I identify as African American. I identify as Black. Black is something I share with other descendants of Africa, African-American is something I share with other Black descendants of America and both of those identities are of equal importance to me.

Identity is very personal...identity is political. My identity is what is and it is what it's gonna be. And I don't think that any information will change that profoundly...I [already] know that I am a Black woman, and a Black woman who has mixed some heritage, like most African Americans.

I think that the language that we use is a ritual, that my [maternal] grandmother was called Big Mama is a ritual, that my daughter calls my father Baba and my mother Mama is a ritual. There are common African-American rituals that are a part of my experience. If I ever get married some day I would like to jump the broom.