Episode 46: Growing Up Brown in Australia

Ben Stokes joins me on "Everyday Conversations on Race," to talk about his experience being a person of color adopted by a white family in Australia. He didn't become aware of racism until his family moved from a small town to a larger city. That was when he would frequently encounter white people who would keep asking him where he was from and look at him in disbelief when the told them he was Australian. Despite having a strong Australian accent, he was often discounted as an Australian because of his brown skin. After coming to the US, with so many people of color, the questions still persisted from white Americans who couldn't believe that someone with brown skin could be from Australia. Ben has lived and worked in the US for over four years. You'll want to hear his story of how he was harassed by security agents as he re-entered the US from a trip abroad. His story is unique and not uncommon. Despite his experiences, Ben is the founder of the start-up SocialTable. SocialTable brings people together across differences over great food, great conversation and the desire to connect and build community. Biography Ben is the CEO and Founder of SocialTable. His personal, academic and professional journey to date is impressive and colourful – to say the least! View Ben's LinkedIn profile. Born in Sri Lanka, Ben spent his early years in a rural orphanage before he was adopted by Australian parents who raised him in Tasmania. Ben started his Uni years as a Med student, studying Medicine and then a Masters of Tropical Medicine and Public Health. Along the way, he recalls encountering great mentorship by the then CEO of St Vincent's Hospital. Funnily enough, Ben's mentorship with the St Vincent's Hospital CEO actually prompted his realisation that Med was not where he would be most happy. So Ben took some fairly drastic turns and completed a Law degree. The skilled communicator and leader's story of becoming a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist (having worked on the success of several med-tech products in the US market, as well his own enterprise SocialTable, along with his building projects for his very own orphanage in Sri Lanka) is too long for me to document here but it is full of insights, intelligence and authenticity. Ben can be contacted through email: [email protected] or through his LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bpstokes/