Week #2: Devrani Brahmanand

In the autobiography “Born a Crime” in chapter 4, “Chameleon”,  Trevor Noah establishes the foundation of his childhood through race, identity, and discrimination. As a young child, Trevor struggled to fit into society especially because of the color of his skin. His parents were from two different worlds, his mother was black and his father was white. During this time, interacial marriages in South Africa under apartheid were illegal. Trevor Noah, being labeled under both races had a huge impact on his life.  His physical attributes determined how he associated with others around him. His childhood gradually taught him that everyone is alike. However, the color and languages we speak, places us in different categories. His perceptions and experiences about racism can reflect on how we view different ethnic groups in America. Today, children whose parents are interracial have become a more prevalent part of society that people need to accept. Children who encounter similar experiences like Trevor Noah, should be able to recognize and embrace their identity without society’s discriminating actions weighing them down.  I think the metaphor he utilized to describe himself and his parents was important. He says “Dad was white chocolate, mom was dark chocolate, and I was milk chocolate.”But we were all just chocolate”. This quote striked me because at the end of the day we are all humans and the color of our skins shouldn’t define our status. The word “Chameleon”, he uses is significant throughout the chapter. Chameleons are a group of lizards that are able to adapt to their surroundings and change color. Likewise, Trevor is able to adjust to both sides. He recalls a memory when he was operating his cousin’s ear and accidentally perforated her eardrum. His grandmother found out and beat everyone except for him. She stated, “Because I don’t know how to hit a white child”(Grandma,52). She knew if you hit a black child, he will remain black but if she hits a white child they will have different colors and she didn’t want to hurt him. As a result, Trevor had perks of being “white”. However,Trevor felt alone. He says, “There were no other mixed kids around so that I could say, oh, this happened to us”(Noah,53).  I found the text, “Born a Crime” interesting especially because I read and analyzed different sections of his book in high school. In addition, coming from an Indian background, society perceives Indians differently than they would perceive a white person. After 9/11, innocent Indians were detained by the government and put into jail because they resembled those who were part of the attack. Their skin color, being “brown” not only affected Muslims but Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs.Indians were labeled as “terrorists”.