'He was less likely to be attacked with a baby in his arms': Mel B reveals her father used to carry her to avoid being harmed by racist thugs
Mel B has revealed that her father would always carry her when she was a child because it was less likely he’d be attacked by racists if he had a baby in his arms.
The Spice Girl, 46, who was born to a white British mother and a black father from the Caribbean island of Nevis, opened up about her experiences with racism on the one year anniversary of George Floyd's murder.
She spoke candidly in The Sun about her own experiences as a child and in the entertainment industry.
![Shocking: Mel B has revealed that her mother would make her father carry her when she was a child because it was less likely he’d be attacked if he had a baby in his arms (pictured with her father, Martin Brown in 2001)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/25/01/43396619-9614829-image-m-144_1621901409521.jpg)
Shocking: Mel B has revealed that her mother would make her father carry her when she was a child because it was less likely he’d be attacked if he had a baby in his arms (pictured with her father, Martin Brown in 2001)
Mel revealed: 'When I was a baby and my parents were in town, mum would make dad carry me because it was less likely he’d be attacked if he had a baby in his arms.'
'My earliest memories of school are running home at full pelt with kids shouting “Redskin” and “P*ki” at me and my dad telling me I needed to fight my own battles.'
The star said being made to feel like the odd one out continued into adulthood when, after joining the Spice Girls in the mid-Nineties, one of her more distinctive features became a topic of debate.
A stylist had asked could she straighten her naturally curly hair and Mel refused.
Bandmates Geri Horner, Victoria Beckham, Mel C, and Emma Bunton stood up for her and said they wanted to celebrate their differences.
![Emotional: She spoke candidly in The Sun about her own experience with racism as a child and in the entertainment industry](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/25/01/43396577-9614829-image-a-166_1621903824167.jpg)
Emotional: She spoke candidly in The Sun about her own experience with racism as a child and in the entertainment industry
![The Spice Girl was born to a white British mother and a black father from the Caribbean island of Nevis (pictured in 2019 with her mother Andrea Brown)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/25/01/43396523-9614829-The_Spice_Girl_was_born_to_a_white_British_mother_and_a_black_fa-m-146_1621901693396.jpg)
The Spice Girl was born to a white British mother and a black father from the Caribbean island of Nevis (pictured in 2019 with her mother Andrea Brown)
However the mother-of-three said she is seeing things changing for the better in the entertainment industry with more diversity on our TV screens.
Such as Alison Hammond on daytime and Saturday night television and Mo Gilligan on the panel of The Masked Singer.
As well as TV shows and documentaries focused on the issue of race.
She said: 'There is still a level of tokenism, but the entertainment industry in 2021 looks very different to the one I grew up with — and different even from two years ago.'
![Shocking: The star said being made to feel like the odd one out continued into adulthood in the Spice Girls due to her distinctive hair (pictured in 1996 with Mel C, Victoria Beckham Emma Bunton and Geri Horner)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/25/01/43396935-9614829-image-m-148_1621902006537.jpg)
Shocking: The star said being made to feel like the odd one out continued into adulthood in the Spice Girls due to her distinctive hair (pictured in 1996 with Mel C, Victoria Beckham Emma Bunton and Geri Horner)
Last year, the TV personality told OK! Magazine in an open letter: 'Even when I was a world famous Spice Girl playing a concert for Prince Charles and Nelson Mandela in South Africa, I was asked by a shop assistant in a designer store to get out.
Adding that she was left humiliated - but not surprised - by the 1997 incident, she said: 'The other girls were outraged and started screaming at the assistant. I wasn't shocked, I was embarrassed.
'I was angry and I was really sad that a lot of people in post Mandela South Africa were still racist.'
![Mel said: 'Even when I was a world famous Spice Girl playing a concert for Prince Charles and Nelson Mandela in South Africa, I was asked by a shop assistant in a designer store to get out' (pictured in 1995 with Prince Harry and Prince Charles)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/25/01/43397631-9614829-Mel_said_Even_when_I_was_a_world_famous_Spice_Girl_playing_a_con-m-163_1621903247173.jpg)
Mel said: 'Even when I was a world famous Spice Girl playing a concert for Prince Charles and Nelson Mandela in South Africa, I was asked by a shop assistant in a designer store to get out' (pictured in 1995 with Prince Harry and Prince Charles)
Mel said she felt 'incredibly proud' to see the global demonstrations in reaction to Floyd's shocking murder last year.
George Floyd died on May 25 last year after being arrested by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin over the use of a counterfeit bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, during which time Floyd lost consciousness.
The tragedy sparked global protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Last month, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He is facing up to 40 years behind bars.
![RIP: George Floyd (pictured) died on May 25 last year after being arrested by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin over the use of a counterfeit bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, during which time Floyd lost consciousness](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/25/01/43397857-9614829-image-m-165_1621903505108.jpg)
RIP: George Floyd (pictured) died on May 25 last year after being arrested by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin over the use of a counterfeit bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, during which time Floyd lost consciousness
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