Breaking the Color Wall

Tara, who is African-American and I, a Japanese-American were discussing the traveling challenges we face as women of color when we are sent all across the country to do our job. Once we cross the borders of our homestate where we comfortably blend in with our neighbors and co-habitors to areas of the lesser known, we get the stares - in astonishment, wonder and in horror like we're some kind of alien sometimes. Are we living in 2005?

Yes, for some in this country, the only exposure they have to people who look like us is on TV, in the news and movies, which, sadly, is a very narrow perspective, but it is the truth. Once, when I was lost in the backcountry roads of Kentucky, I stopped at a local liquor store to ask for directions - the looks of horror I received when I opened the door were stupifying. I laugh now but ohmygosh...I remember three furrow-browed elderly folks in Fort Wayne, Indiana following me with their eyes as I made my way across the airport floor from one end of the room to the other. I wanted to flip them off! - because, my gosh, didn't your momma teach you not to stare? When I had longer hair, I heard a child exclaim, "Look, mom, it's Pocahontas!" or "It's Lucy Liu!" Oy.

Yes, we know, that some things can't be helped, and we can laugh at it all after some time passes, but that doesn't mean it's not a frustrating and sometimes scary element to deal with. We will watch out for our safety and continue to break down those walls of color, nevertheless.