Husband, being the father of a Black child will not be easy, because by nature (and history), it forces us to confront the fact that the world we thought we knew is not the world we know at all. Husband, for the last few years, we’ve been very firm in our decision to not have […]
With our father gone, Mom’s greatest fear was that she would be a white woman who didn’t know how to raise black kids; that we would be lost, adrift with no culture, no community. “Hold still.” “Mom, you’re hurting me!” “I am not. Hold still or your headwrap won’t look right.” “I don’t want to […]
My son casually commented that my skin was “peach-color” and daddy’s skin was “brown.” I looked at him in the rearview mirror and asked, “What color is your skin?” Mrs. E., my high school’s college counselor, called me “Little White Wendy.” I was a regular visitor to her office, searching for scholarship opportunities that would […]
How many fewer people of color would be killed at the hands of militarized, racist police if they had the ability to change their race in moments where they just walk down the street? White people are consistent; I’ll give them that. They take Black culture as the blueprint for their fashion, entertainment, music, and […]
I love those parts that seem incompatible but that, in a person, come together. During my first week of college, I met a guy who, like me, had a long, four-part name. When I told him mine, he said, “Mine are better because they all match.” This guy wasn’t exactly representative of my classmates at […]
