Exhibition – alive and kicking!

So, the Mixed Race Families exhibition is now up and I am so thrilled to say that it has attracted a lot of attention – and positive attention at that!

From the moment that I put up the exhibition, people in the library were coming to ask me about what I was exhibiting and commenting on all of the beautiful photographs. One of the library workers came up to shake me by the hand to congratulate me on such a good job.

Since then, I have been in to the library on a number of occasions and the library staff have told me that they have had a lot of interest in the exhibition as many people visiting the library are taking the time to take it in. So much so that I decided to put in a comments box so that people could leave their thoughts about the exhibition.

Last week, I got a really special invitation. I was invited to the National Council of Women Birmingham branch’s annual lunch. I was asked by the President to speak about the exhibition alongside the Lady Mayoress of Birmingham. Well, she didn’t need to ask me twice!! I had a wonderful day, including an amazing three course meal! I am not normally keen on public speaking, its something that doesn’t come naturally to me. Especially following the Lady Mayoress, who spoke so well and so easily, I did wonder if the President would regret asking me! But as soon as I stood up and addressed the ladies in the room, I just started talking from the heart about what I had done and all my nerves evaporated and my passion took over.

After speaking to the room, a number of ladies came to me to tell me that they had mixed race children or grandchildren and that they were really excited about the exhibition.
As well as speaking at the lunch, I have been interviewed on two local radio stations and featured in a local paper. It has been really encouraging to have such positive feedback. The radio presenter actually said that the one comment he would make would be that I should include a wider area and do it again to include the whole of Birmingham. We will see…

The exhibition will continue to run until 5 April – so if you are around the Birmingham area, please do come down to have a look at the Celebrating Mixed Race Families exhibition Erdington library. For those of you unable to come along, I have included a couple of photos.

Turning a negative into a positive picture

A few weeks ago, I was browsing through my Twitter feed when I clicked onto a video link. After watching the video, I started scrolling through and reading the comments underneath. I’m not entirely sure why I decided to do that, as most of the time, reading comments is a sure fire way to raise my blood pressure. Something about the anonymity of the internet really does bring out the worst in people.

However, this particular instance, I was totally unprepared for what I would read and just how much it would upset me. Underneath the music video, the comments had turned into a discussion about inter-racial relationships. Against my better judgement, I read on, only to find some very cruel comments about inter-racial relationships and mixed race children in Erdington, the very area of Birmingham that I live. I was so shocked and upset that people could be so cruel. The comments were very hurtful and offensive; immediately I felt outraged and an overwhelming sense of protection around my innocent baby daughter.

I have always been of the belief that getting upset and angry solves nothing. Much easier said than done, I know. But in this instance, I knew that the ignorant and cruel people that had made these vile comments would have given the matter no further thought, so for me it was futile wasting my energy on being upset. Instead I wanted to channel that into something positive. As the great Lauryn Hill said, ‘turn a negative into a positive picture’.

Which is really quite an apt quote. As I have decided to channel my energies and passion into organising a photography exhibition to celebrate mixed race families in the area. One of the things that I really value about the area of Erdington is that there is a real melting pot of different cultures. There is a large population of mixed race families and although this was something that was focused on by those cruel comments as a negative, for me this is something that I see as positive for my daughter.

I got in touch with a friend of mine that is a very keen and accomplished photographer. As a mother to three mixed race children herself, I knew that this was something she felt passionately about. Sure enough, she was thrilled to be involved and so we have set a date to hold a photography session, welcoming local mixed race families to take part. The photographs will then form part of an exhibition that will also include statistics about the mixed race population in the UK as well as celebrating famous mixed race Britons and their achievements. I also wanted to include some information about support available from organisations for mixed race families as well as books available from the library that might be particularly appropriate for mixed race families.

Setting a venue to hold the exhibition was a little more tricky. I initially approached the local town centre partnership. Although enthusiastic about the idea, after speaking to the council and the police, they advised that they thought that the exhibition may be too controversial and that they could not guarantee my safety. Was it really that controversial to celebrate families of mixed race?! Undeterred, I decided to approach the local library. I spoke to a wonderful lady who was really receptive about my plans. She was full of enthusiasm and offered to hold an exhibition there throughout the month of March, as well as suggesting local papers I could contact and proposing ways to encourage families to get involved.

If there is anyone that lives in Erdington and would like to be involved or to discuss the exhibition further with me, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via email at jade@sisterukhana.com – I would really love to hear from you or have you on board! Look forward to hearing from you!