Bye Rachel - Being a Biracial Woman in America | Summer Durant | TEDxGeorgetown

Intersectional identities challenge the schemas human beings use to categorize themselves. As a result, mixed race people can create tension simply by identifying contrary to how they present or are perceived. The same is true with gender and sexuality. In this talk, discover how slam poetry can be used to embrace conflicting aspects of your identity by using spoken word to frame your thoughts and explore hidden parts of yourself.
Summer Durant is a rising Junior in Georgetown’s College. She is pre-med, majoring in Psychology and minoring in French and Women's and Gender Studies. Summer grew up in the D.C. area and has struggled with her intersectional identity as a biracial woman throughout her entire life. She recently discovered slam poetry as a channel through which to turn her struggles with acceptance into something positive. She ultimately aspires to be a psychiatrist, so that she can foster these conversations about idiosyncratic identities and inspire change within the medical community.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@BronzeSista]

She is really beautiful, but its really sad to see so many people who traumatized by being biracial

[@sojiadamo5212]

mizzmolly n

[@markfoster1520]

"Live Free or Die!" In New Hampshire it should only be important that you have the reigns of power in your hands... to elect the candidates you want .. . to be a citizen of this great country first.... any NH should accept you for who you are.

[@doomguy8324]

it can be hard..

[@diane3209]

good

[@TiaDonita]

Freddy Franco As she stated in the video, we all have different experiences.

[@princessadentan7154]

"We must not underestimate the power of listening and of being listened to." Wise words! Great poem, Summer!

[@TheLavenderPodcast]

She is gorgeous!!!!

[@steper471]

To be honest, it's not so much being biracial/ mixed/multicultural as it's the ideas of other people being projected on you. You're fine until someone mentions your difference as if it's bad or it needs to be pointed out repeatedly or ask's "what are you?" Its up to the parents to instill self confidence as well as a way to deal with the way society is going to view you and your "one or more races" status. Yeah you're going to struggle with race if you're a minority, it's the way society is.

[@tobin2517]

I think that being mixed has to be seen as being a cool thing. Not just vanilla but a mixture that creates something new and wonderful. This needs to be instilled in mixed people and make them feel proud and special.

[@notthatperfect6069]

Freddy Franco and. That is awesome .. but that is your experience and not all have the same

[@gregglass4796]

Effiecacious94 wew

[@wizmcee8121]

Race is not biological, so nobody’s actually mixed.. her parents just grew up identifying with different cultures

[@thekalenichannel1812]

@@wizmcee8121 race being as social construct doesn’t negate the fact that biracial exist…we are assigned social stereotypes based on both of our races

[@Samuel115s]

half black half indian YAY. I don't see many people like me. you look more indian.

[@DoubleEdged7]

Samuel115s Dravidian. I wonder why she wasn't taught Hindi or her parents culture

[@Samuel115s]

its cuz she is half black. me and my sister are half black to and we can speak punjabi either. we only speak english and we don't believe in any indian religions either.

[@PHlophe]

I live among indians, like 80% of my town in the UK is virtually indian + pakistanis. you will feel at home here, if you look it up on the map. we call colloquially Karachi or Mumbai. Indians are usually baffled when i tell them that I am not white, i have a hard time telling who can "tell" and who can't at times. sometimes I'm like " oh he knows" lol!, until i started living here i didn't know they had very strong ideas about how a biracial should/might look like. its an eye opener , really.

[@sarahmaragh699]

I don't see many people like me either! Hi!

[@artisthart]

@@Samuel115s white ideology. Assimilate.

[@EricSanchez]

Mariah Carey went through the same thing. She wrote a song about it called "Outside" on her Butterfly album- one of my favorite songs of all time.

[@cesarferreira2564]

so did Ella Mai,Mahalia and many others very light skinned because of her white fathers

[@thepinkblush119]

Trinidadian or Indian is what she looks like to me, I would've never guessed she was biracial

[@adrienneduvall8145]

Bethany Loreal Cherian That would be correct since a lot of Trinidadian people are the same mixture as she is...East Indian and African. Please go and study.

