This happens to me a 100 times

Here is something that irritates me after living in the US for 9 years.

One hundred times I've had this conversation with White US American strangers after I share this one thing. 

Can you guess what that is?

Well, I tell them: "I'm Danish".

And here is how they respond:

Stranger: Really?! (look of: “You're not blonde with blue eyes”)

Me: (🙄)

Stranger: Me too! I’m also Danish!

Me: Where from?

Stranger: Well my family immigrated in 1910 and (...)

Me: .... I mean I’m Danish, as in I was born there and speak Danish.

Stranger: Yea I speak some Danish too.

Me: Nå hvordan har du lært dansk?

Stranger: 🤔

People never believe I'm Danish until I "prove it". To be fair that doesn't just happen in the US, even in Denmark people question whether I'm Danish, feeling like I should show them my birth certificate.

And so I end up feeling invalidated and unseen.

 Why am I sharing this story with you?

To feel erased is a common experience of n'betweeners.

So here is what we need to do..... Celebrate Ourselves! 

This weekend is Juneteenth. Liberation Day. It’s also Pride month.

In the US, we celebrate the end of slavery. It’s a day to celebrate independence, but also to celebrate culture.

 🖤 Black culture is beautiful.

 💛 Queer culture is powerful.

 🧡 n'betweener cultures are rich.

They hold depth and nuance. We have transformed years of struggling and pain into strength, resilience, art, beauty and so much more.

New York Times Best-Selling author Resmaa Menakem speaks to how racism is rooted in the body. 

He defines People of Color as Bodies of Culture. As Bodies of Culture we get to celebrate richness.

White people in the US often miss culture.

To the point that they latch on to any sense of culture. Just like the story I shared. 

There is a lack of stories, rituals, practices, or history that unite them. In order to experience that, they erase and steal other cultures. They steal through cultural appropriation, they erase through genocide.

So, as we approach Juneteenth and Pride Parades, let's celebrate the many cultures. All parts of it, in all of the richness of living n'between. 

We have cultural wealth and that is not something we have to hide or hold back on. Let’s be real and show the world who we are and what we stand for!

As n’betweeners, we have beautiful backgrounds that comprise how we live and see the world.  Let's embrace that sentiment. 

Happy Juneteenth and much love to my Black and Queer friends.

Your spirit and your culture will live on forever.

Huuuuug

Nora