CHAPTER 4Harness Your Distinctions: The First Time You Discover Your Racial Identity Is Life-Transforming
To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.
—James Baldwin
Most people of color in America have imprinted on their psyche a memory of the first time they felt out of place. This defining moment usually occurs when you first encounter racial discrimination, profiling, or bias. I remember mine vividly.
I was five years old and in my Sunday school class. I raised my hand and asked to go to the bathroom. As I walked in, I saw an older Sunday school student in the restroom. We both used the urinals and then made our way to the sinks to wash our hands. As I gathered soap and lathered my hands together, the student looked over at me and stared. I looked back at him awkwardly, wondering what he was looking at. That's when he asked, “Why're your palms lighter than the rest of you?”