Guest Contributor

A Latina with deep California roots writes: "Perhaps because of my physical appearance and surname, I have occasionally encountered inquisitive types, wondering how long I have lived in this country, or why I do not have an accent." But appearances can be deceiving, as her family history tells.

When you grow up identifying as "half white and half Mexican," the task of choosing what box to check on a government form isn't easy.

Soon after arriving in the U.S. from Saudi Arabia, he learned he was expected to check "white" for racial identity in the census. But amid the anti-Arab hate that followed the 9/11 attacks, he quickly realized that his "white" label came without the privilege.

An American of Indian descent reflects on hate and hope: the hate that generations of her family have experienced -- and, as the mother of three girls, the hope that she has for their future.

Facing wage discrimination at the clothing store where she worked as a tailor, his mother decided to quit and strike out on her own. Working out of her basement, she built a clothing business that lasted more than three decades.

Growing up as the son of a Filipino immigrant dad and Russian American mom, Mark Moya felt equally attached to both cultures. He still does. Lately, he's been thinking more about their immigrant legacy and how it shaped him, especially after losing his dad earlier this year to COVID-19.

Why are YOU voting? And what are the conversations you are having with your family about this election?

Growing up Chicano and gay on the Eastside in the '60s and '70s, James Rojas often felt like an outsider. He found safe space and acceptance amid Black and Brown peers and disco music as "we blurred the L.A. redlining map and found identity, and community, in the fusion."

From March -- shortly after stay-at-home orders went into effect across the country -- to May, the National Domestic Violence Hotline recorded a 9% increase in calls. On Saturday, community members in South L.A. came together to advocate for resources for BIPOC survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

A Black Armenian Angelena reflects on her identity -- the discrimination she's endured because of her race and feelings of being excluded because of her ethnicity -- the legacy of the Armenian Genocide and the current conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In a series of recollections, Judy Jean Kwon reflects on what her Korean American family lost when they settled in the U.S. -- and what it's taken for her to reclaim at least part of it.

"I came to deeply embrace anti-racism in slow, sustained increments. To do so, I had to embrace my own identity as a Brown person -- and understand my own complicity in white supremacy."