So, what are you?

I think I'm a chameleon and here's why.

When I've traveled to Mexico, people would come up to me and speak in Spanish only. They thought I was Mexican. When we first moved to Houston, the maintenance guy there would only speak to me in Spanish. I thought he didn't speak English but it turns out that he spoke to Dwayne in perfect English. He, too, thought I was Mexican. As far as I know I ain't got one bit of Mexican blood in me.

In the Philippines, when I'm out alone people speak to me in Tagalog. They think I'm Filipino...except when I wear my hair in its naturally curly state. Then they don't know what I am.

In the USA, people would ask me all the time what country I was from; what was my ethnicity. White people, however, always thought I was Black. Interesting, huh. For a portion of elementary school I attended an all-white school and everyone there said I was black. No questions asked. In fact, in my childhood years, people didn't really question my race. In our city, we had Black folks, White folks, and Korean folks (which really encompassed all Asians in our minds). I was Black.

It was only when I left my hometown that I had to really face the question: So, what are you? I'm a human...a woman. No, I mean what race are you? I'm Black. Yeah, I tell people all the time that I'm a Black woman. Most of the time, that leads to more questions.

So, here's the deal. Biologically, I'm a mixed chick. I'm biracial. My biological mother was a white woman and my biological father was a black man. But, that doesn't shape who I identify with. I was adopted by a Black couple. I was raised by a Black extended family. I attended a Black church. Lived in a Black neighborhood. In my elementary school, I was discriminated against as a Black girl. I sound like a Black woman (or so I've been told). My parents raised me as a black person. During slavery, they said all you needed was a drop of black blood and you were black. Well, I have that drop of blood and I'm proud of it. I grew up with a girl who was also mixed. She's darker than me and her hair is kinkier. Her ethnicity was never questioned unless people saw her with her white mother. When people see Halle Berry, they see a Black woman. But uh, her mama is white. Barack Obama? Same thing. What's the difference between me and them? Dominant and recessive genes. I guess my daddy's genes weren't strong enough.