By Julissa Castillo

For the very first ten years of my life, competition and ethnicity were things we never considered. To begin with, I became a kid. But my children also lived in Queens, nyc, and a lot of individuals appeared as if us, or didn’t appear to be us, and frankly no one cared. All I knew ended up being that people were Dominican and all sorts of my birthday celebration parties were bomb.

Then we relocated to Tennessee the summertime before I became to start grade that is fourth and all sorts of of a rapid, things had been extremely, completely different. It marked the first-time anyone ever asked me, “What are you currently? are you currently mixed?” Also it undoubtedly wasn’t the very last. In reality, it became typical for strangers to inquire about me personally this brief moments after meeting me personally, as though they might perhaps perhaps not continue further with your connection with no knowledge of just how to categorize me personally.

Quickly, I discovered that what folks wished to understand had been where my moms and dads were from. The time that is first occurred, I happened to be so amazed, i must say i would not understand how to answer. I experienced never even heard the term “mixed.” Sooner or later, I arrived to comprehend that — for them — the term intended “mixed with white and black.” But since each of my moms and dads had been Dominican, we replied merely, “No, I’m Dominican.” Within my tiny city, simply a county far from where in fact the KKK was created, I’m maybe not specific individuals will have grasped the nuances between battle and nationality.

We were Mexican, or Indian, or Honduran, or any number of other things as we settled into our new lives in this strange little town, my family constantly shared stories about people around town thinking. Read more…