[@17Jerod]

Bethany Loreal Cherian Trinidadian is not a race it's a nationality, but she maybe considered a Trinidadian of Indian decent

[@cherishlamar9238]

Adrienne Duvall exactly

[@belizeanalienify]

Truth!

[@NileCooper]

A dougla

[@gmcmim1]

This is a good video. I have heard biracial people say they don't feel like they belong.

[@ninasoares2504]

gmcmim1 Please ignore these cry baby fucktards. Not all of us feel that way. I'm multiracial and I'm so proud. I identify myself as biracial and I am in no way confused.

[@charleneirwin8656]

Nina Soares iam multi racial too I love myself iam with you😊😇🌎✌❤💙💚💛💜💓👣👣👣👣👣

[@AngieWords]

OMG. I'm not the only one ! I could cry.

[@kimdomon1962]

I'm also glad, my child will be black, japanese, Irish and German will have more children like them.

[@nyanzarojas8776]

I'm happy there are more biracial ppl now. this way my son won't have to grow up feeling like her bc there are a lot of ppl like him now.

[@senoracheapee1864]

Nyanza Rojas there have always been biracial people...they've just been designated as black in the U.S.

[@nyanzarojas8776]

Señora Cheapee yes that is true. But the only reason why biracial ppl had to identify as black was bc the population was not big enough to claim other/biracial without feeling left out or ostracized. Now that biracials are being born in grater number they now feel free to claim the race they actually are which is mixed race/biracial.

[@007Fusiion]

There has always been, but they have been 'passing' for so long its ridiculous. Yes, there are more openly and visible mixed people - which is nice. But with that we potentially have a new super race emerging.

[@AMBIVERTZ.JOURNEYZZ]

Nyanza Rojas continue to self exterminate your race ,she's baiscally saying stop mixing and matching .

[@ditocerto]

exactly!

[@my-avajourney4711]

What an interesting mix. She looks more Indian. Pretty!

[@adrienneduvall8145]

She is absolutely stunning! What a beautiful mixture. She looks like both sides.

[@petcharles1971]

+Adrienne Duvall She looks like the Tamil people in Southern India and in Sri Lanka

[@annalbert4378]

You are a gorgeous human being girl.Being a born Trinidadian we have many people like you .The fault is so city not you .Society is sick full stop .

[@kbreezy405]

I relate to this in so many ways. great job, Summer.

[@elizabethbobb9777]

Wow so proud of you and you are loved this will help so many of us. thank you

[@gregglass4796]

Elizabeth Bobb wdw

[@angelusa73]

you are absolutely gorgeous and your intelligence is what I care most about, your mix of culture is awesome . YOU BE YOURSELF: the right people will LOVE YOU, please believe it. Greetings from north Italy, wish you the very best in accepting who you are and how ,many pothers will listen to you and learn to finally accept others and UNDERSTAND. Thank you for being YOU and for the beautiful speech.

[@ladytn3052]

I am the same mix as her. It has been a blessing as well as a curse.

[@lolaramirez1775]

I'm mixed and the most annoying question I get asked is..... Friend 1: what are you? Me: a human being...

[@nephtaliebottoms3247]

Instead of saying what are you they should as you where you from or what nationality are you

[@candyassanah8605]

lol

[@nikicarrie4071]

Right

[@ghostghost7067]

Extraordinary talk! Moving and spectacular poem

[@17Jerod]

She is what you called a 'dougla' someone who's mixed with African and Indian decent. It's a Trinidadian term.

[@nativesonascending6264]

Jerod Coutou didn't know that term, thanks for sharing. My grandmother's family were always called cooli

[@redeemablesoul]

In South Africa she would be called coloured like me

[@r50559]

Is it a derogatory term? You know, like the n word?

[@malinveronique188]

Click Click Dougla is not a degratory word. It's just a word that describes your mixture. However Coolie is a terrible word just like the n word.

[@alexn.2901]

@@malinveronique188 why is coolie bad tho????

