Should I Eat Watermelon in Front of White People?

The hassle of navigating an ugly stereotype

Photo by Houcine Ncib on Unsplash

My grandma Kathryn lived in the same house from the time she married my grandpa at 19 to the day she died at 80. Every summer, my parents packed me and my sisters into the family van and drove us to that little house in the center of Louisiana for a few weeks. Not only did we see my grandma, but a galaxy of…