Alexander Keo

I was raised in Portland, Oregon, by my grandmother, who was born in South Carolina in 1930. She told me stories about her father driving Black voters to the polls in 1948, taking backroads to avoid those who wanted to stop them from casting their votes. Her stories, combined with my family's long history of military service, taught me that courage isn't just about what you're willing to say it's about what you're willing to do. My family has lived through Jim Crow, the 2008 recession that nearly broke us, and the everyday indignities that come with being Black, Korean, and multiracial in America. From a young age, I experienced race-related violence. As I've grown older, many of those I love have faced complex struggles, including my loving partner, who was once undocumented and knows what it's like to live in the shadows of a broken immigration system.