Every time elementary school is brought into a conversation, my response is always "I was the girl who everyone cheated off of" because I was. I remember taking a test and a kid named Devin next to me whispered hey, can I look at your answers? Being the good child that I was, I said no. Occurrences like this happened well into middle school and the beginning part of high school. As I got older, the word "Oreo" was used. No, I was not being called a sweet and savory cookie who was cookies and creme flavored. I was white on the inside but black on the outside.

At first, it didn't bother me. I just laughed along with everyone else. I laughed with the people that assumed that I acted white because I thought that I was actually white. As I grew older, I realized that my intelligence was being linked to a race. Somehow because I was smart and held myself to a certain standard that apparently to them, black people don't, I was white. I talked like I white, I wrote like I was like educated and came from a family who lived comfortably.

I really loved the joke oh, your dad actually lives with you? Yes, my dad lives with me. He also supports, loves, and cares for my family. I'm sorry that I couldn't be the butt of your joke today. I am fortunate enough to live in a world where people don't call me the N word. Yet somehow in 2017, everyone knows you can't be openly racist but calling people an Oreo is okay.

To the people who have said remarks like this, you might not think you're being racist but you are. You happen to be one of the many reasons black girls and boys grow up and think being black has some kind of negative connotation. Lowkey racism is still racism. Stay woke.