Hyphen-Nation

Back in middle school, her classmates made it clear that her Chinese appearance made her different. That experience has been repeated throughout her life.

For a black immigrant family from Panama, highly aware of the African-American struggle, the election of Barack Obama seemed impossible. When it happened, it was a moment of profound joy.

His friends in school said he wasn't American. His mother said his family in Mexico would treat him like a tourist. He wanted to prove everyone wrong.

Her lighter skin meant she could play with all the kids – until one kid's mother found out her family was black.

His experience of looking out from a beach from Accra, on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, and realizing that he is the first person in his family to see where his ancestors were taken from.

His Sudanese, Muslim heritage has meant more attention at American borders, but being born in America also makes him a foreigner in Sudan.

Horsing around with white friends in a parking lot as a teenager, only one person got singled out.

It doesn't get more American than putting your hand over your heart at a Yankees game. And it doesn't get less American than being called a terrorist at a drug store.