“One thing about being adopted by a white family (I’m very thankful for them) is that I had to figure out myself and find people who can represent my culture and other people I can relate to. And [I had to] find myself in the literal sea of whiteness. What it means to me is just being a proud individual of my culture even though I would be the first black person in my adopted family. So I feel like I can carry a little beacon for hopefully future generations... What it means to be proud and black is to be unabashedly yourself in a world that is against me, [and] to care for yourself and others.”
— Rose, Haitian, 23
