Mixed, passing for white

Maya Cueva's dad is Peruvian and her mother is Jewish. Because her skin is white, she feels she has to prove her racial identity out in the world, by emphasizing her Latina heritage. Still, she knows that race is a visual thing. "I can’t deny my whiteness, because that means denying the privileges I have as someone who can pass as white. But I can stop worrying about how people might be categorizing me, and learn to love the complexity of it all." Her commentary is on Youth Radio.