Instagram Post - 7/20

Born and raised in Michigan...
Well, it's complicated.

Birthplace: Detroit. Upbringing: rural Riga.

I enjoyed the freedom of country living yet felt imprisoned by my brown skin.

The natural beauty of the Great Lakes was distorted by the ugly stares cast upon faces different from their own.

The agricultural pride of growing, harvesting and eating food from the fields was poisoned by a daily dose of bigotry.

A duality exists between my fondness of my overall youth and my animosity towards the racism that remains prevalent in my dear Michigan.

This photo was taken of me on the front lawn of my childhood home. It was a week after my mother's funeral. I am wearing a Busuuti (traditional Ugandan dress) she made for me. I took it along with all the pieces of who I am and the seeds of who I am still becoming with me when I moved to California.