Black like me
By Zachariah Mampilly. February
19, 2002
"For some within the community, myself included, the model-minority skin never fit quite right. I was never accepted by the white community, and have always thought of myself and been thought of as closer to black than white. Although I have had minor encounters with racism throughout my life, it never occurred to me to claim, "I am sorry, sir, but you see, you have it quite wrong--I am not black ... I am Indian." But this is what the mainstream South Asian community strived to do. In spite of the many instances of racism it experienced, the community largely was able to delude itself into thinking it really was white.
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