BRAVE NEW WORLD

I grew up in a predominantly African-American neighborhood. I was bused to a European-American school and later majored in English at a multicultural university. Now, along with working as a receptionist, I teach language arts to minority youths at an urban children’s club.

My best pal is a Guatemalan-American named Dan; my favorite musical entertainers are Oingo Boingo, Ice Cube and Barbra Streisand.

What is my ethnicity, you ask? Does it really matter? Am I a product of L.A.’s “crazy incubator”? I don’t know. But what I do know is that I’m going downstairs to ask my Thai neighbor if he would like to swap some of his barbecued ribs for some of my enchilada pie.

LAUREN S. BLACKMON

Canoga Park