The Way Up

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?”

Denise J. Brown

Entertainment Attorney and Former Senior Vice President of Warner Bros. Records

“I went to Brooklyn Law School. That first week there, racism slapped me in my face from every direction, whether it was other students or from people that worked there. But that first week was a very, very difficult week. I remember coming home and crying every night. Calling my mom and saying, “I can't do this. They're looking at me as if I don't belong here.” But she wasn't hearing it. She replied, “Show these people what you're made of. Show ...