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Zoë Kravitz Admits to Struggling to Accept Her Blackness, Love That Part of Herself

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Zoe Kravitz said her father, Lenny Kravitz, felt it was important for her to know her history. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Actress Zoë Kravitz may seem like she’s always been confident about who she is, but she admits there was a time that she struggled to accept her Blackness.

Kravitz is the daughter of singer Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet, who each have a white parent and a Black parent. Their daughter said she has only begun identifying as Black as she has grown up.

“I am definitely mixed. Both my parents are mixed,” she told Allure. “I have white family on both sides. The older I get, the more I experience life, I am identifying more and more with being Black, and what that means — being more and more proud of that and feeling connected to my roots and my history.”

Kravitz, 28, said being one of the only Black students in private school made for an “interesting journey.”

“I think a lot of that made me want to blend in or not be looked at as Black,” she said. “The white kids are always talking about your hair and making you feel weird. I had this struggle of accepting myself as Black and loving that part of myself. And now I’m so in love with my culture and so proud to be Black. It’s still ongoing, but a big shift has occurred. My dad especially has always been very connected to his history, and it’s important to him that I understand where I come from.”

Kravitz’s understanding of her culture extends through today, as her Instagram page includes posts about the police shooting of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, who had been riding home from a house party when he was killed.

“Racism is very real, and white supremacy is going strong,” Kravitz told the magazine.

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