I love how limited our conceptions of race are :) I think we all need to have a big chat about the differences between race/culture/ethnicity/nationality

My mom is a first generation immigrant from Guyana. She has brown skin. She and the rest of her siblings are considered "dark" by Indian standards and have therefore experienced a lot of colourism in our community and back home.

I have much lighter skin - which means I experience both privileges within my own extended family AND within North American society as a whole. Which is why I'm "white passing".

However, that doesn't erase the fact that I grew up in an entirely brown family, as a Hindu, with Guyanese/Caribbean customs.

I also have many traits that my mom has - and experienced some forms of... let's say "xenophobia" growing up.

I also grew up in a part of my city that is majority white - which also means that culturally I didn't have as much exposure to a lot of the slang/dialect that my cousins did (who grew up in a Guyanese/Trinidadian enclave).

I am also a part of a very left wing, very white social circle. Which means that I find myself constantly having to defend my proximity to my heritage, because a lot of people have trouble deciphering race/culture/ethnicity when attempting to discuss race.

I say all this because my beautiful grandmother is in the hospital with Covid, fighting for her life. Not only is she an amazing person, she is also my identity, my culture, and my religion. Everyday I feel like I'm losing access to all those things.