[@travelingdude1621]

I like her story. She is a beautiful, smart woman. She clearly presents some of the problems of being mixed race. Any mixed race person will never really officially fit in or feel accepted by any one racial group in society. It’s not that it’s a bad thing. This is why mixing should not be encouraged. It’s just tribal, nature and the way it is. 👌🏻

[@Globalman43]

Excellent presentation! What she had spoken is true and is gorgeous!

[@Ksickle2008]

Darling, to go Trinidad. You will realize how normal you are.

[@alexn.2901]

lol

[@GeronFletcher]

Yeah. Well she’s not on that particular island so every where else it’s not the norm duh lol

[@aneecia1376]

If we are being honest; it was not 'normal' even in Trinidad. Some people for example Mr. Sat, unfortunately have challenges with the mixing of African and Indian ethnic groups.

[@F35lightII]

When she said "I thought of myself as a genetic mutation." I've thought that so many times about myself.

[@seekeroftruth1484]

This is how lots of monoracials want/ed us to feel and it worked to our detriment many times and destroyed our confidence as planned

[@kerryberry2007]

So tired of the "tragic biracial." I am biracial and never had a hard time. Scary not being able to categorize yourself? wtf

[@kerryberry2007]

Depths Of My Soul This seems to be all of their stories. I didn't click this video with the expectation of hearing a story about the hardships of being mixed. As far as blacks being mistreated, that is something completely different. There are a couple of videos about reading comprehension and data extrapolation on KZbin, maybe you should watch those.

[@Christisking-WWJD]

You Rock!!!I am mixed just like you...we are beautiful.....

[@Encuentro-sy6zf]

The truth is.....we are more....than our bodies.

[@slow-and-steadycreationkor4909]

Thank You for looking this... our society... squarely in the face. But please remember that you, the whole you, are Forever... and greater than the sum of your parts. You ... however you see yourself ... at this point or any in the future ... are priceless... made by Someone who loves you. You are worthy of wrestling out your identity issues with Him. :>) Peace

[@gregglass4796]

Slow-and-Steady Creation Korner eee

[@luceeps]

She spoke to my soul

[@cush_129]

Thank you

[@debracharles-clay5202]

I dont see people like her being harrassed. She is beautiful and gets special treatment. Maybe its her own family who treat her poorly like muslim women treat each other. There is a terrible hiarchy amoung muslim women.

[@nikicarrie4071]

No it happens a lot

[@nikicarrie4071]

Love you 😍 💗 💓 I love mixed people 💗 💕 ❤️ 💖 💓 ♥️ 💗

[@Rainjojo]

I'm mixed and proud

[@georgeboehringer5530]

Mixed race is an abomination

[@nikicarrie4071]

Me too

[@nikicarrie4071]

@@georgeboehringer5530 no that's you

[@georgeboehringer5530]

@@nikicarrie4071 pick a side

[@napoleonbonaparte9222]

​@George Boehringer you're primitive

[@Daniel-pw8pk]

I’m half Indian and I’m so ashamed of it. Just wish I could have born normal 😔 FML

[@thenobleone-3384]

I'm half African American and Afghan and I do not know that much about my Afghan side. My Dad don't like his race maybe he liked my mom's race that's why they were together. That was my struggle growing up my identity

[@garyvision3938]

Wow, she is drop-dead gorgeous! She needs to go into an industry that embraces her unique look, like modeling.

[@claudiaarmah2389]

I am mixed race too and born in the twenty first century no struggles of it.

[@PHlophe]

Claudia if you are an adult, um.. chances are you were born last century.

[@chambda]

ReturnoftheBrotha Amen! I concur as I've noticed that many people cannot distinguish between race, ethnicity and nationality.

[@nikicarrie4071]

There were and still are struggles for me

[@ThokoXaba]

Is that really all so different? Omigosh, seriously? She is gorgeous by the way.

[@bubujooestes1499]

Eloquent speaker.Beautiful.

[@alialibay6639]

Rachel... Ta performance est très bonne. Tu as réussi à mettre en relief qu''il est important de se mettre à l'écoute que d'établir des réponses simples sans nuances. Bravo!

