I see my children, my mouthy but smart daughter who has the most extensive vocabulary for a 5 year old, and my rambunctious but charmingly persistent son, who will climb and fall until he falls no more. I worry about how they will be perceived in the world. When you’re black, your skin tends to show before your qualities do. Being black is the first impression. It is your descriptor. You are your best friend’s black friend. You are the smartest black kid in your class. You are the black girl in the office. You are always black before you are anything else. Not my rules, but society’s.

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