"You can't live without pride"

Dear Pinky Johnson,
    Watching your story was incredibly impactful for me, and made me think a lot about the ideas of identity and pride in oneself. At one point in the film you try to explain your decision to stay in your hometown by simply saying, “You can’t live without pride”. That moved me because I’d never thought about the fact that passing necessitates accepting the idea that being black is something to be ashamed of, something to hide if possible.
    One thing that really struck me is your relationship with Tom Adams, and the way that both of your views on race diverged over the course of the film. There’s a really interesting point in the film where you talk about how not pursuing the case would let down yourself and your people, and he angrily replies that black people aren’t “your people”. I feel like this ties back into the idea of possessive individualism vs. collective autonomy: he’s unable to understand the idea that you are tied to the others in your community. Ultimately he saw your blackness as something that had to be overcome with a change of name and location; you came to view as an integral part of who you are and of your purpose in the world.
    Something I wonder about is how the black community of the area treated you. Were you welcomed back by everyone or prejudiced against because of your apparent whiteness, especially after permanently settling in your hometown.
    In any case, I will definitely be thinking about your story for weeks and months to come.