How it feels to be colored me

In this vivid personal essay, a spirited young girl grows up in Eatonville, Florida, a self-contained Black community where passing travelers become her audience and the front porch is her theater. She embraces every chance to perform, charm, and connect, feeling less defined by race than by her irrepressible personality and sense of belonging.

That changes when she leaves home for school in Jacksonville and discovers how quickly the world can label her. With humor, confidence, and strikingly direct language, she reflects on color, history, freedom, and the different ways identity emerges depending on who surrounds her. She refuses both self-pity and easy explanations, choosing instead to meet life as a daring adventure.

Ideal for listeners drawn to literary nonfiction, cultural reflection, and unforgettable voices, this compact work offers a lively meditation on race and individuality. Its wit and rhythmic storytelling make the essay especially compelling aloud, while its observations remain thoughtful, provocative, and warmly human.