Loretta Andrews: “Nobody is going to call me white”
The music manager on raising a white-passing son and being intentional in making change
Hi, welcome back to Mixed Messages! This week I’m speaking to Safe Music Management founder Loretta Andrews, who is of St Lucian and white heritage. Loretta is one of 40 people in the inaugural year of the PRS Foundation’s POWER UP network, an initiative launched to address anti-Black racism and racial disparities in the music sector. Representing Black talent across the UK, from all different genres, I’m excited to speak to mixed-Black participants over the next few weeks.
How do you identify?
My mum is white and my dad is from St Lucia, in the Caribbean. My dad was only with us for some of the time, and we weren’t in touch with any of his family.
I tend to say mixed-race or call myself brown. I feel completely equal in terms of both my heritages, having been surrounded by both cultures. Some people have told me that I’m not Black, I’m mixed-race, but only I should be able to be able to decide that. If a mixed-Black person identifies as Black, they need to be allowed to do that – it’s confusing to tell somebody that they’re not what they feel they are.
Did you connect to your West Indian culture growing up?
My dad was quite closed about his upbringing after a falling out with his dad. We didn’t even know that my grandad lived an hour away in Brixton for a long time, and I felt angry that I’d missed out on the love – and food – we received when we did visit him.
I thought ‘if my dad’s not going to introduce me to that culture, I will make it my mission’. I ordered books on Black history, like Black Ivory by James Walvin which is about the slave trade from the British point of view. I was really impacted by Andrea Levy’s Small Island and Zadie Smith, too.
I always knew it was important for me to know where I’d come from and why. My mum didn’t discourage it, but she didn’t particularly encourage it either. She just supported me.
Have you had many conversations about being mixed with your family?
I have a twin and we discuss it a lot. We’re very intentional about the way we raise her children. Her children have curlier hair and features like ours, whereas my son is white-passing. It’s even more important for me to teach my son about his heritage because you can’t see it, while also explaining his privilege. I'm really, really proud of my Black heritage, and I want my son to be as well.
How has your mixedness affected your career?
My dad was a musician and mum was a music lover – that’s how they met in fact! We grew up on Motown and all of that amazing music. That has led me to be really intentional about the people I work with. I’m into rap, hip-hop, soul and grime, which tends to involve more Black people. That’s part of why I applied for Power Up, to expand my team and help bring in more people of colour. The whole point of the initiative is to see that change.
How do you think the conversation around mixed identity needs to develop?
I almost don’t want to go on about being mixed too much, because I don’t want to derail the conversation around racism. I would never want to belittle the experience of my dark-skinned friends. That’s why I’m less likely to identify myself as Black, because I sometimes feel like it’s discounting their struggle. But at the end of the day, nobody is going to call me white.
There does need to be a space where mixed people can feel safely seen and understood. It’s not good for your mental health to pretend there’s no issues when people put you in a position of not feeling accepted. I think these conversations will become ever more needed because of the massive amount of mixed-race people in the UK, which is beautiful.
What would you say is the best thing about being mixed?
Being both. The world would be a better place if we had more understanding that people have different points of view and ways of doing life. The biggest mistake we make is assuming that somebody thinks the same way we do without having had the same experiences. Being mixed, you’re brought up being aware of different cultures and attitudes, and it’s made me more open to difference in other areas of life.
I also love that despite racism still being an issue today, my existence represents two people coming together and the act of love to create me. It was illegal to be in an interraciual relationship very recently. My mum didn’t see a Black person until she was 16, and she had us at 19. So for people who say ”your upbringing will make you racist”, it doesn't have to be that way.
Can you define your mixed identity in one word?
Celebratory.
Next week, I’ll be talking to composer Daniel Kidane. Subscribe to get Mixed Messages in your inbox on Monday!
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Mixed Messages is a weekly exploration of the mixed-race experience, from me, Isabella Silvers. My mom is Punjabi Indian (by way of East Africa) and my dad is White British, but finding my place between these two cultures hasn’t always been easy. That’s why I started Mixed Messages, where each week I’ll speak to a prominent mixed voice to delve into what it really feels like to be mixed.