Reading Is Important

Momma was upset when she found out that I wasn’t the only black kid in my school. One of the reasons that she moved to South Jersey was to get me away from the black kids, as if I weren’t one of them. It was so bad that momma had me checking my skin color. Sometimes I even forgot that I was a black girl originally from Newark, New Jersey. But, I was thankful that there were other black kids in the school besides me. It felt good seeing other people that looked liked me.

I was especially thankful for Terrell. She was smart, funny, and cool to hang with. She was into just about everything that I was into. We liked the same music, movies, and clothes. Terrell and I quickly became best friends. Momma of course wasn’t happy with that. She would always ask me, “Christina, why are you hanging with that black girl?” Of course, I would look at her like she was crazy, because once again she had me checking out my complexion. But, I just choose not to pay momma any min...