Mixed Race Studies

Wishaw twins open up on racism and urge people to support Black Lives Matter protest

Daily Record
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
2020-06-10

Michael Pringle, Reporter

Aleisha and Lauryn Omeike have spoken out about the racism they endured as children and called for better education on the matter in Scottish schools, as the BLM movement gathers momentum with protests in cities across the world.

Craigneuk twins who grew up wishing they were white are urging more people to support the Black Lives Matter movement and help change racist attitudes.

Aleisha and Lauryn Omeike have spoken out about the racism they endured as children and called for better education on the matter in Scottish schools, as the BLM movement gathers momentum with protests in cities across the world.

The mixed-race 19-year-olds’ dad Steve is Nigerian and their mum Pamela is Scottish.

They have revealed they wanted to be white so they didn’t have to be different while growing up in Wishaw.

“I blew out my seventh birthday candles and wished to be white so I wouldn’t have to face constant abuse and being attacked because of the colour of my skin,” Lauryn said.

“It was just so I wouldn’t be different anymore…

Read the entire article here.

Acclaimed author reveals secret Scottish roots in moving tribute

Daily Record
Glasgow, Scotland
2011-05-08

Maggie Barry
Sunday Mail

Writer Aminatta Forna has been called many things in her life but never Scottish—until today.

The African author’s fearless books exposing betrayal and treachery in Sierra Leone have brought critical acclaim and awards.

But only now has it emerged that Aminatta, whose father was executed when she was only 10, is half Scottish.

As her latest book The Memory Of Love was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, she paid tribute to her mum Maureen Campbell.

Aminatta said she was as brave and determined as her dad Mohamed, the son of an African chief, who died standing up for his beliefs.

Aminatta, 46, said: “My mother always gets wiped from my biographies—it’s always about Sierra Leone and my father. The Scottish side is never recognised.

“I was born at Bellshill Maternity Hospital, where my father was a doctor. My mother is from Aberdeen so suddenly being recognised as a half Scot is a bit of a breakthrough…

…She pays tribute to her mum for being willing to marry the man she loved in the face of opposition from both their families and society’s unease with mixed marriages.

Maureen’s parents had wanted her to marry a Scot and Mohamed’s family had wanted a dynastic marriage, in keeping with his status as the son of an African chieftain…

Read the entire article here.