Written by: Candice D'Angelo, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
It didn't occur to me until middle school that I was "Different". Looking back, I have been asked, "What are you?" about 6000 times.
As a child, I always answered “Tan." I never saw myself or my parents as a color or race. I never saw them as separate. They were just my parents. They never taught us to think or identify as one or the other. It was always one AND the other. However, being multi-racial has its own set of challenges but has paved the way for copious amounts of intel for fast-tracked DEI success.
In the '80s, kids like me were nowhere near as common as we are now. We make up 33.8 million people in 2020, a 276% increase. As an adult, I can understand why other kids asked me that question. In most of my years growing up, I was the only biracial kid in school.
Now as an adult, with so much going on in the world highlighting and empowering women and people of color and of diverse backgrounds, it feels like I can finally be who I am. I have a DEIB story.
As a Multi-Racial woman, I see things differently. I see both sides of the coin and multiple perspectives.
I promote togetherness and equality as a whole and for everyone. I stand for inclusiveness and belonging for all. I have worked hard to use my voice of AND.
Black AND white.
But growing up with rarely felt permission to embody the AND. It was a constant battle to choose a side - a battle that we honestly put on ourselves. It’s just the way it is when you are uniquely divided into half of two dominant races. Some people have voiced to me how “privileged” I am to be multi-racial, and it doesn't feel really good. Sometimes it feels pretty shitty. When the divide is highlighted and I am asked to use my voice, I feel like I am asked to choose between my mother and father.
But why is that?
Maybe it’s because there is still a divide. More like an equal divide rather than just equal.
Growing up, I wasn’t black enough or white enough to be able to speak on either side confidently. I still question how some things are possible and openly talked about that would otherwise seem racist or unfair if a different race spoke about it. Are we just going around in a circle?
In case you missed it, you just read the real-time perspective and debate of a bi-racial adult. We always see both sides.
If we want to continue to move towards true inclusivity and equality as a society as a whole, I suggest using inclusive language like AND.
AND talking about more than one race in a conversation.
AND considering multiple points of view.
Multi-Racial people have the opportunity to be leaders in championing the message of equality and inclusiveness because we’re always seeing two or more perspectives at a time. Being able to see multiple perspectives and show empathy for more than one is innate and built into our genetic coding. Hiring a multi-racial person as your corporate culture consultant can help fast-track corporate initiatives for success. More importantly, multi-racial people can be a safe space and source of answers to many questions some fear to ask of what’s appropriate to say, removing obstacles that currently stand in our way to move the DE AND I needle forward and create a safe space of learning for everyone. and others achieve this same gift through openness and willingness to spread the AND message.
Candice D'Angelo, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Candice D'Angelo – a corporate dropout with 12+ years of sales experience – is the founder of The Selling Lab, a sales training agency where online and offline businesses alike come to level up & sharpen their sales skills and build custom trainings. Backed by a personal multi-million dollar sales book, D’Angelo has proudly taught more than 100 business owners the art of selling since the company's inception in 2018.
