Roberta Wyse Torres
Houston, TX
When I completed my childrens’ forms to enter kindergarten, I was confronted for the first time with that droplist, “Check race: select one only:” Really? It went on to explain that if you did not select, then the school would select for you based on the teacher’s best guess, because the tally is needed for federal requirements. Really? How do I categorize my beautiful twins, my eager-faced blessings from God? That their maternal grandparents met as first generation Americans from immigrant families of different cultures, that their paternal grandparents argued about whether Texas was rightfully still Mexico or belonged to the Native American Tribes, that their cousins hold the pride of African American heritage as well, what race are we, then? I recalled the time we ate at IHOP, amidst a Sunday crowd from many cultures. My then 3-yr old daughter remarked, “Daddy’s chocolate milk, but we’re yellow.”. At least that menu let you order “all of the above”. I defied the check-box droplist and wrote in “Other: American Melting Pot”. It better described our family, and doesn’t it better speak to who we are as a nation, anyway? (My husband agreed, but told me we’d be marked as troublemakers on the permanent school records!)
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