My nuclear family was Black growing up. But my community was minority Black.

The first time I was in a space with only other Black folks, it triggered a fear of a racial attack (harking back to the only times I saw that on TV being some of those civil rights or slavery movies). Being the sole Black person in a very white area for the first time also triggered some fear (specifically for myself).

I asked a friend once about culture. Not feeling like I could identify my cultural markers. The first thing I could identify was a culture of resisting other cultural influences (for religious reasons — we’re talking holidays and some other celebrations). It took me a while to recognize food—some of my Southern upbringing.

I was also raised to keep folks at arms length if they were not part of the same religious community. Is that culture?

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