to be thought of as attractive
in this white supremacist society.
We are all—black and white alike
—shown a beauty standard of light
skin and ‘good hair,’ maybe big lips,
maybe a big bum, but hardly ever
on someone with darker skin.
When a black person says
they’re only into white people,
that’s internalized racism.
When a white person says
they’re only into black people,
that’s fetishization, which is also
a form of racism. If their skin
or racialized features matter more
to you than the person within,
that’s racism. I can’t be your friend
without calling this out. Your ignorance
may be innocent but the racism is real.
I want both of you to think about how
what you said might make me feel.”
Lennie takes a long toke on the spliff,
which he has been holding on to
the whole time he’s been talking.
He holds his breath, then starts laughing,
smoke spluttering from his mouth
like a backfiring engine.
He passes the spliff to Sienna. “I meant
what I said, I just didn’t mean for it to come out
as angry as that.”
