Cape Verde Heritage

Re “Exploring a Racial Riddle in Cape Verde,” Dec. 18: Erin Texeira has articulated a dilemma that I am convinced has been playing out in a large segment of African American/Cape Verdean homes throughout the U.S. (my own included). Her story has an eerily familiar ring to it. All her life, my mother believed her father was from Portugal. In reality, he was from the Cape Verde Islands but obviously identified more with his Portuguese ancestry. The revelation that her father was born and raised off the west coast of Africa and not in Europe left my mother with many unanswered questions and a degree of anger. Her father was deceased and there would be no resolution.

She maintains that because of the history of racism in America, she will always identify her lineage as African first. The reality is, no matter what complexion a Cape Verdean may be, European Americans will always see him or her as just another minority. The lesson is, be proud of who you are, regardless.

AL HOLMAN

Pasadena