A mother has recounted how people refuse to believe that her little black boy and his albino twin brother are really brothers. Dorian Johnson, of Williamsburg, Virginia, has said that when he is out in public, he is constantly asked if his African-American son, Zavied, is adopted and not him.

Despite both his parents and his twin brother, Zakagi, being black, two-year-old Zavied has snow-white skin and golden hair after being born with albinism. But while the adorable twins clearly look alike, their mother, Dorian, 25, has revealed that she is hurt almost every day when people judge her “golden child” as an adoptee based solely on the color of his your skin.

She talks about the “everyday racism” she faces as a black mother of an albino son in hopes of helping end “discrimination” against children with albinism, like Zavied.

Dorian said: ‘When we go to the store, or anywhere in public, people look at them differently and some people ask if my white son is adopted. They ask if it’s really mine and as a mom that hurts a lot.

“I take it as a negative reaction, I don’t like people judging him and it’s just because of the color of his skin. I get quite defensive about it, it’s everyday racism and I think it’s a form of discrimination.

‘It makes me angry and upset when people say they don’t look like twins when they clearly do if you look at them correctly. People shouldn’t judge how people look and just jump to assumptions.

‘Children are happy and healthy and that is all that should matter, people should not judge children by the color of their skin.

‘I don’t think people understand albinism properly yet and I think we need to raise awareness that black people can also be albinos. I see it as a blessing and I feel very lucky to be his mom.’

Zavied and Zakaгi were born on February 11, 2018. Several days later, doctors told Dorian and his partner, 28-year-old Michael Stepney, that Zavied has the most common type of albinism, oculocratan albinism.

The condition affects approximately one in 20,000 people worldwide from birth and those born with it have reduced levels of pigmentation in their skin, hair and the irises of their eyes.

People with albinism often have very fair skin and white or golden blonde hair. The condition is inherited and if both parents carry the defective gene, then there is a one in four chance that their child will be born with the condition.

However, because twins are not identical, it is possible for only one of the two children to inherit the faulty gene from their parents and therefore develop albinism.

“When the doctor sat down to tell him about Zavied, I instantly started crying,” clothing retailer Dorian said.

‘I knew I would have to teach him to love himself in a different and unique way and I thought it would be a challenge. I guess he was afraid the other kids at school would bully him because he’s different.

‘I cried because I want my son to be accepted and not treated differently because of his appearance.

Dorian, who has dubbed Zavied his “golden child,” added that he has already started teaching his son to understand why he looks different from the rest of his family in an attempt to prepare him for when he starts school and begins to interact with people from other countries. other communities.

Dorian said that comments from strangers asking if Zavied is really his son are useless and insensitive. He also said it makes it “uncomfortable” when people stare at Zavied in public and has called on people not to stigmatize children with albinism.

Dorian said: ‘I want Zavied to know that he is special because it will help him in his old age.

I want him to love himself to the point where he doesn’t care what others think of him. As long as he loves himself and we love him as a family, that’s all that matters.

‘The color of his skin doesn’t change who he is, he’s still an African-American man and he’s no different than his brother.

“I want her to feel like she can have a normal life and I don’t want her albinism to get in the way of that.

‘I am delighted to be their man because they are very big, so I feel very lucky.