'I'm Not Black, I'm Coloured - Identity Crisis at the Cape', an "historical documentary film to explore the legacy of Apartheid through the viewpoint of the Cape Coloured community" came to my notice recently via a Facebook page collating Zimbabwean mixed race history mainly through photographs. Channel 4’s recent documentary 'Is It Better to be Mixed Race' presented by Dr. Aarathi Prasad is one of the occasional public airing of issues of being mixed race in the UK. Coloured is the term used in Southern Africa, particularly South Africa and Zimbabwe, to describe those of mixed race.

Depending on who you listen to, there has been some sort of identity crisis amongst those of mixed heritage. That crisis, if it ever existed, is slowly being eradicated. A search on Google -reveals a growing sense of a separate identity and that is confirmed by the tens of Facebook groups relating to mixed race heritage. However, there are vast differences in experiences of people of mixed race around the world, even in countries where the colonists where from the same country, case in point, Brazil and the African Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique. In some countries, such as South Africa and Zimbabwe, a separate mixed race identity has existed for years, in others, you are/were assumed to be ‘black’ or some other grouping not always to your liking or advantage.

Having just come back from a holiday in Brazil, in my mind the 'mixed race' capital of the world, I was surprised to learn that according to the 2006 census, only 43% of the Brazilians have identified themselves as pardo, their term for mixed heritage. The rest appear to have identified themselves with a particular community - notice this is not about race per se, but community. The same mentality is evident in the large percentage of 'Afro-Americans' who do have mixed heritage, maybe a few generations back, but many of whom do not consider themselves as mixed race. Is it that be that by identifying themself with a particular distinct group, it makes for a less uncertain personal environment?

On the other hand, some mixed race people in South Africa and Zimbabwe feel that that separate identity works against them in the new political environment. ‘Too white for Mugabe, too black for Britain’ is a phrase I have come across a number of times, especially when Britain refuses to acknowledge her children of Africa! Maybe separating yourself from others opens you up to attention you might not otherwise get. In the UK, there is a sense of identity of being black, in some cases, and being mixed race in others. The younger ones seem to be quite comfortable with this dual identity. I see it in my own children.

‘All Mixed Up’ is going to be my project about how personal identity affects a person’s contentment. This will not be a project about race but about identity. The mixed race factor makes for an identifiable body of subjects (i.e lab rats) because it would be harder to do so in other contexts. I have a friend of Irish descent who always tells me that he is of mixed race as his mother was Catholic and his father Protestant. He identifies himself as 'cosmopolitan' but you couldn’t tell by looking at him!

So watch this space for further information about the project over the next few years.

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[First published on my NotTheNews blog on specified date]