Dear Dad

by An Anonymous Young Person from the Echo Glen Children’s Center 

Dear Dad,

I wish you knew who I was right now.
I’m going to college. I want to teach
about our people.

Mom gave me her boldness, her confidence.
You gave me my identity.

I want to teach people
about where we come from.  That I’m here
because my ancestors were brave.

That I’m not here because my family are criminals
who wanted to bring drugs and ruin
the American dream.  

That I’m here because my family was brave
and wanted us to have the “American Dream”
whatever that means.

If the American Dream means being told we can’t
wear a shoe because it’s gang-related,
when it’s a sense of pride;

if the American Dream means we can’t
wear high socks because it’s gang-related;

if the American Dream means we can’t
speak Spanish because people don’t understand us;

if the American Dream involves my abuela getting yelled at
because she doesn’t speak English well;

and if it means my people have to be called racial slurs,
made fun of for speaking their native language,
told they can’t wear clothes that are a part of our culture,

I don’t want it.

We are the American Dream.
We are the future.

Thank you for reminding me, Dad.

Your Daughter

Seattle, Washington