Lilly Pearl

"I was born with the choice to pass as Black or White. Everyday I ask myself whose blood is it that rushes through my veins? My own blood is making me hate who I really am. I feel two opposing ancestors at war within me - one fighting to be free, the other fighting to control me by denying me my true identity. When I visit my family in Mississippi, I'm Black. When I return to Chicago, I'm White again. I find myself taking on the values of the people who would squash me if the knew. I find no wholeness in either role." (Lilly Pearl)