Buy The Pigment of
Your Imagination
Excerpts from the author:
Britain
During my travels, I was a perpetual tourist with a chameleon streak and I often wanted to find out how easy or difficult it would be for me to blend into the various countries I visited. While living in London, I easily existed as an anonymous entity in the bustling metropolis. Throughout most of my travels, I wore my hair in a bun giving myself a nondescript look and I was sometimes mistaken as Latin American in Britain. A French friend of mine at Cambridge University spread a short-lived rumor that I was Mexican-American. On another occasion, a restaurateur automatically ushered me over to a party of Spanish-speaking women and then informed me he made the mistake because I “just looked like them.” Yet, Caribbean students at Cambridge continuously asked me what island I was from and said that I looked and sounded West Indian, my American accent rationalized as a consequence of a U.S. education.<<Click here to read further excerpts about Britain>>
Kenya
For many, Kenya is Africa’s leading wildlife destination, offered the exotic images of photogenic animals, vast savannah grasslands, and, for some, picturesque Masai people. While I could understand the allure of gaping at wildlife, I was disturbed that some African game parks seemed to include African people as part of the game. After days of spotting elephants, giraffes, lions, and zebras in the countryside, tourists on European and American package holidays were often ferried through preselected villages to see “authentic” Africa. With thousands of tourists treading through their backyards each year, many Kenyans have attempted to turn the situation to their advantage by requesting a gift or a small amount of money in exchange for a photographic image, much to the dismay of some tourists. I laughed softly when I read a question in a Kenyan tour book which asked tourists, “How would you feel if an endless succession of minibuses arrived at your doorstep to photograph your family?” Then it occurred to me that they could be photographing my Kenyan family.<<Click here to read further excerpts about Kenya>>
Zimbabwe
Each society lives within its own customized racial twilight zone. Am I about to enter another? “Colored” in the United States does not mean the same as “coloured” in Zimbabwe. The archaic American term refers to anyone with African ancestry whereas the modern-day southern African term refers to a category of people with mixed racial heritage, usually of African and European ancestry. In the United States, light- and dark-skinned people of any African ancestry are considered “black” under the one-drop rule. Yet I am sitting on the border of a country where those two groups –“coloured” and “black”– are seen as separate racial entities. Zimbabwe has its own unique one-drop rule – “One drop of white blood makes you coloured.” I have read that 75 to 90% of African-Americans have many “drops” of European ancestry. Would they be considered “coloured” or “black” in Zimbabwe?<<Click here to read further excerpts about Zimbabwe >>
Jamaica
After a couple of hours of reading in the sun, I became thirsty and decided to get a cold drink. I walked to the local supermarket where a Rastafarian man greeted me by tipping his imaginary hat and addressing me as “Princess Brown.” I returned the tipped hat gesture and continued on my way thinking about his reference to my skin color. As I walked home, a group of construction men attempted to catch my attention by calling me “browning” and inviting me over to talk. I later found out that “browning” was a term coined by a popular reggae song where the artist lists all the things he aspires to possess – a nice car, money, and a “browning,” referring to a woman of light brown complexion. This brazen reference to skin color was somewhat surprising to me as an American mainly because I was not used to such public remarks about skin shade. Just a few days earlier, I had been in Zimbabwe where my brown skin was frequently noticed but infrequently commented upon and where I was considered to be part of a marginalized minority “race,” often seen in a negative light. Yet, in Jamaica, I was now receiving positive comments regarding exactly same skin color. In Britain, Kenya, and Zimbabwe, I found that I often had to pay close attention to pick up racial nuances. In Jamaica, thoughts and feelings about race and color were unabashedly exhibited.