“Open [K-8 School] was interesting. It was really, really white, like no Black people. And that was kind of terrible. I’ve had quite a few racist experiences. But in that kind of liberal way where it’s, I don’t know, it’s just like a microaggression. So then when you tell people about it, they’re like, oh, you’re being dramatic. Like I remember in fourth grade, I remember I just like wore this shirt. And it was just a tank top. And like a big gray shirt. And somebody said that I looked like a thug. And I remember, that was just really weird. And I remember this one time, I was just walking in the hallway. And this guy, he went up to me. And he said, ‘Oh, you poor little Black girl’ after he read an article about Africa? Because I guess he thought all Black people were from Africa? I don’t know. It was really random.

I feel like it’s made me more insecure. Because when you’re just surrounded by a whole bunch of white people and I don’t know, there are just differences between your hair and your skin color and your features. I don’t know. It just makes me feel a little bit inadequate.”