ABSTRACT
I grew up in suburbia, the elder of two children. My brother Drew was always at my side. I was used to his presence, although he was more like a saddlebag than anything else. The neighborhood was very quiet, very residential, and very white. I was always conscious of that fact, but Drew and I always played with the white kids on our street and never really said anything. We would occasionally play with the other black families a few miles away, but usually we played with white kids. I never made a fuss, never asked why I was the only kinky-haired boy in my class. Kinky hair and dark skin didn’t matter when I was 5 years old.
