Storytelling (Tyler Small)
Hello! I'm Tyler, and I founded Threaded Origins. As I’m thinking about how to start this very first storytelling blog, I think about my past and what led up to this, because I've lived the common yet quiet struggle of being mixed. I remember when I would not go to lunch because I didn’t know who to sit with, I would sneak around the halls of the empty middle school and convince myself that I was having a better time all alone, and the rare times when I did go to lunch, I always pretended to hate the more authentic food. I would call it “weird” just to relate to my peers. But, when I started to look closer into multiracial struggles, I realized I wasn't alone. Instead, I belonged to one of this country's most invisible and misunderstood groups.
I grew up multiracial, in a foreign language immersion school where I was always the “other”. I didn't look like most of the people around me. I didn't share the same heritage. My identity, my name, and my appearance were always under a microscope, even when I didn't encourage it.
This is something all of the multiracial youth in America go through. The multiracial demographic of America are more likely than their single-race counterparts to struggle with identity confusion, social isolation, and mental health issues. They're twice as likely to be asked about who they are. And yet, they are barely included in race-based discussions, policies, or even support groups.
We're the nation's fastest-growing racial group and we're still in the gray area, and we only have the checkbox that says "Other."
After deep-diving, I understood this was no longer about me. It was about all of us, us who have been made to feel like we don't quite fit.
That is why I founded Threaded Origins: to offer a place where multiracial people feel seen, understood, and affiliated. A place where no one has to explain or justify who they are. Where our stories are legitimized, our voices are increased, and our community can thrive, not just exist.
It's the country’s very first non-profit for multiracial people.
And I'm doing it so nobody else has to feel like they're alone.
Thank you for reading the very first storytelling blog, come again soon for more!
Tyler Small,
Founder and CEO of Threaded Origins
