A biracial lady, while reacting to Meghan Markle’s claim of racism in royal family, narrated how her maternal grandfather acted when her mum married a black man.
In a lengthy post on Twitter, she explained what her mother was ostracized simply because she married a black man from Kenya.
Her thread below ;
When my white mother married my Kenyan father in 1965, her father disowned her. He banned all the family members from attending the wedding. My aunt sneaked out & came to church with her hair dripping wet.
When my eldest sister was born, grandpa came around.
Our parents moved to Kenya, for the 46 years they were there, mum’s family never visited her.
When Mum came to visit my sister and I in the USA, we took her to visit her brother. Everything in his house was white, even the dogs. He rushed us out of the house to a restaurant.
Next day he had changed his number. Years later when Mum had cancer, My uncle came to my home. He seemed shocked and commented that he thought we would live in the projects. Inside Africa was on TV, he was shocked Kenya had a stock market. When mum died, he did not call.
We grew up with the love of our father family, oblivious to the issues. My mother built a great life, educated thousands, did so much for community. She took in orphans, cared for so many. She was very gentle, calm and kind. When she visited the US, it was as an African.
I remember when her father died, they told her days later. Mum locked herself in a room and cried for two weeks. That was when I finally realized the pain, the suffering, the sacrifice she had endured all those years. I came to respect her incredible strength and resilience.
When we fall in love, we may do so with people who don’t look like us, who come from different far away places; who practice different religions; who are from different cultures. Marriage is a great bridge. Lets try to be more understanding, tolerant, kind & let love win.
Our aunt was the one family member who was very loving. I think it was hard for her to deal with both sides. She did tell me that she regretted never visiting her sister in Kenya. It must have been hard for her too, because she really adored her sister.
In the later years, Mum visited her sister several times and they shared a lot of joy and laughter. My aunt remained close to me until her death. I remember visiting and meeting her for the first time (since I was 2) after mums death. She looked and acted so much like her.
A thread – When my white mother married my Kenyan father in 1965, her father disowned her. He banned all the family members from attending the wedding. My aunt sneaked out & came to church with her hair dripping wet.
When my eldest sister was born, grandpa came around. /1— Gesare Chife (@gechife) March 8, 2021
