Invisible African American immigrant Chinese son

Nic Rossouw,
Seattle, WA.

My son and I are both immigrants. I left apartheid South Africa in 1983. My family are white Africans who have lived in South Africa since the 16th century, only a few of my cousins and I have left. I sometimes half jokingly call myself African-American, but it is not really inaccurate with half my life lived in Africa and the other half in the United States. My ex-wife and I adopted my son in China in 1994. Other than his first year he has lived his whole life in Seattle. He is genetically 100% Chinese, but culturally mostly American. This is what I love about this country. As messy as we are at dealing with race and culture, we are at least trying. I wonder sometimes what people think when they see us together, if they see us as father and son, but I am pretty immune to the opinions of others so am not really aware of it in the moment. He is now attending Fordham Law School in New York City the heart of cultural mixing.


What is your 6-Word Story?
Related Posts
Ignorance and Fear are racism’s parents.
Ignorance and Fear are racism’s parents.
I am colorblind but ignorance isn’t.
I am colorblind but ignorance isn’t.
Dating: I’m too dark for him?!
Dating: I’m too dark for him?!

Comments are closed.