“My mom told me I was black. I filled out paperwork at school that said I was black. Those were the boxes I checked.” |
Bell: How do you identify yourself?
[Misty] Copeland: My mom told me I was black. I filled out paperwork at school that said I was black. Those were the boxes I checked. Misty laughed. She laughs a lot. But she’s serious when discussing race. Both of Misty’s parents were mixed race. Sylvia DelaCerna, Misty’s mother, was Italian and black, adopted and brought up by a black woman and her black husband in Kansas City, Missouri. DelaCerna’s adoptive mother worked for child services. DelaCerna grew up to be a professional cheerleader for the Kansas City Chiefs. Misty’s father split for Chicago when Misty was a child and left her mom with six kids.
Ian Spencer Bell, “The Caramel Variations,” Ballet Review, Spring 2012. 22. http://www.balletreview.com/images/Ballet_Review_40-1_Caramel_Variations.pdf.
Tags: Ballet Review, Ian Spencer Bell, Misty Copeland, Sylvia DelaCerna