For a long time I wavered on what to call this experience. At times it materialized as a book in my head, other times it was a podcast. It wasn’t until my best friend suggested it be a blog that I really started to see the vision for what this could be. So for clarities sake, this site will be a blog compiling my thoughts, insights and experiences centered around growing up and living as a biracial man in America. I feel a blog will help me create something digestible for myself, but my hope is that some of what I’m saying here will be beneficial to you as well. That is to say, my experiences are not universal, however, I think some will resonate.

The name "The Whitest Black Kid You Know" comes from a common micro-aggression that a lot of black and biracial people experience. I myself heard this frequently growing up. At it's core, this phrase is something individuals say when they feel you aren't upholding whatever preconceived ideology they have for what acting 'Black' is. "Oh you like to read? You're the whitest black kid at our school!" "Oh you listen to Alternative music? You're so white man." The list goes on and on. The name itself is one specific experience, but it represents a much larger discussion on racial identity and stereotypes that just felt right for this blog. I'll talk more about this and other micro-aggressions in a later post.

"So for clarities sake, this site will be a blog compiling my thoughts, insights and experiences centered around growing up and living as a biracial man in America."

Before I go any further, I’d like to take a brief detour into how this came about in the first place. Back in 2020 during the height of covid and protests centered around the murder of George Floyd I wrote a brief post (HERE) on my experiences growing up biracial. I gave some insights to some of my peers that may not have fully grasped the reality of the racial landscape we live in. The tone of that post (and the tone of this blog in a way) was informative in nature but served to bring some clarity to how prevalent racial injustice still is for a lot of individuals. All I really intended that post to do was show people that racial injustice is still very much alive and well, and that just because you may not see it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

After I made that post, there were a large number of POC individuals that went to school with me over the years that shared similar stories to mine. I was surprised (and a bit ashamed) that I was unaware of some of the additional things that were happening to my peers right under my nose. That was the first time I seriously considered speaking out more regularly on some of the things I’d seen and experienced over my relatively short life. 

Fast forward to this year and I feel that more than ever there is a need for clarity and honesty. I feel strongly that if change is to happen we all have to do our part in one way or another. Now this is not me telling you that I think a blog will be the culmination of all I can do for this world and social progress. I merely think that words hold immense power, and in a world of misinformation, bigotry, and unwarranted hatred, I’d like to offer something a bit different.

So if you’re a person of color, I hope you see some of yourself in me and feel comfort in knowing that your experience was not singular. And if you’re not a person of color, I hope you read these blogs with an open mind and a considerate heart. There is much work to be done, but nothing changes if we all don’t understand that ‘better’ does not mean ‘fixed’. 

Welcome to “The Whitest Black Kid You Know”.

"I merely think that words hold immense power, and in a world of misinformation, bigotry, and unwarranted hatred, I’d like to offer something a bit different."