WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE?!

[etherealtruth]

11. My youngest child embraced his "black" ancestry with unequaled enthusiasm

Though born in 1996, when in kindergarten and first grade he frequently adopted the posture and salutes of Tommie Smith and John Carlos on a regular basis, he discussed with me (at great length) that historically we could not have "sat on the bus together" ... he would engage random folk in conversations about racism and historical segregation ... he was as fully engaged in his "heritage" as a 5-7 year old could be ... except it wasn't HIS heritage.

My kids are multiracial/ multi-ethnic .. the "problem" is they are of Indian (the subcontinent) and Irish /Scott ancestry ... my (then) little guy thought he was African American because OTHER people thought he was (it is a little more complicated than that, his father is Indian, but due to British Colonization he is from Durban Natal South Africa).

Oddly, following 9/11 my kids were then perceived as "Arab" (their father is Muslim, but again his ancestry is Indian) ...

Today as young adults they know they will be "randomly' selected when crossing borders, boarding planes ...

They are very frequently asked "what" they are ...? “In this country, American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate.”