Black and Born in Britain.. But Am I British?

I think this all the time, my parents were born in Jamaica, but I was born in Britain, which legally makes me British, I have lived in Britain all my life. However I somehow consider myself Caribbean, I see Jamaica as home. I feel connected there, here in Britain.. not so much.

And being a black person in Britain, its common to not feel accepted, with white people shouting 'GET OUT MY FAACKING COUNTRY' even though you was born in this country.

Can anyone relate to this, or disagree that I don't see myself as 'British'.

Reply 1

absolutelysprout

21

there's a term for what you're feeling, i can't remember what it is. technically, you are british but it doesn't mean you'll automatically feel home here. my mom was born in indonesia and my dad in france but i feel okay here, i guess? i don't know.
have you been to jamaica?

Reply 2

tbeyan

OP

16

Original post by entertainmyfaith

there's a term for what you're feeling, i can't remember what it is. technically, you are british but it doesn't mean you'll automatically feel home here. my mom was born in indonesia and my dad in france but i feel okay here, i guess? i don't know.
have you been to jamaica?

Yes I've been a few times with family, I love it there and feel way more at home. Its more 'up my street' lol. The music, food, the people, accents etc etc.. all that stuff just feels more home to me than Britain's music, food, the people, accents etc etc

Reply 3

cat_mac

20

Technically you’re british, but Jamaica can be your ‘home’. I get the connected feeling, when i’m on Skye, not as far away but when i’m up there I just feel like I belong. Even in places I’ve never been, it feels like a sigh of relief and a connection to my family’s history.

I can’t imagine how hard it must be to be black in Britain right now, i’m sorry you’re feeling like this and for the way people treat you. I hope things get better and you feel comfortable wherever you are.

Reply 4

Wikia

21

I feel the same way as a middle-eastern. I'm a pretty big football fan and back a few years ago when it was the 2016 World Cup I supported England (for obvious reasons) but for some reason people just didn't seem to accept that I could since I guess I'm not truly English (in terms of hereditary) and I'd always get the question - 'well why not support ____?" So much so that I just don't feel as if I should be supporting England anymore.

They don't mean any harm by it, obviously, but it still just doesn't feel right.

Reply 5

tom123h456

18

If you can speak good English you can call yourself British

yep

You see, I feel the opposite.

My parents were both born in England, however was classed as Bangladeshi because there parents immigrated from Bangladesh during the one of the wars.

I was also born in England, have lived here my entire life and have never gone to Bangladesh in my life (or at least that I know of). And yet im classed as British. Heck the people, including my friends, don't treat me as if i'm a brit. That reaction when it comes to supporting England is so true- they always go "i would've thought you would've supported Bangladesh" (heck i doubt they could go through qualifiers!). Even during cricket, I would support England rather than Bangladesh, but I still got dirty looks, or at least the situation felt awkward, uneasy.

I'm no English though. No idont have a British breakfast and i don't drink. Dont eat pork, Dont like beans on bread-typical asain. But I feel as if I am more British than Bengali, and I should be classed as a British citizen who originates from Bangladesh rather than a Bengali. Having brown skin don't help either ;/

Reply 8

tbeyan

OP

16

Original post by tom123h456

If you can speak good English you can call yourself British

It really isn't that simple loooooool

Reply 9

Anonymous #2

This is the problem with multiculturalism people don't feel part of Britain or being British but live here and then set up their own area without integrating

Reply 10

s.a.u

17

My parents are naturalised citizens from Nigeria, and I was born here in the UK. I definitely feel British, but with enough ironic distance to make jokes etc. Same with Nigeria, though I definitely feel more British.

Reply 11

Trapz99

21

I think you can consider yourself British but of African/Caribbean descent. My parents are immigrants from Asia so I wouldn't class myself as British only since my ancestors aren't from here, but I would consider myself British of Asian descent.

Reply 12

Wired_1800

20

Original post by tbeyan

I think this all the time, my parents were born in Jamaica, but I was born in Britain, which legally makes me British, I have lived in Britain all my life. However I somehow consider myself Caribbean, I see Jamaica as home. I feel connected there, here in Britain.. not so much.

And being a black person in Britain, its common to not feel accepted, with white people shouting 'GET OUT MY FAACKING COUNTRY' even though you was born in this country.

Can anyone relate to this, or disagree that I don't see myself as 'British'.

You are from where you are born. Forget parental nationality or what not. You are British and should integrate more to the British way of life.

Feel free to appreciate/celebrate your parental heritage, but don't get too bogged down in the nonsense.

Reply 13

LotusFlowerm

7

Original post by tbeyan

I think this all the time, my parents were born in Jamaica, but I was born in Britain, which legally makes me British, I have lived in Britain all my life. However I somehow consider myself Caribbean, I see Jamaica as home. I feel connected there, here in Britain.. not so much.

And being a black person in Britain, its common to not feel accepted, with white people shouting 'GET OUT MY FAACKING COUNTRY' even though you was born in this country.

Can anyone relate to this, or disagree that I don't see myself as 'British'.

Ethnically you are not British and never will be. Culturally you are British and most likely will always be. Nationality is British. Linguistically you are British.

3 out of 4 ain't bad.

Reply 14

rockrunride

19

It's understandable. To what degree did your folks help you assimilate? Not sure how old you are, but do you have many "White British" friends? Do you go to the pub, the football (or insert other sport here), that kind of thing?

Reply 15

Anonymous #3

how about stop whining, some people are born here and their parents are from another country and they don't fit there or here. I don't have a country to call home, I am not crying about it. go and meet up with your bredren and cry on their shoulders.

Reply 16

Anonymous #4

So I’m white and British and have no idea what it means to feel British other than I feel at home. A lot of my friends weren’t born in England and aren’t British citizens but they feel at home here, they don’t class them selves as British and still have really strong ties to their own culture and beliefs. I love this about where I live cause there’s so many different cultures and religions and everyone kinda just gets on with life, I know there’s a lot of racism in real life still but in my college it’s just not accepted by anyone. I love being able to learn about these different people and their lives and I don’t think it matters if they adapt to ‘british’ culture or feel British as it’s just all about accepting the differences.

Reply 17

Anonymous #4

What even is British, I mean having white friends and going to the pub and watching sport are things that some people do but I’m white and was born here and so were my ancestors but I don’t enjoy them things. I love that where I live there are so many different ethnicities and cultures and everyone kinda just does their own thing and we just get on with it. People still have very strong ties to other places and their cultures but they class themselves as British and I think that is what being british should be about. Like it doesn’t matter bout your differences it’s about accepting and respecting everyone’s differences.