My Dad was born in Trinidad. My mother is Polish and British. I was born with this beautiful, complicated ancestry. I am an immigrant. I am Black. I am white. I am British. I am Trinidadian, and “I, Too” am American. My story is common. As of 2020, mixed-race people increased to 10.2% of the U.S. population.

In recent weeks, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the phrase “turned Black.” Former President Donald Trump uttered those words, seeking to cast doubt on Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity. For Trump or anyone to suggest that the presumptive Democratic nominee, the daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, chose her Black identity over her Indian one — or vice versa — is beyond absurd. It’s an offensive concept, plantation-like even, “othering” nonwhite individuals and sowing division among people of color.

Using an Intersectional Lens to Create Black History Lessons

And yet, there was a moment in my high school education when I did “turn Black” in the eyes of my peers. I recently reflected on how I experienced my classmates’ purported colorblindness in high school. But senior year, the same students who had claimed not to notice my Blackness suggested that I was accepted to the University of Virginia only because I had written about biracial heritage in my college essay. At the time, I did not have one Black teacher to help me process my classmates’ racist claims.

Intersectionality plays a significant role in many Black people’s lives.

When I first started teaching Black history 12 years ago, I did not talk about my own experiences in school. I was so focused on classroom management and objective mastery that I did not realize that my own racial identity and stories would help me build trust with students. They were more engaged after I honestly answered their questions about being a biracial teacher of Black history and began teaching intersectional Black history lessons.

Read the full article about intersectional Black history lessons by Abigail Henry at Chalkbeat.