by Lori Heavyhand

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot told BET.com on September 20, 2022 that

[f]rom a really early time in my life, I saw a lot of discrimination and disparities. My father was a deaf man, we’re obviously African American, and in a world that hasn’t always been particularly accepting of who we are. 

But why is it obvious that Mayor Lightfoot is African American? This website reported that she does not seem to care as much about the African Americans who are murdered in the streets of Chicago compared with the people who were murdered in a gay nightclub in Colorado.

But more importantly, how do I know if the people I go to school with are African American? This is so confusing.

I am really anxious about tomorrow when I will go to the Global Cornell and Cornell Dining’s 35th Annual Celebration of Gratitude Dinner on Thanksgiving Day. How will I know if the people sitting next to me are African American? A white boy in my class who is going to the dinner is from Morocco. Is he African American? I do not want to create any microaggressions.

I guess I could always just keep my mouth shut and self-censor. We are used to self-censoring at Cornell.  But let’s face it, keeping one’s mouth shut is hard to do at a dinner.

These questions about identity have swirled through my mind ever since candidate Joseph Biden said on The Breakfast Club, [i]f you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.

Is what candidate Biden said still true now that the orange-haired guy is gone and Joseph Biden is our president?

Help!!!!!