The Office of Inclusion and Diversity is working with the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice to sponsor a student from Cristo Rey High School for the 2016-17 school year. T. Powell, a senior at Cristo Rey, wrote the following letter to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as we celebrate his life and work with our annual Health Equity Symposium.

Dear Dr. King,

I’m accepted. Not in all places, but I am welcomed. I can say that you were off to a good start, but the job is not finished. Your letters and the March on Washington in 1963 (check date) made an impact on history. Your dream and your legacy are not going to be forgotten. The museums and the statue in your honor will not crumble to the ground, but hopefully racism will come to an end. I can say based on my life experience, I wasn't shut out or marginalized because of my ethnicity in a harsh way compared to you. Yes, I have been called racial slurs like oreo, panda, and science experiment, but I haven’t been bullied because of the color of my skin. I “fit in” because people always assumed that I was Hispanic, but I’m not. I’m African American, European, and Native American. That is who I am on the outside.

I remember feeling insecure because my parents are different. Everybody knew my mom was white because she would always take me to school, take me to the grocery store, and take me to my appointments like any mom would, but nobody believed that my dad was black even though people knew that I was mixed. When people finally believed me, all I heard was “Oh my gosh. He really is black.”, “Wow.” and “Why are you so small and he’s so big?” I was never embarrassed by him. I didn’t like how people accepted him when I told them that he was mixed too, but his appearance helped draw them to the conclusion of why I’m darker than my sisters. That is who I am on the outside.  When I talk about my family, people are surprised that my parents are still together. They’re surprised that my sisters look more like my mom than I. They’re surprised when they find out that I’m not adopted, but they are more surprised that I look like my dad’s side of the family.

I have curly, fluffy hair and I wear oversized glasses for my tiny little face and my big cheeks. They always slide down, but I push them back up; just like if I have a bad day, I tilt my head up high and I keep pushing. What I leave my family and my friends to remember me by will matter to me. I would want them to remember me for my accomplishments, my love, and everything that I am that makes me who I am. My skin color will not matter at this point in my life and hopefully it won’t matter for a long to anybody else. The color of our skin, our religious beliefs, and our personalities are what make us different. We shouldn’t get killed and belittled by that because we are all people.

But I would like to say thank you for what you’ve done. I am accepted for my differences. I can breathe and rest my shoulders because I don’t have to worry about being excluded because of my outside characteristics. I hope you’re proud of the progress we’ve made since you left, but the work is not done yet..

Sincerely,

T. Powell