I grew up in a middle-class black neighborhood where most families and most kids "spoke white." Not everyone did, and there were those who called us "Oreos" or "not black." All I need is my skin to tell me who I am. You're right. Nobody else gets to decide.

I love my fried chicken, but I also love wide reading, old movie musicals, Shakespeare, and other interests that some may deride as "not black enough." Black is what I am. Some people may want to define me as ONLY my skin, but we are all more than skin deep.