"My mom grew up as a Southern Baptist woman in North Carolina during a racially segregated time. Her parents taught her to care for the well-being of everyone, and she instilled those values in me and my brother. She was involved in every team, classroom and scout group I belonged to and treated kids of all races just as she treated us."
"And even though it was just "the way things were," this meant people would often emulate the behavior of previous generations ― sometimes casually ignorant and sometimes downright racist. A few years ago, my mom married a man that wasn't secretive about his bigotry. I think he said things just to be provocative, but I never understood why she didn't confront him for the ridiculous things he said. Her silence hurt me worse than an ignorant person being ignorant."
"After she finally forced me to talk, she kind of chuckled and said, "Well you obviously have no idea what it's like to be Black. You're always surrounded by people who don't like you because of your skin color. Unfortunately, you kind of get used it. You scared me, because I thought you were going to say you cheated on me!""
The narrator's mother grew up Southern Baptist in racially segregated North Carolina and learned to care for everyone's well-being, which she passed to her children. She actively supported her children's activities and treated kids of all races equally. The hometown allowed individual interracial cordiality but maintained a stark divide, with behaviors often mirroring past generations' casual ignorance and outright racism. Years later the mother married a man openly bigoted, and her silence about his remarks wounded the narrator. Conversations about the narrator's partner Maya revealed unresolved tension. The narrator initially concealed family conflict from Maya until Maya urged disclosure and responded with grace.
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