Color me.

Hapa Mag - AUGUST 26, 2020

By Meagan Kimberly Smith

 
A mixed femme rests their chin upon a table. They are wearing an orange beret and blue fluffy jacket. They are looking off to the left

Photo by Chad Knuth

 

Last night I met a Painter,

Please, Paint me. I said

I can't. He responded,

I don't have your color.

“But my colors can change,

Surely you have one of my colors”,

No. Said the painter.

So I told him to USE ME as his paint

That way he'll have a color he's never before seen

So he pulled out his paint brush

And he dipped into me—he stroked..1..2..3..

Finally he finished

So I closed my thighs shut and looked up to admire his work

But the painter was gone

Where's the painter? I asked

He couldn't find your color,

Said the devil

And he whispered in my ear,

but I remember, your favorite is Red.

 
The logo for Mixed in America, which is the letters "MIA" in various skin-toned boxes

Mixed in America (MIA) empowers the Mixed community and heals the Mixed identity. MIA is run by two multiracial activists, Jazmine Jarvis and Meagan Kimberly Smith, looking to have a more nuanced conversation about race in America.Embracing duality is not easy. The resulting wounds are oftentimes invalidated, misunderstood, and ignored, leaving us with very few resources to assist in authentic healing. Mixed in America aims to provide these resources and facilitate spaces to remedy these complex challenges. mixedinamerica.org