Outside my immediate family, my blackness has been obvious and non-negotiable, but among some of my Irish family, it is up for debate or ignored entirely. Shedding my own psychology of whiteness is a work in progress, but when I am back in Ireland it’s easy to revert to default because that’s all we know. A complex relationship with my Irish side and my Irish family is made even more difficult because, mainly, I’ve loved spending time there. To some family, I’ll always be the little white girl who simply sat out in the sun for too long. Although being complicit in the lie of whiteness was once easier in Ireland many summers ago, it’s now something I’m no longer prepared to do.

Source: The Guardian September 16, 2017 05:37 UTC