Ayesha Curry struggled with racial identity after moving to U.S. from Canada

Ayesha Curry appeared on 'The View' to promote her new show 'Family Food Night' on ABC, but the conversation got much deeper than food. Originally from Canada, she found the move to America to be difficult for one reason — her racial identity.

Amanda Washington

Jun 22, 2019

Ayesha Curry appeared on The View to promote her new show Family Food Night on ABC, but the conversation got much deeper than food.

She began the interview talking about family and her transition to the United States at the age of 14, according to ABC News. Curry, who is originally from Canada found the move to America to be difficult for one reason — her racial identity.

Her mother, Carol Alexander, is of Jamaican-Chinese descent while her father, John Alexander, is of African-American and Polish descent.

Curry said she was confronted by classmates who labeled each other more than she was used to when she lived in Toronto, which was difficult for her coming from four different ethnic backgrounds.

“Growing up in Toronto, I was black. I’m a black woman,” Curry said. “I moved to the south, to North Carolina, right at the start of high school, so at 14, and there it was like…who do you choose?”

“It seemed like my own community didn’t want to, like, wrap their arms around me and embrace me,” Curry said. “That kind of hurt,” ABC News reported.

“I just want my community to embrace all shades because we come in so many different shades. Melanin is not one thing; it comes in so many different shades,” Curry continued. “I love my melanin.”

Although Curry struggled with putting herself into a box racially, her mother always gave her good advice to live by, “never lose yourself.”

When speaking of her mom’s motivational words she added, “I took that to heart, and it’s kept me who I am,” Curry continued. “I want my husband to always see the same woman, if not better, that he first laid his eyes on when he married.”

Ayesha Curry met her childhood sweetheart and husband Stephen Curry, a NBA player for the Golden State Warriors, her first year in the U.S. The couple share eight years of marriage and three children.

Although she is a mother of three, Curry maintains a hustle for herself so she can constantly evolve. “I don’t wanna lose myself… So I always try to keep a passion for myself,” she said.