Islander ancestry balancing being mainland born
Juanita Duran-Wilson,
Arcata, CA.
Because I’m dreaded, I’m categorically placed…
Valaire L. Moore,
Morrow, GA.
I am a black woman with locks. From white people I am seen as an Islander and from blacks I am seen as a weed smoker…from all I have been labeled Rastafarian, Hippie and basically everything, but ME…the image people have of me clouds the actual vision of ME…they see everything but the struggling college student, underrated overachiever, devoted mother, committed daughter who gave up her way of life for the sake of her family, or the insecure girlfriend whose so afraid of being hurt that she won’t let go…so some days my locks look rough and other days I’ve just left the salon…none of those days did I smoke weed, left the country or even obtain a passport to do so…I shouldn’t question who I am based on your assumptions of me…who am I to second guess? Who are you to assume? All you had to do was ask…I DEFINE ME…
As significant as an eye color.
Troy Mills,
Iowa City, IA.
This quote is inspired by my fellow islander Bob Marley, who truely predicted war until a persons race is of no more significant than the color of their eyes.
