I have a student working on a semester-length (inquiry based) project. This student is curious about the elements related to melanin and its different levels—why some ethnic groups have more and others have less. His project has me thinking about how I was raised as a first generation "Congolese" girl in an "America" full of stereotypes. And, the level of melanin did not directly affect my life until graduate school. During this time, I had a professor that took issue with a line in one of my poems. At peer review she said that my ownership of a Chloé dress seemed "out of place." I later realized that she couldn't make the connection because, for some reason, she saw me first as the "Black," "American" stereotype.
It goes without saying that my childhood was not stereotypical. I think many would say the same. If this is so, why does time and age suggest that identity should be reduced to vague phrases and general groupings? As I work with my students, and I think about raising our child, it seems a most natural action to just let them be individuals, while fostering their intellectual curiosity.
