29
Caribbean Life, April 21-27, 2022
Welcome to the club – or not?
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The key for the clubhouse door
is off-limits to you.
You’ll never earn the member
jacket or learn the double-secret
handshake. No matter how hard
you try, membership to the club
is totally off-limits and that’s irritating,
embarrassing, and even
dangerous. But read the new book
“You Sound Like a White Girl” by
Julissa Arce, and maybe that’s a
club not worth joining.
For the first eleven years of her
life, Julissa Arce was a Mexican
child living in Mexico. She was
not ethnically different from any
of her neighbors; in fact, “Eating
the food, speaking the language,
dancing to the music – it was all
like breathing air.”
And then everything changed.
Her parents moved their family
across the border to America, a
sacrifice they made to ensure better
opportunities for their children
but with those opportunities
came struggle. Arce constantly
worked to fit in, she cut her long
hair, and she practiced until she
could speak English almost flawlessly
but even the smallest mistake
set her back in the eyes of her
white classmates.
She was never going to be
white. So why try?
For centuries, she says, white
people have told Hispanic and
Black people that if they worked
hard, that “everything was possible,”
and they said that while
they were making it impossible
for anyone with darker skin to
get ahead. As a result, people
of color relinquished their culture
and language with hopes of
assimilation or, at least, acceptance.
They stopped speaking their
native tongue, while white schools
proudly taught it in “dual-language…
programs.” Most bruisingly,
the system resulted in a
widely-held preference for lighter
skin, and not just in the U.S.:
a similar preference “infiltrates”
Mexican life, too, says Arce.
The solution, she suggests, is to
stop trying to assimilate, period.
“There is so much power in
the uniqueness of our names,
our food, our heritage,” she says.
“Only when we refuse to change
and instead recognize the beauty
that has been passed down to
us will we truly find acceptance
within ourselves.”
When you approach “You Sound
Like a White Girl” and prepare to
dive in, be sure to leave your
assumptions at the door. Author
Julissa Arce is going to make
you examine everything you ever
thought about your natal culture,
no matter what your origins.
And she does it with an angry
eloquence that makes you wonder
why anyone would ever want
‘You Sound Like a White Girl’
author, Julissa Arce. Aly Honore
to work so hard to fit in, anyhow.
Through her own personal stories,
history, and research, she
lets readers know that they’re not
alone in their efforts to assimilate,
that their frustration is not
unique, and that there’s ample
reason to quit the fight. It comes
with a good amount of pride and
not just a few surprises.
While this book may seem
like it could have a “No Whites
Allowed” sign hidden somewhere
on the cover, nothing could be
further from the truth. To make
our society better, letting everyone
of any race read “You Sound
Like a White Girl” is key.
“You Sound Like a White
Girl: The Case for Rejecting
Assimilation” by Julissa Arce
c.2022, Flatiron Books
$27.99
208 pages
Book cover of “You Sound Like a White Girl” by Julissa Arce.
Made in NYC showcased at Fashion Week Brooklyn
By Nelson A. King
Fashion Week Brooklyn was
showcased on Friday, April 1 at
the Made in NYC collections at
the IW Gallery in Brooklyn.
According to Sarah A. Freiseis,
special projects manager
at the Brooklyn-based entertainment
company, Paybookmg.
com, Made in NYC is the Pratt
Center for Community Development’s
local branding initiative
that “supports and advocates for
local manufacturers and makers
in the community.
“The participating designers
in the runway show represent a
wide variety of fashion categories,”
she said. “From workwear
to accessories and a range of
materials from high-end Italian
fabric to recycled plastic for
handbags, the diversity of stylistic
approaches is on full display.”
Featured Designers
Freiseis told Caribbean Life
that featured designers and
labels included NOORISM, Ameliora,
D. Webb Designs, UQNATU
and Hip Hop Closet.
“Fashion Week Brooklyn is a
bi-annual showing of international
collections powered by
the BK Style Foundation and is
one of the leading fashion events
showcasing the talent of aspiring
and established designers
from across the globe,” she said.
Freiseis said designers and
brands work with the Made in
NYC initiative in New York City,
“providing a product pipeline
to approximately 1,500 fashion
manufacturers throughout the
five boroughs.”
She said that, after the runway
presentation, there was a
fundraiser and an after-party
at the Box Factory for Denim
Night Out in support of Denim
Day NYC.
“For over a decade, Denim
Day NYC has been recognized
during Sexual Assault Awareness
Month,” Freiseis said. “It
is a coalition of survivors, advocates,
community organizations,
city council members, and
city agencies working together
to raise awareness about sexual
assault.” A worker at the Timberlake Studios. Jacob Grumulaitis