The article, “Being Blaxican in L.A.” by Janice Llamoca, she talks about Walter Thompson-Hernández. Walter was born in Los Angeles and he was Black and Mexican, or which he calls himself, Blaxican. In the interview Walter explains that it was a struggle to understand his background and how he identified himself. Regardless of the struggles he faced he was comfortable with his race and his mixing. This brings me to an article I found by Philippe Leonard Fradet, which is, “Never Enough: Growing Up Mixed-Race with a Mix of Friends”. In this article, Philippe, explains that his father is white, and his mother was black and Native American. He explains that growing up many kids would ask him “what was he?”, as if he was an unidentifiable artifact. He describes that growing up, it was hard for him to come to terms with his racial identity. He explains that growing up it was tough to fit in with his friends because to some people, he was not “black” enough, and to other people, he was not “white” enough. He describes, “Even though some of my peers and elders saw me as “whiter” than others, I still faced a great amount of flack because of my darker skin, because of my tight and frizzy curls, and because I was half black and Native American” (Fradet, Web). He explains that he had no connection to his Native side, but he just wanted to be “Normal” like most of his friends. Philipe had to go through understanding that he was not different, he was just “Mixed-raced” and that was normal. He goes to conclude that he was just never enough and that just because he his Mixed-raced does not mean that his identity has to be lost.

Never Enough: Growing Up Mixed-Race with a Mix of Friends