Mulatto Nation!

There has never been a better time to be a mulatto! Or so I have discovered doing research for my biracial teen project for YA Lit. Now we have a president who shares our heritage! Now we can connect with each other on the internet! Now we have better products for our naturally curly hair!

There is nothing tragic about being a mulatto. There is something tragic, however, about not being comfortable in one's skin. Those of us lucky enough to come of age before miscegenation was legalized, before shiny, happy, ethnically-ambiguous celebrities filled our screens and airwaves, and before the Chief Mulatto himself took the highest office in the land, do remember how easy it was to feel marginalized. How choosing a race (parent)/rejecting a race (parent) was a common and accepted practice. How it was so hard to find a foundation that matched your face. How everyone in your presence stammered over "african-american" when the term was introduced. How classmates stared at you during discussions about slavery in class, and some even apoligized for it. Be happy that those born after these awkward and trying times will have different things that hold them back. They are now considered "in", and in my opinion, should use that status for all its worth.

I used to think that since both white and black "rooms" seemed closed to me, I would dance in the hallway between those two closed doors. There are now a LOT of people dancing in that hallway with me. I think we'll have to rent a bigger space...