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Are You Sure He’s Yours? Navigating Raising A White Passing Child

I ended 2021 reading The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, a novel that examines what happens when white passing twin sisters go their separate ways. One lives as a black woman and one as white. It explores the impact this has on how they are treated, their view of the world and their individual internal battles. The book gave me insight into a world that, as a mixed-race woman of Montserratian heritage, I have not experienced but one that I have been thinking about ever since my son, who would pass for white, was born in 2015.

When I was pregnant, like many women, I often wondered what my baby would look like. Would he have my nose, an afro, loose curls, my smile, his dad’s eyes? What I didn’t expect was to look into the blue eyes of my white skinned child. Initially I didn’t think about it, I had a beautiful, healthy baby so nothing further crossed my mind.