Tyrone at the University of Richmond holding the Puerto Rican flag.
.. my dad doesn't really have that big of a family because his parents passed away when he was younger so growing up there was a much stronger Puerto Rican influence in the house. We weren't taught to speak Spanish, which I think is crazy. My mom says she didn't teach us because our dad didn’t know Spanish and didn't wanna complicate it… even though today my dad speaks more Spanish than all of his kids combined.
Growing up there we would always joke around about who's “more black” … like my sister and my brother claim to be more black than me. They call me the Puerto Rican child because I'm the one that embraced Spanish, the cooking, the dancing. you're the more Puerto Rican ones. Even my parents would be like, “well Tyrone, like you're black but you're not, like you don't really embrace the culture.”
And it was interesting because no one ever questioned my siblings for not being “Puerto Rican enough” … that was a struggle especially when I got to high school it wasn’t only my family questioning my blackness, but now it was people at school. Especially with a name like Tyrone, everyone would be surprised when I would show up...
I am not what most people pictured a Tyrone to be …
Audio (3:51 min)
My default would always be “I am Puerto Rican and Black” and it's weird being questioned about what and who I know I am … people don’t really understand that black comes in all shades. When I came out of the closet in college I think that really helped me become more confident in all other aspects of my identity. I navigate the world as someone who is Black, Brown, Queer, Puerto Rican, man … a blend of gorgeousness.