[@TheNaphisa03]

Awesome speech! Now does anyone know this cute outfit came from? I love it!

[@Soulseekingtrips]

I am biracial

[@nikicarrie4071]

Same

[@angelnafeesa5332]

she has my mix sorta expect I'm half Bengali.

[@gregglass4796]

Angel Nafeesa wrw

[@Yinskiiii]

She looks fully indian to me, maybe because her hair is straight?

[@my-avajourney4711]

Yinksy93 I wonder if her natural hair is curly

[@petcharles1971]

So how would yo classify Somali women and some Ethiopians?

[@jeffrutt5292]

She has a nice feminine voice.

[@cedricboyd6070]

she is so fine beautiful skin.

[@Soulseekingtrips]

She beautiful

[@toastyghost0]

being mixed is so hard

[@ChildSupportHQ]

Rachel how? you may be doing it wrong?

[@nikicarrie4071]

Yes

[@rogerleemeyzindi2979]

She is East Indian and African American period !

[@alexn.2901]

Did she just used the Oxford dictionary instead of Kimberlé Crenshaw's definition of intersectionality??? The woman that created that word??? SMH

[@alexn.2901]

Intersectional identity? What? You can't have a personal intersectionality. The bastardizaton of intersectionality.

[@Solarpower-x2s]

You’re right! I definitely should’ve used her definition. At the time, I was advised that “keeping it simple” was best and so I went with a dictionary definition over Kimberlé Crenshaw’s own words. It’s one of numerous things I would change about this talk now, which is why I’m grateful for your comment! Thank you!

[@cookieDaXapper]

I see what you did there,.... Bye Rachel, bi-racial. These things,these myriad hurts we perpetuate upon each other in this society, only have one function: produce more hurt people. How does one take rotten meat from a hungry tiger? PEACE family.

[@doloresw]

This is her truth as is many other people

[@achiepalaago]

Based of he facial reactions and body language, I can tell she kind of enjoys her so called struggle. I mean it helps that she's drop dead gorgeous.

[@GeronFletcher]

achiepalaago so you just wholly ignored all of what she said and you’re saying she’s lying and you’re only focusing on her looks. That’s part of the problem

[@s.koileken369]

@ achiepalaago: '' so called struggle''? Please show empathy and Respect the challenges people have instead of belittling them and their psychological problems.

[@nickb839]

Well she definitely likes discussing it.

[@elixir7054]

BEAUTIFUL WOMAN.

[@MsJanetWood]

Rachel! Rachel! Girl, you need to get over yourself! You are not that unique or special. In 1492 Spanish conquistadores descended upon the New World, the Americas! They mixed with the natives and created a new race! The Spanish conquistadores were also mixed race, Celtic, Arab, Moor, etc. Furthermore, they brought along African slaves to the New World. Thus, Latinos are all mixed race. Latinos are fusion of all the different races. In 1925, Mexican philosopher, José Vasconcelos wrote an essay entitled, La Raza Cósmica. The actors George Lopez, Mario Lopez, Eva Longoria and Adrienne Bailon all publicly shared their DNA results. It's amazing to see historical facts PROVEN with SCIENTIFIC DATA!

[@raqueljasper5957]

Janet Wood typical, discounting someone experiences because they are not your own

[@lexcam6754]

I think she just wants to insert herself in the mixed race narrative. Because generally mixed race in N. America does not include her. Dark chocolate skin usually does not correlate with mixed race and her phenotype.

[@r50559]

Lex Cam so what if the narrative doesn’t include her? She is still mixed race

[@lifewiththeparks7221]

Lex Cam mixed comes in all shades! If you don't get that you need to take a genetics check!

[@petcharles1971]

+Janet Wood The first Blacks who came with the conquistadores were not slaves!! Many were conquistadores themselves!!

[@itsakeykeylife2833]

I thought she was straight Indian

[@KillerDoc42]

I did not know that she was biracial. I thought she was black(like chilli from TLC)

[@lucindajones701]

KillerDoc42 Chilli is the same mix as this woman

[@KillerDoc42]

Lucinda Jones I think chilli is some form of Spanish & black.

