Simon,
Wynnewood, PA
I’m Indian. But I’m not Hindu or Tamil. I’m Malayali (also known as Keralite). I’m an ethnicity so unknown that every website that I ever typed my ethnicity into has insisted that I spelled it wrong or said a made-up word. And nobody, NOBODY, ever knows I’m Malayali unless I tell them. Some don’t even figure out I’m Indian. I’ve been mistaken for Hispanic, and had people assume I don’t speak English before I’ve said a single word. People will assume I’m black because I have dark skin and curly hair, before ever assuming I’m Indian. I don’t look black at all!!! Yes, I’m Indian, and I don’t face a ton of oppression on the basis of solely being Indian, but I experience being “the brown friend” and dealing with microaggressions and sometimes just outright racism meant towards a ton of other races.
