Are we there yet?

Arriving to Dubai's international airport in the haze of December 29th early morning heat- I was barely awake enough to share some of experiences via blog. There are so many incredible insights that have already shaped a new vision of the world for me and they begin far before I reached the Emirates: the airport. I bring to Dubai the legacies fo an African-American and multi-racial background and different constructs of each of those aspects of identity profoundly effect my life. What was so different even in the airport was an array of people of color who transcend the narrow spectrum of extremes presented in my segregated Detroit community. The "people of color" who occupied Amsterdam's airport were from EVERYWHERE and it showed in language and style of dress. Being "unclassified" by color is profound for me as people inquired where I was from in terms of nationally- as opposed to racial affliation. It is difficult to conceive the states outside of the shadow of its daunting legacy of racial inequality or oppression- but my feelings of liberation and being regarded as an "American" as opposed to an "African-American," I think to myself- ". . .is this what it would be like?"