Amani Hayes Messinger
Wanna Ask about Race?
“This isn’t about politically correctness, it’s about opening conversations about who people are, how they see themselves. Hence, we must open up the question: I’m curious, how do you racially identify?”
What Are You?
For me, the most daunting part of being Jewish is the beginning. The introduction. The double take. I will always have to repeat my religion twice. I have gotten used to this. Typically, after the initial shock, the questioner will accept my Judaism or admit defeat and give up on their interrogation. Sometimes I am not so lucky. Sometimes – even though I wear my Jewishness around my neck, literally, in the form of the Star of David or a hamsa, depending on the day – I am still required to defend my identity. Amani Hayes-Messinger