I am a Latin/American in the US. Growing up, as a child I was completely unaware of what my racial identity was, let alone what it meant to others, The only racial identity I could figure out was black and white, and even though my family spoke Spanish around me, I didn’t know my language fluently like most relatives in my family, it was difficult communicating with my grandparents and other relatives because they spoke fluently or did not know any English, my parents didn’t take their time teaching me, it burdened me. I never once heard anyone around me talk about race until I was 12, I grew up where everyone was either white, black or Middle Eastern. I felt alienated from everyone in my community because I wasn’t brought around other people of my race, I felt I was the only Latin/American child in my entire elementary school.
