!
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