Photo by NorwoodFotoLLC
Levi, Filipino/African-American
“You’re the whitest black kid I know.”
“Wow, You’re so articulate.”
No two comments anger me more. They may be well-intended statements, but what they imply is that the color of my skin has something to do with how smart I am, how well I speak, or how I present myself.
“You’re not even black.”
Now this is an interesting one, because well, I’m not “just” black. If someone were to ask me about my heritage, I would say that I am African American and Filipino. I identify as both because I am both and embrace both.
Growing up in places where I was often the only or one of the few “black” kids around, this statement was often used in conjunction with the “whitest black kid” because I didn’t act like the black people my peers saw on TV. But when we got outside for recess and picked teams for basketball or football, I’d be picked first, to hear the other team complain, “No fair, they got the only black guy.” So when I was fulfilling their stereotypes I was black, but when the stereotype was broken I was the “whitest black kid.”
The funny thing is, I’d get the same statement from black kids. I remember going to AAU basketball tournaments and hearing that I was “not even black” or that I was soft because I am light-skinned. How do either correlate to basketball? Well…they don’t.
Situations like this made it easy for me wonder where I fit in and, at times, I still wonder to this day. I don’t like to say that I have identity issues because I believe that Whose I Am is much more important than Who I Am. I know that my parents were brought together and that my siblings and I were born because God has an amazing plan for each one of us. Part of His plan for me involves my mixed heritage and supporting those who may be going through similar situations.