MULTINATIONAL PATRIOT FLAG & BLOG SERIES: American? But How Can That Be? You are Brown

While on spring break in the late nineties, walking along the beach in Zihuatenejo, Mexico, two curious teens approached me and asked, "De dónde eres?" I replied, "Los Estados Unidos." They were puzzled. "Pero, cómo? Tú eres morena!" (Translation: "Where are you from? The United States. But how? You are brown!")

ixtapa bay, zihuatenejo | www.visitmexico.com

ixtapa bay, zihuatenejo | www.visitmexico.com

our FATHER: young, gifted, black, patriot

our FATHER: young, gifted, black, patriot

our parents: young love

our parents: young love

The "Multinational Patriot Flag & Blog Series" is dedicated to those international friends who could not believe I was from the U.S. and especially dedicated to my “brown” Canadian friends who I couldn’t believe were from Canada... Ahem… I own mine. We all have work to do...

This series grows from the desire to see American icons used in a way that represents the United States as the melting pot that it is. As several fellow tweeters observed, images of the U.S. flag, bald eagles and the like are often displayed in profiles throughout social media to indicate a specific brand of patriotism. Too often, many of these "patriots" lack an inclusive view of what “American” is. Unfortunately, this restrictive point of view is not limited to social media profiles... As a child, I remember watching my father, who served 20 years in the Air Force, quietly replace our flag each time it was stolen from our porch by our "neighbors." I listened to my mother who taught us to assimilate for success but not be a "typical American." To this day, I am still conflicted when expressing my "patriotism."

We are working on a blog series to explore what it means to be a patriot called "Patriot Survey Says!!!" We would love to hear your stories honoring your personal multinational journeys!

We encourage you to #sayitLOUD and share the response with us on twitter @MultiPATRIOT.

Thanks for reading!

Onjena Yo

#multinationalPATRIOT #honorBOTH #OurPatriotism


Twitter: @MultiPATRIOT


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