I was racialized at 5. I distinctly remember not being touched by a fellow student — being perceived as dirty and unclean because of my brown skin. I was often called slurs and attacked for merely existing. In a very homogeneously White, small town in Arkansas, it felt like diversity was inherently unpleasant. I quite literally attempted to whitewash myself, using lightening creams and pale foundation shades. Internalized racism defined my experiences with my identity throughout my childhood. It even went so far that I refused to be friends with other South Asian people so as not to be a...