TOKEN BLACK FULL

Slowly, I began to hide and re-mold who I was becoming so that I could stop being an “other” and start fitting in. Being the only Black girl in a production of My Fair Lady and being cast as the maid.īeing the lone Black person in a white world is draining.Having to wear spandex shorts for your Volleyball uniform and then getting asked, “Why is your butt so big?”.You’re hearing the N-word come out of white mouths, and every time it’s said, the white kids look at you. Being the only Black kid in your Honors English class and the class is reading aloud To Kill a Mockingbird.If I shared every experience where I felt “othered” being the token Black kid, we would be scrolling forever, so I will just share a few more: I thought we all ate the same things, but obviously I was wrong, and my friends were there to tell me how wrong I was. I had no idea that my Thanksgiving was different or weird compared to theirs. I then realized that I was completely alone in this experience, and trying to explain the deliciousness of collard greens (especially the salty ham hock) to a bunch of 7 year olds is like climbing Mount Everest in flip flops. My friends looked at me like I had sprouted two heads. My white friends and I were talking about our favorite dishes, and I remember saying that I loved collard greens. My first experience with this was around Thanksgiving. The thing about being a token Black kid is that you are always “othered” So what makes them different from me? Was it my proximity to white people that made them more comfortable with me? Was it the fact that being surrounded by white acceptance somehow made them accept me too? What those adults didn’t know is that those kids were just like me I too used to live in one of those “bad” neighborhoods. Now, as a child, I don’t know if I knew exactly what the adults were saying, but I do remember them making that comment based on their race and neighborhood. I remember my elementary school bused in Black kids from different neighborhoods, and being told that those kids were from the “bad” neighborhood. Throughout my 12 years living on the white side of town, I was often the only Black kid in almost everything I did. Neighbors weren’t talking and hanging out, kids weren’t riding their bikes together, and so I began to spend more time exploring on my own and with my sisters.

TOKEN BLACK FULL

While our neighborhood was full of kids, there was zero community there. In fact, by the time I left for college, there were only three Black families. First off, we were the first Black family to live in that neighborhood, and it stayed that way for years. When we moved to the north side, life was very different. No, he wasn’t their father, but they all knew what that meant. My Dad was known for this whistle, and when that time came, every kid-and I do mean every kid- would go home to their houses for dinner. One of my strongest memories is whenever it was dinner time, my Dad would whistle so loudly that the whole neighborhood could hear it, and everyone would go home. Multiple generations not only co-existed, but also showed up and supported each other. All the kids would play outside together, jumping from yard to yard and without a care in the world. On the west side of town, we experienced our neighborhood as a true community.

When I was around 6 years old, my parents moved us from the west side of town (mixed but predominantly Black) to the north side of town (all white). I grew up in a town outside of Cleveland with my parents and three sisters.

“Kendra, why do Black people always (fill in the blank)? Or, “Hey Kendra, do you think Black people would (fill in the blank)?” Yep! That was me, and still is on some days. Your actions equal the actions of your race, and any questions about your race, you are responsible for answering. The thing about being a token Black kid is that it makes you responsible for your entire race. The token Black kid is when you are the only Black kid in a sea full of white kids. For those of you who don’t know what that is, let me explain: Hey! My name is Kendra and I grew up as the token Black kid.

Token black