Coexistence *

Your skin
The color of unstirred coffee and cream

Your father
Black as onyx

Your mother
Light as peach

In school
On the street
On the job
At a party
You are Black

With your family
You are Blackandthat’syour(white)mother

That’s how america sees you
Though you are a blend
Not recognized by the census
Slipping between boxes

Blacks claim you
Instinctively and proudly
One drop is all you need

Whites won’t/don’t/can’t

america wants you to move one eye without the other
You alone must claim your selves
For this there is no
Supreme Court
Forced busing
Sit-in

You alone must integrate your selves.


*Written in 1991 and inspired by a racially blended family I met while co-producing the documentary series, "Americans, Too: Blacks in Rural America."