Walter Thompson always felt like an enigma.
Growing up with a Mexican mom and an African-American dad in South LA, he sometimes just didn’t know which culture he belonged to. He pursued this lingering question mark in college and, most recently, through the creation of a popular Instagram account called Blaxicans Of LA – based on extensive research on multi-racial identity.
This Humans of New York-type of project explores issues of identity, self-discovery, and colorism among their community. Many feel a tension in their Black and Latino communities – like they can never quite ‘prove’ themselves fully to either.
“I have always said that identifying as a Blaxican is a political and revolutionary act,” says Thompson.
For him, the term ‘Blaxican’ is a way to bridge the gap between two communities that exist together yet, generally, consider themselves very different. By being receptive to African-American and Mexican histories – how they are intertwined and continue to shape each other – he thinks the future will be more inclusive. Inclusivity is an identity we can all get behind.
And, as this project has begun to reveal, being of mixed cultures is becoming almost more common than it is not.
