Too Light, Too Dark: The Silent Struggle of the Biracial Voice in Black Business

In today’s culture, everyone says they want diversity, inclusion, and representation. Every brand wants a story. Every organization wants to “amplify voices.” But what happens when your story doesn’t fit their version of what diversity should look like? What happens when you’re too light to be Black and too Black to be white?

For many biracial people, that’s the quiet reality, a life lived in between. You can have the drive, the talent, the credentials, and still find that no one truly wants to hear your voice because it doesn’t match the image they expect to see.

The Illusion of Storytelling

We hear it all the time: “Tell your story. Your story is your power.” But what if you tell it, and it still falls on deaf ears? That’s when you realize that storytelling in America is often conditional. It works best for those who “look the part”, those who fit a convenient narrative that people can digest without being challenged.

In the Black business space, where identity and representation are tied closely to marketing, appearance often becomes the gatekeeper. We celebrate diversity, but only the kind that fits the script. The rest gets quietly excluded.

For biracial entrepreneurs, the struggle is not just about opportunity. It’s about visibility or rather, invisibility. You can be in the room, but unseen. You can speak, but unheard. You can lead, but unacknowledged.

Existing in the In-Between

Biracial identity is often a lesson in contradiction. One side claims you when convenient and questions you when it’s not. The other side may never fully accept you. Society loves to say “we’re all human,” yet it still sorts people into categories to determine who gets to speak and who gets silenced.

For those of us living in between, that rejection cuts deep. You try to lead with humility, to do right, to contribute, yet even people “beneath” you socially or professionally feel entitled to look down on you. That’s not just irony; it’s a reflection of how deeply our world still fears complexity.

Reclaiming the Right to Exist Fully

So what does it mean to “reclaim our narrative” when the marketplace only values certain ones? It means telling the truth even when no one applauds. It means speaking not for attention, but for integrity.

Biracial voices represent the bridge between cultures, histories, and perspectives. They hold the power to unite where others divide. Yet that same complexity makes them targets of dismissal. The world still doesn’t know how to handle people who don’t fit neatly into its racial templates.

But silence is not an option. When we tell our stories, even if they’re ignored, we’re documenting truth for the next generation. The truth that not all Black stories look the same. That identity is not a costume, and belonging is not something granted; it’s something owned.

Building Space for All Shades of the Narrative The Silent Struggle of the Biracial Voice

In the movement for Black economic empowerment, we can’t afford to leave anyone behind because of complexion or confusion. Every shade, every experience, every blended identity adds dimension to our collective power.

The future of Black business depends on inclusion that’s real, not performative. Inclusion that understands that the child of two worlds can still build one community.

When I speak, I’m not asking for sympathy or validation. I’m demanding recognition that I exist and that my existence tells a truth about who we are as a people. We are not one note. We are an orchestra.

And until the world learns to hear all our music, there can be no real harmony. The Silent Struggle of the Biracial Voice