Sèverine Howell-Meri: “Being mixed is not an aesthetic”
The actor on compassion, stepping into your space and benefitting from systems of oppression
Hi, welcome back to Mixed Messages after a slightly unexpected break! This week I’m speaking to actor Sèverine Howell-Meri, who is of mixed French Caribbean and British heritage. Sèverine has appeared in shows like the Olivier-winning musical Standing at the Sky’s Edge and Prime Video’s Hanna, carefully considering each role she takes on. She is also the founder of Shot by Sèverine, a headshot and portrait photography businesses with a mission to make portraits as accessible as possible. Her take on mixedness is empathetic, compassionate and researched, and it was a joy to speak to her. Read her story below.
How do you define your racial identity?
I’m Guadeloupean and British, and Black biracial feels right to me, not just mixed-race. I’m a cutie.
The first time I went to Guadeloupe without my mum at 18, I felt like a missing piece of myself fell into place. I remember thinking how I’d been there so much growing up but I don’t think I really connected with just how grateful I am to feel at home there too.
How has your sense of self changed over time?
Coming to terms with my identity is an ongoing journey. I’m learning more about the nuances of what it means to be Black biracial through my own lens rather than how other people perceive me. I’m learning to let go of their perceptions and instead asking how do I perceive myself and how do I love myself unconditionally when other people treat me like shit? I choose to step into myself and every facet of my identity fully.
What do you see as the differences between Black and Black biracial people?
Our proximities to whiteness and the privileges that affords us in this white supremacist society. The way biracial people might be spoken to because they’re perceived as more ‘palatable’ – I’ve seen the way white people might speak to me with more respect than my monoethnic friends, it’s wrong. Even though we can’t control these perceptions, it’s important to be aware that they exist and challenge them because the consequences are deeply harmful to dark-skinned and monoethnic Black people.
Likewise, sometimes people forget that we’re Black too when Biracial people choose to step into their identity. That can also be deeply hurtful. People will rarely question a Black person’s right to be in a space when connecting to their culture, but people will very often challenge or question our right to be in a cultural space that belongs to our heritage too.
It’s important to recognise our similarities but to also honour that our experiences aren’t the same. To put us all in the same bracket isn’t fair to myself or to them, because it takes away part of my identity and from their space. I wouldn’t want to be referred to as ‘the first Black person’ to do anything in my career because referring to me as only Black is not fully encompassing of my identity. I am Black, but I’m also biracial and that’s important to specify. Every conversation around Black and mixed-race identities has to be held with nuance.
There’s room for all of us. We are biracial but we are also Black, and we're not taking away from your experience by stepping into our Black identity too. With that said, it’s important for us to learn from conversations around colourism when it’s our time to listen instead of speak. I can’t stop existing as a Black biracial person, but I can learn the right time to make sacrifices and uplift those who suffer at the hands of colourism.
Do you think we have enough of a language to talk about mixedness?
It all depends on people’s willingness to unlearn and challenge their prejudices. You can find all the language in the world to talk about something if you’re willing to learn from those who have it in their blood. A lot of mixed people I’ve spoken to aren’t willing to acknowledge their privilege. I hope that they will someday, but that comes down to the individual and their journey.
I encourage biracial people to interrogate colourism, but also to show ourselves more love along the journey. Part of my mixed-race experience has involved looking to other people to welcome me in, but I’m now on a personal journey of learning to fully welcome myself in because I can’t make a home out of other people. Yes, I should critique myself and be honest about when I’ve made a mistake or harmed others, but I need to give myself grace and compassion. You’re going to make mistakes along the way, but you can't beat yourself up for trying to navigate your existence. You are more than enough.
What has your experience been like as an actor? What kind of roles do you feel comfortable taking on?
I see a lot of colourism in this industry. I believe there’d be less if there was more writing specifically for mixed characters instead of calling us in to audition for Black characters because we’re more ‘palatable.’ I’m not comfortable taking on a part where being dark-skinned or monoethnic is integral to the narrative because that’s not my lived experience. It’s vital that people who understand that experience play those parts.
It’s amazing that we’re finally centring complex Black characters and I’m lucky to have an agent who will push me to go for roles that challenge the imaginations of creative directors and producers. However, there’s a different thrill that comes when you read a script and see they’re searching for someone who specifically has your lived experience.
If ethnicity matters for the part, I want to be called in to play characters that are biracial and who need to be biracial for the story to work, or for characters where they couldn’t imagine a biracial person playing that role. I’ve turned down opportunities when it should go to somebody monoethnic. That’s why I’m very specific about how I identify.
It’s necessary to have stories that celebrate being mixed-race, but it’s also important to have stories that centre dark-skinned, monoethnic Black people that are played by those actors. I also can’t be the poster child to speak about colourism – I benefit from it, so I need to hand the mic to other people when talking about its harm.
What has your connection been like to your Guadeloupean culture?
Food is a big connection – my granny and I are really close and she handed down lots of family recipes in a book for my birthday one year, all in their handwriting. Another way I stay connected is family parties with music. I want to take Gwoka dance classes the next time I go to reconnect with that part of my heritage.
I also have conversations with her about my ancestry. I’d love to properly trace documentation and figure out here my family came from. It’s also important to learn about mixed-race history, how our existence was not legal a few years ago.
My existence is literally radical. I want to make the most of that and do things that people thought I couldn't do before. I have to love myself enough to be brave enough to show up in spaces that people might not even allow or imagine Black and biracial people existing in.
Do you think there are any stereotypes around mixedness?
Fetishisation is a very real thing and it happens a lot to mixed-race people because of colourism and the beauty standards that puts into the world. It’s triggering when I see people say they’re going to have “beautiful mixed-race babies.” You should be happy to have children point blank, not thrilled because they’ll be mixed. Being mixed is not an aesthetic.
What’s the best thing about being mixed for you?
There’s so many things I love about being mixed. There’s so much opportunity to practice radical acceptance of self and others.
I also get access to so many different cultures. There’s often been a lot of shame, feeling not Black or white enough. But you are Black and also British, you have a right to exist in both of those cultures. I have a right to explore my Black culture and call things out if my white family says something inappropriate. I am their family, even if I look different, and I am allowed to be here. I haven’t always afforded myself that.
Can you sum up your mixed experience in a word?
Beautiful. It’s painful at times, but I wouldn’t show up any other way.
Listen to Sèverine Howell-Meri in the Standing at the Sky’s Edge cast album here and follow her on YouTube here. Sèverine also runs a photography business, Shot By Sèverine. Next week we’ll be speaking to author Diana Anyakwo. 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 (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.