Andrea Krida Goff,
Providence, RI.
I’m a teacher in a wonderfully diverse urban high school in Providence. Every year during Spirit Week, one of the days is devoted to cultural celebration. We have African-Americans wearing colorful headwraps, Asians wearing kimonos, Dominicans waving their country’s flag, and me. Every year I struggle with a wardrobe that represents my race, my culture. I see their stories through their attire. I want one of these stories. My father was half Polish and my Mom is a something generation Western European mix.. Two years ago, I dressed up in an Obama t-shirt. I drew a line down the middle and on one side I wrote Polish and on the other I left it blank. American. White-American. That’s it.