Today's guest post is by Jen Chau, founder of Swirl, a multi-ethnic, anti-racist organization that promotes cross-cultural dialogue. "What are you?" is one of those questions like "Where are you from, I mean from from?" that people pose (sometimes ungracefully) when they are curious about someone's racial/ethnic identity. What Are You? is also the title of an upcoming event(Monday, September 26th at 7pm), part of the Crossing Borders, Bridging Generations series, hosted here at the Brooklyn Historical Society and co-sponsored by Loving Day. BHS is learning more about Brooklyn's overlapping, interweaving communities and we hope you'll join the conversation here in the comments and at upcoming events.
"What are you?" is something I have heard a lot in my 34 years.
From strangers on the street, mostly men. On the subway one evening by an on-duty policeman. At a party, from someone who was too curious not to ask within minutes of meeting me. From classmates. From a palm reader at a conference who held my hand, looked into my eyes and told me that I was Native American. From teachers. At a neighborhood lounge, a friend of a friend looked into my face and told me that I was a blend of cultures: Spanish and Asian. From other mixed people who want to relate.
Some of these experiences have been more outlandish than others. Depending on the delivery of the question, I have been angered, amused, frustrated, shocked, or happy to engage. Underneath it all, I know that what exists for the questioner is curiosity. What matters to me is whether that curiosity ends at my physical appearance, or if you also want to understand more about my multi-ethnic upbringing; more about me as a person.
We need to stop solely relying on identifiers like race in order to learn about one another. Sure, race probably plays a part in who we are, but it's not everything. It's not always the beginning of the story and it's usually never the whole story.
You can read more by Jen Chau on talking about race here.
This blog post reflects the opinions of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of Brooklyn Public Library.
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