Embracing Multiracial & Multicultural Heritage

— Rahul Yates, founder of HumSub GlobalTEEN; Social Media: @humsubglobalteen

As a multiracial individual, I’ve grown up knowing that I was different than other kids who were just one race or ethnicity. As I grow older, I have begun to embrace my multiracial and multicultural identity and want to connect with and help others do the same. Thus, I started HumSub GlobalTEEN (HSGT) to raise awareness about the mixed-race and multicultural communities around the world, as well as to highlight the stories of multiracial people and young adults. In Hindi, “HumSub” means “All of Us.” My hope is to shed light and focus on the inclusivity of this often-underrepresented group and increase cross-cultural awareness and acceptance around the globe.

In January, I started HSGT and began to work on it some more while at home during the pandemic when I had some extra time to focus on other projects, in addition to schoolwork. I made HSGT a public organization, and any teen who wants to apply can become a part of our team! Currently we have nearly 20 teens from five continents who create a wide array of content to post on social media. With over 1100 followers on Instagram, our posts reach hundreds of people each week.

From my own experiences and those of others’, young multiracial people today struggle with how they can be all of themselves when society is constantly telling them to choose one part of their being. For many multiracial individuals who may look like one of their races more than another, or not look like any of their races at all, it is challenging for them to feel like they “fit in” anywhere. There are also many preconceived notions of what people of a certain race or ethnicity should look like, which adds another layer of complexity for mixed teens (like myself) to truly feel like they belong somewhere. Multicultural individuals, who aren’t necessarily more than one race but live and experience more than one culture, can often feel like they are losing touch with one of their cultures.

In order to combat these effects, allies of the multiracial and multicultural communities should do their best to lose their preconceived notions of what someone of a certain race or ethnicity should “look like”, as well as engage in the cultural activities of ethnicities that aren’t their own in order to become global citizens. Through these efforts, I hope that we can move forward as a society and reach a place where no one has to feel like they don’t belong.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC11ZRHLm_0ygWI9_1hSLQ-Q/videos