The Jacaranda

Donna Brazile, Cooking With Grease: Stirring the Pots in America

I’ve been hastily making my way through Donna Brazile’s memoir, Cooking with Grease, but I stopped after reading this part where Brazile describes her first overseas experience, to Finland. I stopped because her description mirrors exactly what I was feeling in London, especially during many of my classes where we discussed America’s role in world politics. Being overseas threw me a little, because it forced me to change how I view myself. Even if I’m not always entirely conscious of it, here in America I think of myself as Black first, and inherently separate from mainstream America. But when overseas we are often lumped together in one category: American. This was especially evident in South Africa, but I was too young to really understand it then. When people in London would stereotype Americans I had to remember that I was actually part of that group. Just because I can see obvious differences between myself and other Americans doesn’t mean that everyone else can, the same way we can look at people from one country and think they are all the same. When people attacked America, I was expected to defend my country, because I am American, even if I don’t always feel like it. It forced me to think about the many similarities we share as Americans, similarities that are harder to recognize when I’m here. I don’t know, it just struck me that Brazile felt the same way I did, even though her experience happened 40 years ago and under different circumstances. Anyway, back to reading! I’m really enjoying this book so far!

Also, fyi if you need a few good laughs, follow Donna Brazile on Twitter she is completely reckless and I love it.