Christopher Lee-Rodriguez,
Boston, MA.
We don’t live in a post-racial society. We live in a post-race society. We live in a country where in a short amount of time, there will no longer be a majority race. And race is continuing to be reshaped and redefined. I am half Chinese and half Puerto Rican. I live in Boston, and I see dozens and dozens of couples of white men and Asian women. The half Asian community it doubling by the decade. There are so many Black and Latino families in this country as well. Race is not real. It is malleable. Racism is real. It’s pervasive and inside all of us. When people ask me where I’m really from, they are saying that I am not really American. Even though I’m second generation on both sides and can really only speak English, I do not look like an authentic American. I am part of the other American. The new American. And no matter how many racist cops kill people of color or disenfranchise communities, we’re still going to be around. It’s time to not only reform the system but redefine what it is to be black, Latino, Asian, and in the end, American.
