By Race Divided

By Akilah Monifa
I'm literally an American; I have a passport issued by the United States of America. I am, in fact, a citizen, born in the state of Kansas. But I am not an American, not figuratively.
I was born in 1957, three years after the historic Brown vs. Board of Education decision that purportedly made segregation in public schools illegal. You know, ``separate but equal is inherently unequal.'' Yet it was 1968, a full 14 years after the Supreme Court ruling, before I attended a public school that was integrated. And I alone provided that integration.
To this day I do not stand for the national anthem at sporting events or elsewhere. I sit quietly in protest. I refuse to ignore the ``pink elephant'' of racism and inequality so pervasive in this country. I do not deny that things are better in 2000 than when I was born, but change has been slow in coming, and we still live in a largely segregated society.
I am constantly mistaken for other black people who look nothing like me -- most recently for a friend who is four inches shorter, has longer hair and much darker skin. I am not an American, because if I were not so akin to Ralph Ellison's ``Invisible Man'' or Audre Lourde's ``Sister Outsider,'' Americans of European descent (read: white people) would see me, and I mean truly see me, and acknowledge in word and deed that we do not all look alike.
I am not an American and will not be an American until people of color are accurately depicted and reflected in the media. Likewise for government representation and corporate and nonprofit ownership.
I am not an American and will not be an American until folks recognize that race and color are not synonymous. That the term ``people of color'' is not literal and that people of color come in a multitude of shades, from very light-skinned white to very dark-skinned black and all shades in between.
Our differences and similarities based on race, gender, sexual orientation and socioeconomic class/status should be recognized, acknowledged and celebrated. The melting-pot theory robs us all of this wonderful diversity, and I refuse to participate in that assimilation.
I will be an American when diversity based on race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic class, national origin, sexual orientation, gender and disability is valued, accepted and pursued.
Until then I will remain a lesbian of African descent, born in the United States, holding citizenship and a passport. I do in fact recognize my privileges and choose not to live elsewhere. But I also see how far we as a society have to go to ensure full rights and access to all.
Akilah Monifa is a lesbian of African descent, born in the United States, who is a free-lance writer living in Oakland.

July 2, 2000
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