Crystal Smith Paul

Did You Hear about Kitty Karr?

Lindsay

Often people seemed disappointed or puzzled to discover Elise was just Black and not biracial. Her explanation always began with “somewhere down the line,” and every time she veered down that path, the inquirer’s eyes would glaze over. They wanted her to validate the banana- pudding hue of her skin, her light eyes, and her hair that grew like a weed down her back, as if these qualities weren’t possible within the Black race. Slavery and its attendant sexual violence wasn’t what they wanted to be reminded of.

But something about his presence bothered her. It felt like an unavoidable iceberg, not a life raft.

“We always have a choice; we only say we don’t to soothe our conscience from what we’re capable of.”

Did You Hear about Kitty Karr? quotes

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