Mixed

Just because I’m mixed,

Doesn’t mean I can’t hoop

Doesn’t mean I can’t be impacted when someone is killed in the streets because they’re

African-American

And doesn’t mean I don’t have the same black inside me as you.

Just because I’m mixed,

Doesn’t mean I can’t be scared when Kanye West says he wants to kill us all

Doesn’t mean I can’t light the menorah

Doesn’t mean I’m not as Jewish as you.

Just because I’m mixed,

Doesn’t mean I have to celebrate Channukah or Christmas

Doesn’t mean I have to pick what I am

Doesn’t mean I can’t be an African from Israel or a Jew from Africa.

Just because I’m mixed

Why should I care what everyone thinks I should be?

Why do you get to decide what my racial identity is?

Isn’t that up to me?

I am not just one person, I am two. I am mixed.