"Is she B L A C K?"
LOL, story of my life! But yes, YES I am black, AND white AND Hispanic.
I will never forget the day in high school that I realized my name was black?!?! Lol! As I’m typing this post I’m literally laughing. How in the world can my name be black? I know why, because we live in a ridiculous society that has created these hilarious stereotypes that create a separation between race, but that’s a whole other blog post though, let me stay on track.
So yea, back to the story. So one of my best friends in high school, let’s call her Jen, was from an area in Boston that was predominantly white and wealthy or upper middle class for the most part. I was finally going to visit her family and friends and I was so stoked to finally get the chance to explore Boston. Little did I know that this trip would dictate the race of my name.
This is when the story gets good!
The next morning at school Jen told me that when she was telling her friends from Boston that her friend from school (keep in mind we went to a boarding school), Laticia, was coming over (pronounced La-TEE-sha, that’s my government name). They then asked her curiously, “is she black?!” Jen responds, “ …kind of, but not really.” LMAO!
When Jen told me this story, Jen and I laughed out loud! This is when I realized race still had a stigma in my generation. Although I thought it was hilarious and we couldn’t stop laughing, I also stopped and was like, WTF, is my name black?! Why would people even care if I were black, green or purple? I am black though, so who cares if my name is black. My name doesn’t sound black! Lol, oh the emotions race ignites! But then I paused, and realized I’m mixed. I am black. I am white. I am Hispanic. So call me what you want. I know who I am.
The moral of the story is, is that I’ve found by being interracial we have to face the reality of society and the stereotypes that people have created. Even though my friends and family never told me my name was black, to “others” it seems so. But guess what, I frankly do not care. Luckily, I was raised in a household where we were taught not to see color and for that I am thankful and grateful for who I am and more importantly, my name.
Being mixed, we will go through different trials and tribulations due to the lack of knowledge or plain ignorance of some people, but as long as you are strong enough to know who you are you will WIN! Know that being mixed is beautiful, and that you are truly a gift to this word. All will be well and your light will shine bright my gorgeous sisters.
Xo, Blu