Cristina Reyes,
Houston, TX.

I chose the six words I wish I could go around the streets of Santo Domingo yelling. I have never understood, in all my years, why the Dominican culture steadily continues to deny their “blackness.” Their children aren’t taught to consider themselves “negro” instead they are to consider themselves “indio.” The darker the skin the uglier person, the straighter the hair the prettier the girl.
I love my Dominican Heritage and I am proud to be American, but what I am most proud of is that I descended from strong and beautiful Africans that despite being subjected to the most inhumane and atrocious acts in history, their legacy can be kept alive in my face and dark skin.