[@lucindajones701]

No she's Black and East Indian. She has said it herself

[@oforimensah4711]

That girls feet are certainly Indian...size 11 in men's...

[@garrusn7702]

KillerDoc42 Spanish people are white. Spanish isn't a race.

[@laurentiumanolescu]

Of course she has problems,I can identify with her struggles,Im a triracial non binary female who identifies as a male and being born as male because of patriarcy.

[@glendas1433]

it harder for black women

[@CURLYGIRL1994]

You're Insensitive, to not see others perspectives.

[@Embraceyourcurls24]

No it’s not

[@nikicarrie4071]

It's harder for women in third world countries It's harder for old women It's harder for disabled women It's harder for women in Muslim homes

[@catholiccrusader5328]

Me I'm multi-racial and if folks don't like it **** 'em! I love me!

[@nikicarrie4071]

Yes they hate it

[@sonyadebi78]

Hmmm....there are a lot of biracial people on earth. Why is it still such a huge problem? Curly hair of often straightened and/or colored... why? Skin is lightened... why? Ect.... Maybe because you do not know how to represent yourself. Maybe you find white women more attractive. Maybe.... A lot of Indian women are dark brown and are not so quiet .... I maybe do not know what you feel, but please do not overdo it.

[@carryn73]

She doesn't look black. Maybe Trinidadian or Indian so what is she talking about?

[@DoubleEdged7]

carryn73 she's is half Indian and black

[@PHlophe]

Carryn, trini is a nationality , not a look

[@carryn73]

I know that. She looks like someone who is from Trinidad.

[@carryn73]

I don't really care. I just rather hear about this type topic from a more african looking woman.

[@PHlophe]

Sweerie, she looks like both sides of her heritage, one does not cancel the other. i don't know where you got that idea that people can't tell she looks like both lol! you are obtuse like people you accuse of colorism

[@thenobleone-3384]

She is just like Kamala Harris good for her

[@kdooley41]

This is why I don't believe in race mixing.. This young lady is absolutely gorgeous thou...

[@showmeyourdaleel6568]

GTFOH with that

[@anika14149]

You are so beautiful!

[@hybridangel3403]

Sounds like she may part Pakistani

[@desalineredux435]

You're multiethnic not multiracial.

[@r50559]

Indian is not a race?

[@christinamcgregor4083]

Desaline Redux She is both multiethnic and multiracial.She shares two cultures and races

[@nickb839]

Somebody said it.

[@nickb839]

Click click no it is not.

[@arrangingatomsthewaygoddid8904]

Let me clear up your confusion you look 100% Indian come to India there are over 1.3Billion people who look like you

[@emmiloujewels24]

I can connect with you.

[@mewho6199]

Please stop using the term "biracial" (and "multiracial"). Unless one of your parents was something other than human, you are not "biracial."

[@pageblank3323]

Definition: race2 NOUN 1Each of the major divisions of humankind, having distinct physical characteristics. ‘people of all races, colours, and creeds’ 1.1 noun The fact or condition of belonging to a racial division or group; the qualities or characteristics associated with this. 1.2 A group of people sharing the same culture, history, language, etc.; an ethnic group. ‘we Scots were a bloodthirsty race then’

[@alexn.2901]

Race is always used in a SOCIOLOGICAL sense when it's applied to humans.

[@guyanacreations4073]

Well most the mistreatment will come from the Indian side...

[@jaysheat631]

heads up to every1.....we are all bi racial ...get over it

[@ayopuma]

victim mentality always

[@chambda]

UMA Hmm... interesting point!

[@bobfula3468]

Yep. Such a victim, she's going to graduate from Georgetown, then med school and become a doctor. Intelligent, beautiful, and sensitive. Some victim.

[@garrusn7702]

Bob Fula You just proved his point. . .

[@r50559]

Oppressor mentality always

[@georgeboehringer5530]

Mixed race children are bastards

[@debracharles-clay5202]

Oh she is a man?