Most Black folks in the US have a deeply painful racial story having to do with interactions with white "friends," including me.

I had a unique experience of going to very diverse schools my entire life, but my family moved out to a mostly white suburb when I was around 11 or 12 years old. So I had friends of all kinds of different backgrounds at school, but my neighborhood friends were almost entirely white. Which was mostly fine as a kid. I even had two of these friends as groomsmen in my wedding.

Things changed shortly after the murder of Trayvon Martin. This is when I started getting more vocal online about racism, anti-Blackness, and the injustices I was observing and grieving throughout the country. It didn't take long at all for the friends from this group to go from uncomfortable, to combative, and then to all blocking me on social media. Once I started talking about race too much, they abandoned me by walking out of my life, which was incredibly painful. These were all very nice, generous, and kind people in every other context of their lives. But something about their racial identity development caused them to turn on me immediately once my voice around race became uncomfortable for them.

Those experiences, along with countless others I've had in my life from white peers, white educators, white store employees, and more, have taught me to be very careful about trusting white folks. Because I have been burned in so many ways in my life.

ISSUE 1445: wast3

put one or more numbers in my ask! <3

favorite type

least favorite type

favorite dual type

least favorite dual type

favorite trainer

least favorite trainer

favorite gym leader

least favorite gym leader

favorite elite four member

least favorite elite four member

favorite trial (sun & moon)

least favorite trial (sun & moon)

favorite antagonist team

least favorite antagonist team

favorite shiny pokemon

least favorite shiny pokemon

3 favorite pokemon

3 least favorite pokemon

favorite pokemon game 

least favorite pokemon game

favorite legendary/mythical pokemon

least favorite legendary/mythical pokemon

favorite music track from a pokemon game

your favorite team of pokemon you’ve ever had 

favorite design of a pokemon

least favorite design of a pokemon

overall favorite generation of pokemon

overall least favorite generation of pokemon

favorite normal type

least favorite normal type

favorite fire type

least favorite fire type

favorite fighting type

least favorite fighting type

favorite water type

least favorite water type

favorite flying type

least favorite flying type

favorite grass type

least favorite grass type

favorite poison type

least favorite poison type

favorite electric type

least favorite electric type

favorite ground type

least favorite ground type

favorite rock type

least favorite rock type

favorite ice type

least favorite ice type

favorite bug type

least favorite bug type

favorite dragon type

least favorite dragon type

favorite ghost type

least favorite ghost type

favorite dark type

least favorite ghost type

favorite psychic

least favorite psychic type

favorite steel type

least favorite steel type

favorite fairy type

least favorite fairy type

favorite pokemon movie

least favorite pokemon movie

favorite animated adaptation

least favorite animated adaptation

favorite pokemon card

least favorite pokemon card

favorite pokemon tumblr blog(s)

favorite pokemon plushie

favorite pokemon merchandise

favorite alolan version of a first gen pokemon

a pokemon that you feel is overrated 

a pokemon that you feel is underrated

favorite eeveelution