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Even though I felt a strong tie to my roots in Poland, my physical appearance often deceived me in such a homogeneous country. »

I can pass, but I will always choose to out myself because blackness is power. The coolest thing about me is being black.

I can pass, but I will always choose to out myself because blackness is power. The coolest thing about me is being black. When they assume otherwise, I do not get mad or accusatory; I understand the complexity of genes and phenotypes. I embraced the role of house slave when I resignated with Isaiah in Birth of a Nation because we have been cultured to compare each other’s pain. My insides are screaming: “I HURT TOO.” Yet, I know that feeling robbed of my heritage, spliced, and everything but whole does not compare to the aggressions darker folks face. I know that at the end of the day, I am privileged, I get to live.

Gabrielle Pilgrim, “More than a house slave,” Medium, November 20, 2016. https://medium.com/@gpilgrim/more-than-a-house-slave-2bfeb8ad6eac.

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